In defining a Therapy Dog, I've come across quite a number of terms. It seems each organizaton has its own version of how to use the term *Therapy Dog*. There is also mention of Animal Enhanced Therapy, Animal Assisted Activity and Animal Assisted Therapy to consider. I think the best thing to do is refer you to each organization's website and let you decide for yourself what should be called a Therapy Dog. Please follow the links and visit these organizations to see firsthand what they say. Meanwhile, we will be calling Helga a *Therapy Dog*.

KPETS.org (Keystone Pet Enhanced Therapy Services) "Animal Assisted Therapy or AAT use certified or registered volunteer team(s) of animal and handler who work with professionals in various health care disciplines to help facilitate patient healing and rehabilitation through specific care plans with goals and objectives. Progress is documented and measured. Examples of AAT are physical, speech and occupational therapies. Playing a tug game with a dog can improve strength. Range of motion can be worked on by tossing a toy for the dog to retrieve. Speech can be initiated by have the patient give commands for the dog to obey or say the color of the ball he is about to toss. The list continues with psychological, social and cognitive goals. Animal Assisted Activities or AAA is when certified or registered volunteer team(s) of animal and handler visit in a more casual activity. Example of AAA would be one-to-one visits with one team visiting one client at a time. Group visits are where one team visits with a group of patients. Much AAA is done by groups of volunteers who go together to visit patients one-to-one or in organized groups at a facility at a specific time. Putting on fun demonstrations of tricks, etc. to entertain patients in a group is another form off AAA." See referring page(owned and copyrighted by KPETS, please visit their site for more information) Watch the KPETS video

Note to Therapy Pet teams: if your membership in your national organization is expiring soon, you may become a member of KPETS and benefit from local support. Please contact info [at] kpets.org for more information.

Health - Pet owners are less afraid of being a victim of crime. Pet owners have fewer minor health problems and have better psychological well being because pets decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation. Pets are a major source of support and increase the perception of the ability to cope.

Heart Health - People with borderline hypertension had lower blood pressure on days they took their dogs to work. Having a pet may decrease heart attack mortality by 3%. This translates into 30,000 lives saved annually.

Family / Child Benefits - Positive self-esteem of children is enhanced by owning a pet. Cognitive development can be enhanced by owning a pet. 70% of families surveyed reported an increase in family happiness and fun subsequent to getting a pet. Companionship of pets (particularly dogs) help children in families adjust better to the serious illness and death of a parent. Children with autism who spend time around pets have more prosocial behaviors and less autistic behaviors such as self-absorption.

Senior Health - Medication costs dropped from an average of $3.80 per patient per day to just $1.18 per patient per day in new nursing home facilities in several states that have animals and plants as an integral part of the environment.

Reading / Learning - The presence of an animal can contribute to a therapeutic environment by drawing attention outward, turning off anxiety, anger, and depression; creating a zone of safety and intimacy; and increasing positive expectations of both self and others. The presence of a dog lowered the blood pressure of children reading aloud. Pets can buffer reactions to acute stress as well as reduce the perception of stress. Read about Andrew Vachs if in doubt!

Groups in addition to KPETS:

Love On a Leash For Therapy Pets (dogs, cats, birds, etc.)

TDI-Dog.org (Therapy Dogs International): "Since the term "Therapy Dog" has become a household word, confusion has arisen concerning these rights. Different organizations have been created, some have copied Elaine Smith's ideas and used the term "Therapy Dog" or even "TDI." Currently all dogs which are registered with TDI provide emotional service only! Laws in various states are confusing and often use the phrase "Therapy Dogs" to indicate dogs that may or may not be dogs used for emotional service. Laws have to be read carefully as sometimes the legislators are not aware of the difference between an emotional service dog and an assistance dog for people with disabilities. Emotional service dogs are the type of dogs which are registered with TDI. TDI dogs do not have the same rights as assistance dogs, which at times are also referred to as Therapy Dogs." See referring page. (owned by TDI, please visit their site for more info.)

Delta Society: "As you may know, the term "pet therapy" is outmoded and is no longer used. The term was misleading (we do not perform therapy on pets) and was used in situations where the interaction was clearly not therapy (only a credentialed therapist can provide therapy), even though it may have been therapeutic. The terms now used are animal-assisted activities (AAA) and animal-assisted therapy (AAT) Delta Society uses definitions that come from Standards of Practice for Animal-Assisted Activities and Therapy. Refer to "What's the difference between service, therapy, companion, and 'social' animals/dogs?" for current terminology." See referring page. (owned by Delta Society, please visit their site for more info.)

