# We Passed!!



## Jaders (Jul 8, 2012)

Well I got all nervous for nothing.
We passed and Gunner is now a therapy dog!!! 
We have to do two more observations then off to the hospitals we go!!


----------



## Shade (Feb 20, 2012)

:congratulations: It's very rewarding


----------



## mehpenn (May 22, 2006)

Yay!! Congrats!!!


----------



## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

Congratulations! =) 
This is something I would like to do as Zeus is an ESA. 
If he is a support for me, I hope I can grow him to be support for others =) again good job!


----------



## Bear GSD (Apr 12, 2012)

Congratulations to you and Gunner!
That's awesome, I hope he got something special for a job well done!


----------



## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

That is awesome! Congratulations!


----------



## mandiah89 (Jan 18, 2013)

Congrats to you and Gunner!


----------



## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

Congratulation to both of you. Way to go Gunner!


----------



## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

Wonderful! Way to go Gunner.


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Jaders said:


> Well I got all nervous for nothing.
> We passed and Gunner is now a therapy dog!!!
> We have to do two more observations then off to the hospitals we go!!


Excuse my total ignorance, but what did he pass?

A therapy dog test, obviously but what did the test consist of and also, who gave the test? Was it an official government test or from some other organization?

Thanks!


----------



## Neko (Dec 13, 2012)

codmster, in our area/state they have to pass all levels of obedience, than they get tested in different situation like noise, lost of people, fear etc etc etc to see how they act, and if they snap. A very behaved and calm dogs would pass as they would not knock someone over especially a child or elderly. Some therapy dogs are trained to drop and not move if a child falls on it.


----------



## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Neko said:


> codmster, in our area/state they have to pass all levels of obedience, than they get tested in different situation like noise, lost of people, fear etc etc etc to see how they act, and if they snap. A very behaved and calm dogs would pass as they would not knock someone over especially a child or elderly. Some therapy dogs are trained to drop and not move if a child falls on it.


Thanks, what type of obedience test do they have to pass? Similar to a level of AKC or IPO - IPO1 or 2 or 3 or Novice, Open or utility? 

And what organization is the one that conducts the Obedience test?

And it must be an interesting test to see how the dog reacts to noise? Like the gunshot test in IPO?

How would the organization conduct the "fear" test? Fear of what?

Do they do any test for DA? I would think that would be a critical test for a Therapy dog.


----------



## Jaders (Jul 8, 2012)

thanks everyone!! I am excited to see when we fully get to go out and put smiles on faces. The observations can be discouraging just because we go to nursing homes and some of the residents have health problems, which for me, it is very hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn't understand me. But we have to work for the fun stuff right?




codmaster said:


> Thanks, what type of obedience test do they have to pass? Similar to a level of AKC or IPO - IPO1 or 2 or 3 or Novice, Open or utility?
> 
> And what organization is the one that conducts the Obedience test?
> 
> ...


There is many different types of therapy, and Gunner is not your typical " seeing eye dog ". He is a dog who will be wearing a vest stating that he is a therapy dog but he will be handled by me 100% . We will be entering (mainly) hospitals but could be a reading partner for children in school or at libraries. 

On Sunday, we met with a woman who was a TDI Tester/observer at 1:00 at PetSmart since it was raining cats and dogs. The PetSmart we met at was huge with a lot of space which was good for testing. A total of three dogs showed up to be tested. We did not know till arriving to the store that a humane society brought dogs and cats to be adopted. Talk about craziness!! Just listening and watching everything was already testing the dogs there being tested. In the back end of the building the TDI Tester/observer took each of us and tested us separately while the others waiting till their turn. This is how we got tested:
First the woman came up to the dog and let him sniff her. With that she asked if he had problems with feet,tail,and ears. Then she rubbed all over making sure that the dog didnt react in a bad way. Then she had a cane and walked past the dog, pretending to walk like one with a cane, making sure the dog wouldn't react to that. Then ran back and forth past the dog, again making sure know bad reaction. Next we had to walk up to a person and dog ( dogs on outside. My mom also came & her dog, who is a therapy dog also. My mom and dog was the person the testers walked up too, shook hands and walked past . I had to use a different dog since Gun and Lil Bit know each other ). Then we walked up down an aisle in a loose leash in heal position, slow normal and fast speed. All making sure the owner was in control. Plus the dog has to be on a reg. collar or martingale. No prongs or chokes ( eek I was really scared of this! But gun did great. Made sure I worked with him before we were tested with his prong. Kept him moving. But when we were waiting to be tested, last of course, gun was in a down and he started singing!!! If I tired to say quite or hush he would sing louder!! He is not very vocal so my mom and I were shocked. The last thing was do was the TDI observer sat down ( on boxes of cat litter) and had us first introduce ourselves then asked if she ( pretending to be a patient ) would like to pet Gunner. Then she patted him as if one would. 

All three dogs passed and we went straight to a nursing home to do our first meet and greet. We have two more to do before a tag will be given to him saying " I'm a therapy dog" . Paperwork will be filed and then we will get to start visiting the hospital for three hours a week. Lil Bit even has a picture Id to clip to her vest for the hospitals she goes too.

Here is a link to the website to find a TDI Tester/observer in your state.
http://www.therapydogs.com/Become_A_Member.aspx




Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## Jaders (Jul 8, 2012)

Bear GSD said:


> Congratulations to you and Gunner!
> That's awesome, I hope he got something special for a job well done!


He was extremely tired but I made sure he got lots of lovin and a yummy bone. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


----------



## codmaster (Aug 5, 2009)

Jaders said:


> ..............
> There is many different types of therapy, and Gunner is not your typical " seeing eye dog ". He is a dog who will be wearing a vest stating that he is a therapy dog but he will be handled by me 100% . We will be entering (mainly) hospitals but could be a reading partner for children in school or at libraries.
> 
> On Sunday, we met with a woman who was a TDI Tester/observer at 1:00 at PetSmart since it was raining cats and dogs. The PetSmart we met at was huge with a lot of space which was good for testing. A total of three dogs showed up to be tested. We did not know till arriving to the store that a humane society brought dogs and cats to be adopted. Talk about craziness!! Just listening and watching everything was already testing the dogs there being tested. In the back end of the building the TDI Tester/observer took each of us and tested us separately while the others waiting till their turn. This is how we got tested:
> ...


*Thanks* - now I got it.

They just want to make sure that you have a people friendly dog and one under reasonable control.

Sounds a little like the AKC CGC test but a lot less formal.

A picture ID for a dog! What a cool idea - will put a stop to all those imposter therapy dogs! Heh! Heh! 

*Big congrats to both you and your dog!*

Have fun visiting!!!!!!!!!


----------



## ken k (Apr 3, 2006)

Jaders said:


> thanks everyone!! I am excited to see when we fully get to go out and put smiles on faces. The observations can be discouraging just because we go to nursing homes and some of the residents have health problems, which for me, it is very hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn't understand me. But we have to work for the fun stuff right?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



congrats on becoming a T. D. inc. team, just a side note, they are not TDI, that's therapy dogs international,


----------



## bigd3077 (Aug 19, 2012)

Congrats!! It is a great accomplishment!!


----------



## 1sttimeforgsd (Jul 29, 2010)

Congratulations!


----------



## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

And more congratulations!  

You'll really be making a difference in these peoples' lives. Don't worry about feeling uncomfortable - when you see their eyes light up it just melts your heart.


----------



## Kayos and Havoc (Oct 17, 2002)

Congrats!!! Therapy work is very rewarding!


----------



## GSD mum (Feb 22, 2003)

You both are going to make a lot of people feel better and heal faster. *cheers*


----------

