How To Become A Therapy Dog
— a guest post by Bryn the Goldendoodle
Therapy Dogs are just like you and me. They are regular family dogs that like to help others.
Humans would say that they are animals that are trained and registered through special therapy organizations. I say Therapy Dogs are just great dogs who learned how to help people be just a bit happier, and feel just a bit better.
Therapy Dogs help out in different healthcare and educational situations. With our special human partners, we visit schools, hospitals, nursing facilities, retirement homes . . . even disaster areas. While there, we simply visit, make new friends, and reconnect with friends we made on earlier visits.
I know I am preaching to the choir when I say that we dogs are very powerful. We love and help our human families every day. As therapy dogs, our visits also help people we don’t know. Here are some ways we help others.
Just by simple visits, we help people:
- feel less lonely and depressed
- reduce their anxiety
- feel entertained
- enjoy a happy distraction
- have something to look forward to, and
- increase their social interaction.
We can even lower a person’s blood pressure and help increase their physical movement by encouraging others to pet us. All you have to do is look cute, be friendly, and stay on your best behavior. Isn’t it great being a dog!
Do you want to help people? And get lots of petting and lots of love? Then you should become a Therapy Dog.
First you need the support and commitment of a human who is willing to take time out of their schedule to do this with you. Together you will go for training, and then do the wonderful visits. You know this means extra car rides and treats!
There are many different training programs and trainers. Just have your human do an online search for “therapy dog training near me.”
