Lastnight I went to observe the therapy dog testing just to see what Gypsy and I would be up against. She could have passed if I had taken her to be tested. It was so easy. All they did was have someone in a wheelchair, and they had the handler bring the dog up to that person to see how they reacted, and then they had that person come up to them in a walker, and then another person come up to them in a walker acting kind of crazy. That was it.
There were only two dogs being tested. One was a senior golden retriever and the other was a small, shy lab mix of some sort. The golden was VERY interested in the other dog, and kept trying to pull his handler over to her, but didn't show any signs of aggression, so he passed. The other dog, while a bit skittish of the wheelchair and walker, was very friendly towards all of us, and passed. The testers said that her skittishness could be worked on. The people had only had her for two months.


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The only thing that sort of bothered me about the testers was that they were a big ignorant about a lot of things that they opened their mouths about. For example, they asked what breed Gypsy was (I took them a picture), and I told them. They said that there was no breed discrimination by TDI, unless you had a wolf or wolf-hybrid (those are not allowed), but that they (personally) were a bit leary of pit bulls because, "like wolf dogs, they can just 'snap'." Well, I kept my teeth firmly planted on my tongue on that one, but it irked me because to be involved in dog shows and agility and all the things that they are involved in, they should be a little more knowledgeable about dogs than that. I agree that wolf hybrids and wolves have no place doing therapy work because they can revert back to their wild instincts and possibly hurt someone, but come on! Pit bulls, or any other breed, do not just 'snap' out of the blue one day unless there is a physical problem (like rage syndrome), bad breeding, or abuse. I mean, you put a lab, or a border collie, or even a golden in the same situations as many pit bulls and see if they don't just 'snap' one day. If brought up in a loving environment, pit bulls are just as stable as any other dog.

Another thing they were kind of dumb on was collars. The lady with the golden had a choke collar on her dog that was 1) too big for him and 2) too heavy a gauge to deliver an effective correction. The tester pointed out that it was too big and suggested that she either get a smaller one or one of the limited choke buckle collars, which, she said, were expensive and could only be ordered online. That's hogwash because both Superpetz and Pet Supplies Plus carry them, and I think the new pet store where I got Gypsy's life jacket carries them too. I suggested something like a Volhard collar, and she didn't know what that was, so I had to explain. She just shrugged it off and told the lady to get one of the flat buckle limited choke collars. I highly doubt the lady could handle the dog with one of those because it was all she could do to keep him away from the other dog when he tried to pull her over there. But oh well.

I am looking forward to having Gypsy do it in August. I've got a private session scheduled with a trainer for next Tuesday, just to work on a few little things, like getting her to ignore other dogs while on leash, and to work through her confusion about sit and down.

Not all testing and testers are the same. Some are much more aggressive with the dogs, pulling ears and tails and such. I have seen some require off leash obedience most don't. I even saw one that required the handler to allow the tester to work the dog. None of those things are in the testing manuel, but still may be done. Just be well prepared and roll with the punches. Also required, I think for all the therapy organizations, is some site visits with the dog and tester.

The new TT requires a follow up to prove you've done some visits, as Richard said. I've see to many testers that had no business doing it. Sounds like you met a few.

Ment Therapy Dog. Not TT. They both can have the same lousy testers either way.

Thanks. I did ask her questions about obedience and all that, and she said that formal obedience was not necessary. As long as the dog was under control, that was fine; they didn't even have to know any formal commands like 'sit'.

She also said that the dog must be on a leash at all times UNLESS it knew tricks or lots of commands and you were going to 'put on a show' for the person/people you were there to see. That was the only time they were allowed to be off leash. She also said that I, as the handler, was the only one allowed to hold the leash.

They did handle the dogs' tails and ears, but nothing to the extent that she couldn't handle. No jerking or tugging. She would be going only to nursing homes and such, since she's a bit leary of children, so I'm not too worried about that.


Tonight is when I have the private session with the trainer. We'll see what she can suggest as far as getting Gypsy desensitized to other dogs being around while she's on-leash. That's Gypsy's only major problem.

The therapy dog organization around here is a lot stricter than that. They do test with a wheelchair, walker, crutches and with lab coats. They also have:

--the dog around a wheelchair when a child runs up to it with a stuffed toy and someone drops metal pans behind and to the side of the dog.

--the dog must avoid "cookies" and other food on chairs etc (because a lot of times the medication is in the foodstuff in hospitals etc.

--the evaluator has a lab coat on and bends over the dog touching it every where.

--they test the dog with children

--they test the dog with a person who is completely non responsive to outside stimuli

--they test the dog with a crowd circling in on the dog -- with the walkers, the crutches and the lab coats

--they also test with four dogs minimum at a time. The people are placed in a square and have to cross pathes with eachother -- much like a busy intersection. All dogs must behave. They also have to meet and greet the people and the dogs are on either side and must behave.

