What makes a team suitable for animal assisted therapy work?

So often I hear people say “my dog is very friendly and would make a great therapy dog.” So I put my hand down for the dog to sniff and greet me, and he shows no interest in this other person at all. The owner tells the dog to say hello, pushes their dog to me and uses lots of words and coaxing.

When their dog tries to hide behind them or jump into their arms, they say something like “ My dog is just shy now but he is usually very friendly with certain people.”

That’s the key – to be a solid animal assisted therapy pair the dog has to want to truly be with other people all the time and know his owner is happy that he does love other people, and the handler has to never push their dog to do so.

So what does it take to become a successful therapy pair?

First we look at the Handler. The handler should:

• Have a genuine interest in people and not be put off by therapuetic settings.
• Have good communication skills both with clients and their dog.
• Be natural with their interactions with people and non-judgmental.
• Be friendly, smiling, making eye contact.
• Be very in tune with their animal’s response, behaviors, signals.
• Be confident in their ability to predict their animal’s behavior and control it.
• Never yell or use a loud voice with their dog or forcefully pull on the leash.
• Demonstrate gentle interaction with their animal and people.
• Be patient, relaxed and flexible.
• Praise, encourage and reassure their animal without offering treats or toys.
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  .
  Then we look to the dog. The dog should:

• Have a basic level of training to ensure that it is reliable, predictable and controllable, even in noisy, crowded, unfamiliar surroundings.
• Have a reliable temperament and behave well under any circumstance.
• Have reactions that his handler is aware of and can contol, such as jumping when doors open towards him.
• Remain under his handler’s control when something new or odd occurs. Emergencies happen all the time in the field, new sounds, people rushig by, other dogs they have never met – can the dog respond to his handler when all else is busting loose around him?
• Never show fear, aggression, shyness.
• Have a relaxed body and welcome handing by new people.
• Be minimally vocal.
• Be tolerant of handling by new people
• 

Why is it so important to evaluate pet teams based on these skills and behaviors? Because any time you are introducing a pet to the public, you are 100% responsible for that pet’s behavior.

That’s why Delta Society teams evaluations are based on how the person and pet behave together. A strong dog with a weak handler is not a suitable therapy dog.

For more information about Delta Society, visit their website

Sue Grundfest is a licensed Team Evaluator for Delta Society, the national animal assisted therapy program. If you would like to see if you and your pet are suitable for therapy work, please contact Sue at coco@cocothelovedog.com

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