What is a Therapy Dog?

A therapy dog is a dog that is trained to provide affection, comfort and support to people, often in settings such as hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, libraries, hospices, or disaster areas.

Therapy dogs are not service dogs. In contrast to service dogs, which are trained to assist specific patients with their day-to-day physical needs, therapy dogs are trained to interact with all kinds of people, not just their handlers.

Any dog of any breed or mix of breeds with these qualifications is a good candidate to be a therapy dog.

Therapy Dog Training with the GFDTC

The Grand Forks Dog Training Club has an affiliated member who is approved to provide Therapy Dog testing through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD). Periodically throughout the year, the club hosts a seminar to introduce the process to those interested.

The membership process with the ATD involves the handler/dog team passing the handling portion of the test, followed by three successful supervised visits in the field. At this point, the handler sends the membership packet with appropriate fees to the office, whereupon ATD has sole authority in accepting the team for membership into the organization. Upon acceptance, the newly registered team receives a membership card, a certificate, and a heart-shaped tag for the dog’s collar to be worn when representing ATD.

The team may only begin visiting after receiving this packet.

Therapy dogs are not considered service dogs and do not have the legal access rights that service dogs have. An ATD member who misrepresents his/her registered therapy dog as a service dog violates the ATD Rules and Regulations and puts his/her membership and the organization's integrity at risk.

Therapy dogs are personal pets that meet certain requirements of good manners and good health and pass testing and evaluations:

Therapy dogs must:

Be at least one year of age
Be good around other dogs
Listen to their handlers
Allow strangers to touch them all over
Not jump on people when interacting
Walk on a leash without pulling
Do not mind strange noises and smells
Be calm for petting
Not be afraid of people walking unsteadily
Be current on all vaccines required by local laws
Have a negative fecal test and physical exam every 12 months
Be clean and well-groomed

What is the Alliance of Therapy Dogs?

ATD is an international registry of certified therapy dog teams. ATD provides testing, certification, registration, support, and insurance for members who volunteer with their dogs in animal-assisted activities.

Want to learn more about Therapy Dogs?

Contact Lee by email at leeandersonbtc@gmail.com