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Lots of people are interested in therapy dog training. Largely because they love their
dog so much and get so much joy out of having them that they want to share that joy with
others. For most organizations there's about four steps that you need to keep in mind to
prepare yourself for therapy dog training. The first is the human end of the leash needs
to be trained. You can take an in home study course or workshop from any of the organizations
that offer a pet partners team. And that will prepare both you and your dog for an evaluation.
Secondly you need to have a health check for your dog. Most hospitals require that your
dog within a year has received a full exam and health check, that they are up to date
on whatever vaccines you veterinarian requires and of course most states require the rabies
vaccine. We also have to make sure that therapy dogs are free of parasites and other diseases
because they will be exposed to people that may be in jeopardy or sensitive to such things.
When you're ready you're gonna take your evaluation. Keep in mind it's not just your dog that's
being evaluated. It's your skills and interfacing with the various clients and the various facilities
that you're interested in visiting. As much as many people want their dog to do therapy
dog work, what you do wanna consider is whether that's the right thing for your dog. Dogs
that do well with this type of work are dogs that are extremely friendly and love interacting
not only with you but with strangers. They also need to be comfortable in a variety of
strange environments and not be easily spooked by odd movements, loud noises or unusual sounds.
If you and your dog want to embark on being a pet partners team the best thing to do is
to get them socialized early on when they're puppies and to continue that training so that
your dog is extremely mannerly, under your control at all times and is having a good
time on his visits.