What is a Therapy Dog?
A therapy dog is a Pet that has been trained to be a Working dog, with a very specific temperament, to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, hospices, disaster areas, and to people with learning difficulties.
Therapy dogs are dogs who go with their owners to volunteer. From working with a child who is learning to read to visiting a senior in assisted living, therapy dogs and their owners work together as a team to improve the lives of other people.
Therapy dogs are different than Service dogs. Service dogs are dogs who are specially trained to perform specific tasks to help a person who has a disability. An example of a service dog is a dog who guides an owner who is blind, Diabetic Alert, or a dog who assists someone who has a physical disability. Service dogs stay with their person and have special access privileges in public places such as on planes, restaurants, etc. Therapy dogs do not have the same special access as service dogs.
Our Therapy dog program is perfect for the person that wants a trained therapy dog ready to become their pet partner.
We recommend the 16-week Foundational Program" for anyone wanting a puppy to partner with as a Therapy Dog.
There are three different types of therapy dogs:
The first and most common are "Therapeutic Visitation" dogs. These dogs are household pets whose owners take time to visit hospitals, nursing homes, detention facilities, and rehabilitation facilities. Visitation dogs help people who have to be away from home due to mental or physical illness or court order. These people miss their pets, and a visit from a visitation dog can brighten the day, lift spirits,
and help motivate them in their therapy or treatment with the goal of going home to see their own pets.
The second type of therapy dog is called an "Animal Assisted Therapy" dog. These dogs assist physical and occupational therapists in meeting goals important to a person's recovery. Tasks that a dog can help achieve include gaining motion in limbs, fine motor control, or regaining pet care skills for caring for pets at home. Animal Assisted Therapy dogs usually work in rehabilitation facilities.
The last type of therapy dog is called a "Facility Therapy Dog". These dogs primarily work in nursing homes, dental and medical offices and are often trained to help keep patients with Alzheimer's disease or other mental illness from getting into trouble, or calm during procedures. In our expereince, we have many teachers and School Administrators who find a Facility Therapy Dog to be invaluable in their schools and classrooms. They are handled by a trained member of the staff and live at the facility.
Therapy Dogs must:
Be well tempered
Not shed excessively...this is why our Habibi Bears make Great therapy dogs
Well socialized (exposed to many environments)
Love to cheer others up!
We've trained many Therapy Working Dogs in Our Habibi Pup Academy and we'd love to Train a very special puppy for you to partner with as well.
Service Dog
If you are needing a trained service dog, you will need to submit your online application.
Once that has been approved, we will set up a phone conference to determine if we can meet your specific need and go over pricing for this program.
Keep in mind, when you are requiring a SERVICE or THERAPY trained puppy, we must focus on temperament first. This is a prerequisite for all families accepted into this program. Not all puppies are the same, so color is not going to be an option.
Our primary focus is Phase I Service Dogs, these are:
- PTSD Assist
- Emotional Support
- Comfort Dogs
- Diabetic Alert
- Seizure Response
- Mobility Assist
- Autism Support Dogs
- Basic Service Dogs trained specifically to assist the needs of our special needs clients, primarily children.
SERVICE DOG PROGRAMS have three Phases:
We ONLY TRAIN Phase 1 Service Dogs for distance training. Local clients can be accepted for Phase II & III, on a case by case basis, as this will require working with the client for a year or longer. It cannot be done long distance.
Diabetic Alert Dog Program
This is a 16 week-PHASE I program.
Initial Consult to determine qualification. Once accepted, we will match you with a puppy and they will begin The 16-week Foundational Puppy Program. This is generally for puppies 2 months of age and takes approximately 4-6 months to complete. Once complete, we will hand deliver your puppy to you and provide two days of training for you and your puppy.
**If you are long distance and have a need for PHASE II or III- This will be done by a trainer that YOU, the client hire in your local area.**