Therapy dogs can be purchased by professional organizations that will specifically train the dog for your child. They spend six to eighteen months specifically training the dog to the child’s needs, it requires much dedication and for the handler to spend a week sometimes at the organizations location, working alongside a trainer with their new dog
Getting a full service dog from a professional provider though is no easy task; the waiting lists are about one to two years, and cost anywhere from 5000-10,000 dollars. This may not be an option for those without this kind of money, and who do not have the time to wait.
The alternative is finding your own suitable dog.
If you have dog training experience you can train the dog yourself, or spend a few hundred dollars going to a professional to teach your dog the basic manners.
Check with local rescues and shelters for certified therapy dogs, or dogs that have earned the canine good citizen award papers which is a test provided by the AKC, The test is acceptable qualifications for a dog entering therapy work. This way you know the dog has already been qualified, and are helping with the over population of dogs in shelters. This can take several months also. Even if a dog does not have the papers saying it is qualified does not mean it cannot receive this.
Therapy dogs are not exclusive to one breed or another.
Choice comes down to temperament and personality. A popular choice is a Golden Retriever. There are Golden Retriever Rescue organizations throughout the country. These rescue groups often receive Golden Retrievers whose owners can no longer care for them. Golden Retrievers are one of the most popular choices for a therapy dog because of their temperament, intelligence and desire to please.
Contact local breeders see when the next liter is due to occur this way if you can’t find a dog in the shelter in a few months you can start tabla rusa. Higher a trainer if you do not have the experience or time. Even just getting some basic manners is a good place to begin, and is not that expensive in comparison to the thousands it costs to have a professionally trained full service dog. When looking into breeders, you need to look into them though to know what they are doing, how often do they breed, what are the conditions, and hopefully they only breed a few breeds.
More information selecting a therapy dog.
This article is part of a four part series.
NJ Therapy Dogs -Therapy Dogs in NJ - Therapy Dogs International - 88 Bartley Road, Flanders, NJ
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