Considering Therapy Dog Work for your Pup? Here's our Therapy Dog Origin Story...
/I've never been a dog person. Not exactly the first thought you were thinking you'd read, right?
Growing up, my mom's allergies were pretty severe, so our pets were Patty Bird the parakeet, fish, hamsters, and guinea pigs. In my twenties and thirties, dogs just always seemed so time consuming and needy.
Matthew and Whiskey our Goldendoodle neighbor in San Francisco. Frequently, when we would be waiting for the elevator, we’d get to spend a minute or two visiting with Whiskey.
I never thought I would adopt a dog.
Never!
And then Matthew started pining for a pup; his heart set on a yellow Labrador Retriever. Thankfully, our neighbors in San Francisco adopted an apricot Goldendoodle who was just the happiest little guy.
Doodle obsession begins…
We'd see Whiskey in the elevator or hallway pretty consistently. Soon Whiskey was a regular imaginary visitor to our apartment.
When we moved back to Tucson, we started researching the different types of Doodles and various breeders...with Whiskey's virtual imaginary guidance, of course.
During that year-long process, my attitude about adopting a puppy completely shifted. You would not believe how many Doodle videos I watched on YouTube!
I just knew that I was going to love being a dog mom. When we picked up Bernie, he was the most adorable little happy Australian Labradoodle. All three of us quickly bonded.
Puppy obedience class opens up our activity options…
In the late summer/early fall of 2016, we enrolled Bernie in an 8-week Puppy Obedience Class with Crystal Blaker of Ruff House Dog Training & Behavior Modification. Our little guy has a super excitable Doodle temperament; he wants to meet every dog and every person! We had our work cut out for us.
But did we pick the right trainer for us!
During the first class, Crystal shared details of her various experiences with dogs and trainings she’s attended. She is a dog trainer committed to her own professional development. She also talked about the various activities that dogs can participate in like tricks, agility competitions, and therapy work.
Prior to adopting Bernie, I had never considered what we might do with him besides love him as a family companion. I knew we'd be taking walks and I loved that idea. I find walks incredibly therapeutic. But I had never considered what other activities he might want to participate in because they bring him joy.
Researching dog hobbies
I started reading about various hobbies people participate in with their dogs. Nose work sounded engaging, but I couldn’t find any trainers near us holding classes. Others like agility and dock diving seemed better suited for people more athletic than I am. Tricks training appealed to me, mainly because there are so many tricks you can teach your dog, and they’re all cute!
But the activity both Matthew and I gravitated toward was therapy dog work. Matthew is a critical care nurse and I spent 20+ years in public education, so we both value careers where you serve others. We decided that volunteering to help others with our dog would be an ideal hobby for us.
I started looking into the work therapy dogs perform, the facilities they visit, the requirements of various therapy dog organizations, and more. Visit our About Therapy Dogs resource page for answers to the most frequently asked questions about therapy dog training and work.
Our dog trainer Crystal got Matthew and me thinking about how as a Doodle family we could have fun together while spreading some canine unconditional love.
She shared stories about therapy dog visits she and two of her pups would make.
Hearing her talk about the hospital patients who benefited from interacting with her dogs inspired both Matthew and me.
But first, we had some training work to do.
Okay, to be realistic, Bernie’s cup of Doodle Enthusiasm overflows…regularly. We had a lot of training to do!
Aiming for our Canine Good Citizen title
We graduated from Puppy Obedience Class, but decided not to try for certification in the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Program.
We thought some of the test items like calmly walking by other people and dogs would be too difficult for our exuberant pup. We didn't want to put too much pressure on him or on us.
Instead, we decided to set our obedience aim a little farther out. Since the Canine Good Citizen title is one that many therapy dog organizations either require as a prerequisite or hold in high esteem, we decided that we would spend time training for those ten test tasks.
Does Bernie want to be a therapy dog?
In all the research I did about therapy dogs, I kept reading about how therapy dogs have a demeanor that lends itself to helping others.
We started considering whether or not Bernie would like therapy dog work and if he would be good at it.
We got our answer last Christmas Eve.
Since we were all restless, around mid-morning we decided to pop over to La Encantada, a popular outdoor dog-friendly shopping mall in Tucson. While Matthew bought some Christmas goodies in AJ's Fine Foods, Bernie and I explored the mall.
We frequently visit La Encantada, so we're both used to dog-friendly people there wanting to meet Bernie. But on that Christmas Eve trip, we could barely walk.
Wave after wave of people came over asking if they could pet the little guy. Shockingly to me, Bernie sat still and let all of these strangers pet him. He was smiling, wagging his tail, and loving the attention. (Seriously, you'd think we never play with him or love on him at home!)
And we're talking many different kinds of people. Different ages, ranging from senior citizens to some elementary school children. Different genders. Different ethnicities. Bernie loved them all!
At one point, we were completely surrounded by people wanting to pet Bernie or ask me questions about him. I was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic, but not the Bernster. He just reveled in meeting everyone.
On a day when people were frantically trying to put together last minute details, I could see on their faces how much joy our little guy was bringing to them. They were relaxing and just enjoying his sweet personality.
That's when I knew that not only would Bernie excel at being a therapy dog, he would love doing the work.
And that’s when our training journey began.
Read about our adventures in Canine Good Citizen training…
