Are you interested in learning more about therapy dogs, or perhaps considering training your own pup to be one? Penny Currykosky, a Top Dog Pet Sitters client, shares her experience with her dog, Allie.
Becoming a Pet Therapy Team
Almost 2 years ago, my Golden Retriever, Allie, and I started the journey to becoming a pet therapy team. My decision to raise a therapy dog came from my love of animals and the desire to give back to our community. I’ve seen first-hand how much joy therapy dogs bring to patients and their families, school children, elderly residents of nursing homes, first responders, and nervous flyers at airports. Allie’s story is just one of the thousands of dogs nationwide who have devoted their lives to bringing a soothing presence to humans in times of stress and overwhelming situations.
What are therapy dogs?
While service dogs are specially trained to assist and perform tasks for a person with a disability, therapy dogs are trained to provide reassurance and comfort to people in hospitals, nursing homes/assisted living facilities, airports, schools, and many other places. Some therapy dogs are owned by hospitals and facilities while others are the personal pet of the handler.
Therapy dogs need to have a calm and gentle disposition, able to ignore other dogs, walk next to their handler on a leash without pulling, and not fearful of strange noises, smells, and medical equipment.
Training
Our family adopted Allie at eight weeks old. Starting on the day we brought her home, I would hold a treat in my fingers and she would follow my hand as I moved it back and forth on the floor in front of me. Luring is the basis for many commands and tricks. Over the next several months, she mastered sit, down, stay, shake, leave it, heel, and come. At five months old, we started attending puppy classes at PetSmart She completed beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes. During advanced training, Allie earned her American Kennel Club Canine Good Citizen title. This is a ten-skill test that teaches good manners to dogs and includes many of the skills that Allie would need to eventually become a therapy dog.
Therapy Dog Certification
Allie and I were given an opportunity to visit assisted living/memory care centers a couple of times a month thanks to her PetSmart trainer who runs her own organization. This gave her practice and exposure. In the beginning, Allie was shy and hesitant to approach the residents, but eventually warmed up and would let them pet her.
Earlier this year, I began preparing Allie for the Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD) certification test. The testing is divided into two parts – handling and observed visits. We met with a tester/observer in March for the handling portion. In order to pass, dogs must walk on a loose leash, sit or lay down for 5 seconds on command, accept being touched on all areas of the body, approach and greet a person in a wheelchair and walker, sit or lay quietly while another dog walks past them, and have no reaction to a person running behind, to the side, and in front of them. I had a feeling that Allie would fail the loose leash portion of the test because she would sometimes pull me when distracted, but I still saw it as a chance to make sure that she had everything else mastered. As expected, she tried to pull me towards the tester’s bag on the ground during the test. The tester requested that we try again in a few months after working on leash training because she had passed all the other skills. The tester also made sure to tell me that she doesn’t ask teams to come back very often, but she saw potential in Allie.
After practicing loose leash skills over the next four months, Allie was consistently walking by my side without pulling. She took the handling test again in July and passed with flying colors! The final step is completing three observed visits, two medical facilities and one non-medical. Allie successfully completed the non-medical visit at Home Depot on a busy Saturday, walking up to strangers to be petted and navigating through the aisles without being startled by loud noises. The two observed visits at assisted living/memory care centers are coming up in the next few weeks.
Once Allie receives her ATD certification, we will join Heart of Texas Therapy Dogs, a non-profit volunteer organization that provides therapy dog services in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Allie and I are ready to leave a pawprint on the hearts of people who could benefit from the comforting presence of a therapy dog.
About the author:
Penny Currykosky is not just a Top Dog Pet Sitters client, but she is also passionate about pets and serving the McKinney community. She is the pet mom of 4 cats and 2 pups.
Top Dog Pet Sitters provides pet sitting, dog walking, and related pet care services in the McKinney and Melissa areas of Texas. To learn more about how we can help your pets, check out our Services page, To see if we operate in your area, check out our Service Area page. To contact us directly, email us at TopDogPetSitters@Gmail.com or call us at (214) 244-1629.