Therapy Dogs Inc. "The purpose of Therapy Dog Inc visits is to provide service in a volunteer capacity. Therapy dog visitations are so named because they provide a therapeutic benefit to the general public." See referring page (owned by Therapy Dogs, Inc.) Visit their site for more info.">

Each organization has its own set of requirements, so contact the organization you are interested in registering with for exact requirements. Generally, the dog must know obedience: come, sit, stay, down and walking on a loose lead, walking safely through a crowd, reacting well to crowds, other dogs, rough petting, loud noises, wheel chairs, wobbly crutches, walkers, etc .

Wisdom Passed Down to Me:

Obedience training and socialization should start from puppyhood. When training, keep in mind the age of the dog (if it is a puppy it will act like a puppy and that should be expected), and this should be fun. If the dog is not having fun, stop. Clicker training is a great positive way to start.. It can be started at any age! I noticed a difference in Helga's learning when we started with the clicker. It went so well, I'm even using it to train our cats!

Something to keep in mind is this isn't only about what the human wants to do, the pet also must want to do the work. Watch for signs of stress or displacement behaviors. If this is happening during training or socialization, you need to re-evaluate the situation and start in a less stressful environment for the dog/pet. If there is a point you are not having fun, chances are the dog/pet isn't either.

Another point to remember is YOU are your pet's advocate. It looks up to you to only place it in safe situations. If ever you have a sense something isn't right or going well, remove yourself and you pet immediately. If you have to provide an excuse to leave a situation, do so tactfully, but do remove the pet immediately, safely. Don't set the pet up for failure.

Contact your local organization or national group and hook up with other teams already registered to see if you would really like the work. You will get to observe and be a part without having your own pet there, less distraction and you will get to see what the work is really like.

Therapy Pet visitations are a wonderful experience. They brighten people's faces, and put a gleam in their eyes to see a pet come into their rooms. Each Therapy Pet Team has many stories they can tell of the difference their pet made in someone's day.

Therapy Dogs are not service dogs/ assistance dogs and do not come under
the Disabilities Act to be allowed in public places. Never try to pass
off a therapy dog as a service dog. To take a therapy dog or dog in training
to be a therapy dog into a public place, speak with a supervisor and explain
what you are doing, ask for permission to enter since your dog is not
a service dog. It is illegal to pass off a therapy dog as a service dog.
(see The Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) )

My own experience during the first 10 months has shown me have fun with it. At first I was very nervous with Helga, wondering how I was going to do the work. It made me feel uptight, and Helga reflected that energy.

Once I relaxed and looked to enjoy the visits, Helga did the same. The visits can be just a couple minutes with 1 person, or longer depending upon circumstances for that day. Relax, and enjoy it.

It is important to teach a dog to be polite . That includes being polite to other dogs. Having a dog that is friendly and running up to people and other dogs to say hi, is not polite and the people or dogs that are being rushed up into their faces are within their rights to complaint (if it is a human) or to bark and growl (if it is a dog). The offending culprit is the impolite-rush-in-someone's-face dog and owner. Another point to keep in mind is the dogs' age... it is many times part of the adolescence obnoxiousness that the handler is working the dog through.... and you know how well teenagers listen. (grin)

What is a proper greeting with humans and dogs? To greet a human, the dog should not be jumping up on them nor being *licky-licky*. A *kiss* is appropriate if the human is asked if they like doggy kisses. A dog never greets another dog in the face, nose to nose. They should meet from the side. A dog coming into another dog's face is an aggressive action and is rightly met with a warning growl or bark. Unfortunately you may come across some dogs (even therapy dogs)that were never taught how to be polite. You probably won't notice that, but you will hear the warning bark from the dog that was just rushed in the face with this aggressive action. Your first thought would be that
the barking dog is aggressive and isn't friendly, when in reality the offender is the rude dog that wasn't taught polite behavior by its owner. Take some time, read some books on proper greeting behavior. It will benefit you, your dog, and the people you will be visiting.

The Handler: The handler should have an interest in people and not be put off by a healthcare setting or other environment. The handler should also have good control of and communication with the pet. Handlers should be confident and natural in their interactions.

The Animal: A pet should have a basic level of training to ensure that it is reliable, predictable and controllable even in crowded or noisy situations. Its temperament and training are solid, and can be relied upon to behave well. Reactions are predictable and within an acceptable range. It remains under the handler's control even in an odd situation or emergency. Vocalizations such as continually barking, loud whining or howling, are considered indications of stress or aggression.

All pets must pass a screening of health, skills and aptitude. The health screening is done by a veterinarian and ensure that the animals are healthy and physically able to perform AAA/AAT.

