# interested in therapy/service for beamer



## cdonahue89 (Nov 9, 2007)

i would really like to get beamer some kind of job as a therapy dog. she knows her basic obedience on leash, she is great with all kinds of people. the reason for my thoughts about this was the other day at the vet there was a little boy with downsyndrome who took to beamer & was hugging her & laying on her & she was AMAZING with him. she layed down & let him do whatever to her. she can be hyper though at times (she is only 15 months old). is there anything like this that i can get her involved in in maine? im not sure but am under the impression that dogs have to be puppies to do this, they cant start as adults.

any info would be great


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## Pascha (Sep 28, 2008)

ah, dogs are wonderful that way. I remember a time (brief time) when I didn't have a dog of my own. I was having one of those days and went for a walk. 

And there he was, a huge Dane mix, just sitting there along the edge of someone's yard. The owner was raking leaves, and stopped and watched as I sat and put my arms around that huge dog and laid my head on his shoulder. 

We sat there like that for a few minutes til I started feeling better. The owner just stood there and watched as I walked away. He probably thought I was retarded or something.....


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## cdonahue89 (Nov 9, 2007)

aw







that is so cute! i just felt like beamer could be so good for someone who needs a friend


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I'd be interested in hearing about this too. Once Cash gets over his adolescence I think he'd make a great therapy dog.


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## Skye'sMom (Jul 11, 2004)

Therapy and service dogs are quite different. Service have long, specific training periods and serve one person. They are at the top of the heirarchy for dogs (in my opinion) and go with their human everyplace.

Sounds like your dog has the markings of a great therapy dog. In general, to begin therapy dog training the dogs have to be at least a year old - so this is a good time to begin.

I'm not sure where you live, but google therapy dogs and your county/state or go to one of several registering sites to find more information.

Some of the registering groups are :

Delta
TDI, INC
TDI, International

Also - call your local nursing homes, hospitals or schools and ask if they use therapy animals. If they do, ask for the name of the group they use and contact them.

There may also be programs near you that train and certify you and your dog. That would be even better - it takes a lot of knowledge to be a really good partner to your dog. I am not talking about training to pass a short test, I mean 8 weeks or so of classes that teach disease control, effects of stress on our animals, etc.

If you would like to check out the program I work with (and evaluate animals with) just click on the link below.

We are local, but it will give you an idea of what to look for. My personal partners (a gsd and a golden) work with me in librairies, health centers, and with a handicapped softball league.

Lots of us on the board have therapy dogs, registered or certified and all will tell you it is a wonderful way to give to the community.

Good luck - let us know what you find in your area.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

first step is to get her cgc







and go from there with one of the organizations and info that skye's mom listed above. my male is in the process now of becoming a therapy dog.

here is a link to the test items that she'll have to pass (just for the cgc portion, there are other requirements, observations and training for handler and dog to become a certified therapy dog / join a team)

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm

good luck, its a very rewarding experience... we've already done 4 class room visits at an elementary school - 2 of them being special ed. i keep in touch with the teachers and send them photos of tildens and updates on his progress to share with the classes. i let them know while i was doing a presentation on responsible pet care that they were in fact helping tilden become a therapy dog and the ones that could understand thought that was the coolest thing ever.


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## cdonahue89 (Nov 9, 2007)

you know whats funny, we had a big meet the dogs thing here a few weeks ago & they were doing cgc testing. my grandma told me to take beamer bc she was so convinced beamer would pass, & i ended up sleeping in & not going. ahh! that makes me so mad!

i am very busy (we have a toddler) & as much as id love to do it with beamer, i probably couldnt devote the time. when i was looking at the websites, they all said that its owner/dog. maybe i read it wrong? but is there a way i could like, donate beamer, lol. without having to give her up permanantly of course. like a few days a week type thing, that i could drop her off for?


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## cdonahue89 (Nov 9, 2007)

sorry, id rather ask it here than email & sound stupid asking one of these places. haha. but i did look on the websites.







thanks for the links everyone.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: chelsbut is there a way i could like, donate beamer, lol. without having to give her up permanantly of course. like a few days a week type thing, that i could drop her off for?


lol, no, its a team commitment. to 'donate' her would be to actually donate!


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## cdonahue89 (Nov 9, 2007)

thanks for the info. maybe in a while ill be able to have the time to do it with her.


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## Skye'sMom (Jul 11, 2004)

Having an active therapy dog (animal) is a great committment. People really become dependant on seeing them - it makes a wonderful difference in their routines.

You are wise to know this is not the right time for you to become involved in animal assisted therapy.

Maybe later in your life the timing will be better. Thanks for asking about it!


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

My Golden was a therapy dog for 6-7 years. It depends on the programs, we were involved with a few different ones but generally the time commitment is about 1-2 hours a week (plus driving time.)


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