Dogs are amazing animals. Not only does a dog provide you daily companionship, but it can also be a loyal protector that offers humans warm service. A therapy dog may appear in a hospital, playing fetching games with patients; you may witness his function as a sounding board with children in an orphanage. What is the exact definition of a therapy dog? How to train your dog into one of the heroes? How does the dog feel about his job? This article will present everything you want to know about the therapy dog!
Definition
Supporting people in need, therapy dogs offer affection and comfort in areas like hospitals, schools, hospices, retirement homes, and war zones. It usually takes several tests to get a certificate before gaining access to the public areas they are going to serve. Assessments target the dog’s ability to staying comfortable with lots of people, and to removing out inside distractions.
Different types
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Emotional support dogs
For the people who suffer from mental disorders, this type of dog will provide them with an unconditional companion. Individuals with depression, anxiety, and stress benefit from the therapeutic support from the kind creatures.
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Therapy dogs
Staying at hospitals or nursing homes, the dogs are taking the role of bringing comfort to patients with physical diseases. They often remain with therapists and assist the individual in achieving the recovery goals after operations.
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Service dogs
Serviced dogs have a good reputation for their desirable behaviors in helping disabilities. There is an array of service dogs can provide to surprise people–from visual assistance, hearing to seizure response, and mobility support. Dogs with special duties have access to almost all occasions unless they may interfere with safety conditions.
Do they enjoy their job?
Dogs provide invaluable meaning to adding the possibility of patients’ recovery. People adore them for their companionship and unconditional love, how does the dog feel about his job? When a dog is taking part in various activities that benefit the human, will he feel stressed?
Researches show that dogs tend to enjoy participation. A stress hormone extracted in dogs’ saliva indicates that dogs don’t release stress signals when they work with people in need. On the contrary, they send out friendly messages by physical behaviors such as licking the hand, tail wagging, and the willingness to interact with people.
How to train your puppy into a therapy dog?
Keep in mind that not all dogs are good at helping others. Breeds and personalities make vast differences. An ideal therapy dog is well-tempered, groomed, and obedient. Firstly, you have to Understand a Dog’s Temperament. With proper vaccines and inclination to socialization, dogs may need to get certificates from specific institutions. Before getting to that step, adequate training can make your dog calm and friendly. Here are some tips on training a therapy dog on yourself.
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Socialization
Adapt your dog to the interaction with both humans and other dogs. Start the training from an early age, ensure consistent dog exposure to humans in different locations. Human friends with various backgrounds can help your dog get used to meeting with the unfamiliar. To take the role of being therapeutic, make the dog familiar with rehabilitation devices such as crutches and wheelchairs.
Interactions with other peers are beneficial for your dog’s personality. Bring him to a dog park regularly to develop his ability to deal with stress–conflicts occur between dogs from time to time. Besides, interaction with dogs before having various human friends is a necessary first step.
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Do specific training
Consider using a clicking sound to indicate a command. This practice improves the communication effectiveness between you and your dog. Combined with a positive(or negative) treat, clicking when you want the potential therapeutic to complete a task.