There are other things they do, but that is all I can think of at the moment. I find the test you are going to is not testing for much.

Breed discrimination is everywhere. When I volunteered to train at a service dog school, I was told I was not allowed to OWN a dobermann or to participate in tracking. That was the bias (stupidity?) of the school owner.

Other times it is the perception of the people in the district. If no one in the hospitals want a certain breed, they can't do anything about that.

Well, lastnight we went to the trainer's for our first private one-on-one lesson. Gypsy did WONDERFULLY. Just before our private lesson was a puppy class, and they were just finishing up when we got there. Gypsy did fine in the car with all the puppies coming out, with the exception of raising the hackles on her shoulders, which I promptly pushed back down and told her NO hackles.

We went in, and started out just introducing her and myself to the clicker-treat system, which I've never used. Gypsy took right to it, so that's how we're going to work on getting her to look at me. She still doesn't quite understand the whole behavior = click = treat idea yet, but lastnight was just an intro to it. They used little pieces of potroast as the treats because it's cheaper, healthier, and easier to work with. Gypsy loved it.

Then, they introduced the SENSE-ation harness as a way to get Gypsy to turn around towards me when we see another dog, because just the leash and collar was actually making her behavior worse. It worked excellently, but because of wanting to do therapy work, I think I may try to get her to wear a Gentle Leader because any kind of body harness is not allowed for therapy work. I'm not sure why, but that's what I was told.

They brought out one of their dogs, a German Shepherd, and showed me how to react when Gypsy saw the other dog. She never put her hackles up or acted aggressive, but they kept the other dog at a good distance away.

I'm excited, because I'm sure we can lick this. I also received the book "Fiesty Fido" from Amazon.com yesterday. It's all about dealing with on-leash aggression, so maybe it can help as well.

I can't wait to get her in the Obedience II class and take the CGC test with her!!

The testing you described sounded at best strange. I have one dog now that I am putting through a training program from a certified therapy dog org. The training materials come to your home and after completing the training plan you take your dog to an evaluator. The testing is very simalar to CGC. You are not allowed to use a training collar of any sort for the testing, and the dogs must have been in your ownership for at least 12 months. They do not require your dog to be off leash. I guess there are different methods to evaluating but this program that we are involved in is pretty sound. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I guess I should pay more attention when reading posts <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> I did not see where you said your dog has problems with children. Having been doing this type of training for awhile, and of course I do not claim to be an expert. The dog must tolerate EVERYTHING, if you truley want a therapy dog. I don't know how old your dog is, but children are one thing they must accept. Therapy dog training is very similar to service dog training. Mine get taught certain tasks just like a service dog would, but of course the law does not provide for them to be allowed access the same as a service dog. You said that you will be primarily using your dog in nursing homes, well I work mine in that area too, BUT believe me you come in contact with many children. You are working with a trainer and that is good. The testing depending on who is doing it can be tough and the dog must be willing to accept anything the evaluator throws at it. I watched one test where they even had used CATS, yes CATS. The reason was that if you do home visits to people and they themselves own a cat the dog must learn to ignore it, they don't have to like the cat but like I said they must ignore it. I have also seen many other distractions thrown at them. It is alot of work and not all dogs can do it. If you stay focused on getting your dog to accept everything then you are on your way. I am not going to comment on the gentle leader because someone might SLAP ME UP , but I don't like them and never will. When I started my dogs I used yes a pinch collar, because I was taking the untypical breed that you do not see doing this type of work very often and showing the general population that it is possiable and dogs should not be discriminated against because of their breed. Now it is just a flat collar, but then again that is my way. You sound like you are commited to getting your dog certified and I give you great commendation for that. Work hard and if your dog is suited for this type of work the benefits you yourself will feel from this cannot be described in words. Good Luck to you <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I understand what you're saying about the Gentle Leader. I don't much like them either, but since TDI doesn't allow prong collars (which I've always used), I may have to go with the GL. I may change my mind and get one of the SENSE-ation harnesses just for working with her leash issues when we meet another dog, but I haven't decided yet. I do have a martingale collar that I thought I could use for the testing and for visits, but I haven't actually used it on her yet. I'm still undecided as far as that goes. lol

She doesn't really have 'problems' with children. She just can't seem to stand still around them; she thinks children are here for one purpose - to play!!! And when she encounters a child, she's reluctant to just sit still and let them pet her. She'd rather run around and try to get them to play. She's never tried to bite a child, or an adult either. I just think she'd be better off in nursing homes and such, with adults. She is calm around them, and there's less chance of anyone getting hurt because she isn't bouncing around.

She's fine with cats, so that wouldn't bother me even if they did throw one in. lol