Doggieland Play Park is partnering with our Non-Profit Doggieland Comfort Companions Therapy Dog Corp to provide therapy dog training and certification.

Doggieland Comfort Companions Therapy Dog is committed to providing training for your dog to become a certified therapy dog registered with the AKC.

Steps to Become a Therapy Dog Handler with Doggieland Play Park

  1. Before enrolling in therapy dog classes, your dog needs to master basic commands like sit, down, come, stay, and loose leash walking. The ideal therapy dog seeks out attention from everyone and can focus on you even when other dogs are nearby.

Evaluation Prerequisites

  1. A successful therapy dog enjoys being pet and hugged by a wide variety of humans and is comfortable in new environments.  Therapy dogs need to be able to focus on their handlers and clients, even if other dogs are nearby.  Prior to entering our workshop to learn about the evaluation, we require you and your dog to pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen Community or Urban evaluation.

 

  1. Enroll in Therapy Dog Evaluation Workshop

 

The Therapy Dog Evaluation Workshop teaches you what to expect during the evaluation. You and your dog will learn how the evaluation is scored and how to prepare. You will have the opportunity to do a practice run of the evaluation.

 

Workshop cost $3,400 includes:

-12 one on one sessions

-Doggieland Comfort Companions Therapy Dog testing.

-Specialty task preparation

-Unlimited group classes

-Certification

-Additional support

 

  1. Therapy Team Policies and Procedures Workshop

In this session, you’ll cover:

  • HIPAA regulations and volunteer requirements
  • Expected behavior at hospitals, schools, and nursing homes
  • Veterinarian requirements and evaluation fees

After the workshop, you’ll be ready to register as a volunteer and join our therapy dog community.

 

  1. Pass the Therapy Dog Team Evaluation

All teams are evaluated every three years to ensure ongoing readiness and safety. Upon passing the evaluation, you’ll officially join The Doggieland Comfort Companions Therapy Dog Group and enjoy full support from our staff to make your volunteer experience smooth and enjoyable.

Therapy Dog Assessment Process

Therapy dog qualifications

To be a registered therapy dog, your dog should be:

  • At least 1 year old
  • Friendly, affectionate, and enjoy being petted by strangers.
  • Calm, quiet, and well behaved, possessing basic “good manners” skills.
  • Clean and well groomed.
  • Comfortable traveling to new locations.
  • More interested in interacting with people than with other animals.

The therapy dog/handler team is a unit. A dog and handler train together, are tested together, and make visits together. This means that you, the handler, have requirements, too. A therapy dog handler should:

  • Enjoy interacting with people.
  • Act as your dog’s advocate, always putting your dog’s needs first.
  • Learn therapy dog handling techniques.
  • Dress and behave professionally.

Preparation classes include the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test. In the CGC test, dogs are expected to:

  • Accept being petted by a friendly stranger and sit politely for petting.
  • Be clean and well groomed.
  • Walk calmly on a loose leash.
  • Walk calmly through a crowd of moving people.
  • Sit and stay on cue; come when called.
  • Walk calmly past another dog.
  • Respond calmly to a noise distraction.
  • Remain calm while the handler leaves the room for 3 minutes.

Skills that will be tested

In this part of the test, dogs are expected to interact with people in a friendly way and:

  • Stay relaxed during an overall exam (thorough handling of all body parts).
  • Stay calm during exuberant, clumsy petting.
  • Stay calm during a restraining hug.
  • Stay calm and friendly during role-play with a person in a wheelchair.
  • Recover quickly from distractions like angry yelling, bumps from behind, or role-play with someone using a walker.
  • Stay calm while being petted by several people.
  • Ignore distractions like toys or food.
  • Accept a treat gently.

Therapy Dog Evaluation

Our therapy dog teams provide comfort, smiles, and emotional support in:

  • Hospitals and Nursing Homes
  • Libraries and Special Education Classrooms
  • After-School Programs and Schools
  • Corporate Events and Stress-Relieving Visits to Local Employers
  • Business Grand Openings and Other Community Events
  • Prerequisites
  • Age of Dog:  1 year and older
  • Prior Courses:  Canine Good Citizen, Therapy Team Evaluation Practice, Therapy Team Policies and Opportunities Workshop
  • Instructor recommendation required to enroll.  

 

Each handler and dog team will be evaluated to ensure they are ready to work in a variety of locations and situations.  All our instructors, at all levels, can assist you in preparing for this evaluation.

A dog can certify with more than one handler.  A second handler can join you for the therapy dog class for a nominal fee.  Each handler needs to test individually.