General eligibility requirements are dogs and cats must have lived with the owner for at least 6 months and must be at least 1 year old. Two types of dogs are not eligible, those that have been trained to aggressively protect, and dogs that have been encouraged to bite even as a component of a working task or a competitive sport such as Schutzhund or French Ring Sport. The handler must be dressed appropriately and at least 10 years old to be evaluated.

Helping your pet work in new environments: you may have seen your star attraction at one site become clearly unhappy at another location. Why? Factors include 1. Socializaton. If an animal's environment is not varied a great deal, it will be more difficult to switch from one type of visiting site to another. 2.Personality. Certain dogs and cats will habituate to only one or two environments and that's all you can expect of them. Others are social butterflies, comfortable in all settings. 3. Reactions to body language. The pets could be reacting to cues from the people being visited. Also 4. A pet's breed or age can be significant.

It is a good idea to know and respect your pet's time tolerance. Some animals can visit 15 people in an hour and others burn out after 3 visits. An animal should not be required to do more than it's comfortable with. If an animal is not an active participant in a visit, it's not good for the animal and it's not good for the person being visited either.

The pet's needs must be considered before, during, and after all visits. The pet must be a willing participant in the interactions and must be constantly monitored for signs of fatigue or stress during visits.

For animals to do well at visits they must enjoy it. It is up to you to ensure that your animal maintains a happy attitude and is comfortable. The kind of work you will be doing can lead to burnout and stress for both of you. To protect your animal and to understand how you can reduce its stress, you must first be able to recognize signs of stress in animals. Even before showing signs of stress, some animals will display displacement behaviors, possibly to calm itself or nearby humans or other animals. Examples might include a cat licking lips or a dog yawning when faced with a person behaving erratically. Learn to recognize displacement behaviors to help you become a more proactive handler, being able to protect your animal and respond to its needs.

Train to minimize stress. Gradual desensitization is the best approach with new sights and sounds they will be encountering. Getting it use to something in small increments.

Take breaks. Provide short timeouts during all visits, before signs of stress or fatigue are seen. For dogs, a short walk outside or play time away from people. Provide fresh water. Monitor your animal's behavior throughout the visit. If you notice signs of stress or fatigue, immediately remove your animal from the setting and provide a timeout. If necessary, end the visit and note the problem so you can avoid it in the future.

After visits, provide exercise / play with no mental stress. Use touch or massage to encourage relaxation. Give a quiet undisturbed area to rest. Give at least 10 hours of rest before visiting again. Give regularly scheduled vacations from visiting. It is also a good practice to put at least a day between visiting one facility and another to prevent the spread of germs, bacteria, viruses from one place to the next.

To be continued......

Negative stress causes destructive physical symptoms and behaviors in us and in our animals. We need to learn to recognize these symptoms and take steps to alleviate the stress that causes them. The most important action you can take is to stop and listen to what your animal is telling you. Signs of stress can be panting or yawning, shyness, dilated pupils, lack of desire to socialize or reluctance to get in or out of the car. Signs of prolonged stress include moodiness, disruption of eating habits or excessive sleeping.

Sometimes the cause of stress is as simple as needing to get outside for a potty break.

Many times we contribute to our animals stress. Are your thoughts elsewhere Are you upset over something? Our emotions travel right down the leash and are picked up by our animals. They may think your stress is directed at them, become anxious and start exhibiting stress-related behaviors.
Assess your animal's state of mind before you even go on the visit. Stop and listen. Are you willing to cut the day's activities short if you need to for your pet's well-being? Sit down and realistically examine your goals and motivations for participation.

In all situations, your animal's comfort, safety, and happiness should be your primary concern. If at any time a person being visited behaves in a manner that puts your animal in danger, immediately and quietly remove the animal. Before visiting that person again, meet with staff members so you can share your concerns and resolve the problem. If a staff member ever asks something of your team that you are uncomfortable with, do not hesitate to say "no."

Like people, animals can become bored, fatigued, or burned out by their activities. Some animals can visit the same facility for years, others show stress or fatigue after a short while and need a change to visit a different facility.

A short term break is often all that is needed for animals that are in their prime. Introducing a new activity or just taking a break from everything for a couple months may be beneficial.

As your animal ages, her ability to adapt quickly to new people and environments may decline. Be aware of the changes your animal is undergoing as it ages and respect them. Retirement can be conducted in a gradual manner by decreasing the frequency or duration of visits. Continually assessing your animal's welfare and comfort is of the utmost importance.

I'll be adding more to this segment about preparing to become a therapy pet team, so please come back again soon! Meanwhile it would be greatly appreciated if you checked out the books I recommend above, and also peruse through some of the therapy pet clothing and items. :-) Thank you so much for visiting.