How a Dog Becomes a Therapist

Have you ever asked this question? Were you just curious or were you considering your dog companion could do it? In this article, you will learn basic information – what nature the dog needs to have, what it has to handle and how to start with Canis therapy.

It’s a well-known fact that contact with dogs is beneficial for humans’ mental and physical health. Canistherapy is a treatment method with such contact and it has various uses. Dog canistherapists often go to orphanages, retirement homes, sanatoriums, hospice care institutions, institutions for physically and mentally disabled people and other similar places.

Of course, not all dogs are suitable to be therapists. If your dog shows any signs of fearfulness or aggression, you should rather focus on another activity together. However, if your dog companion is calm, well-balanced and obedient and loves contact with humans, you may consider canistherapy.

Dog therapist obviously has to be completely healthy and older than 15 months. It can be any breed or a mongrel. Its size is also not important. However, you and your dog should definitely be quite patient.

Besides suitable nature, the dog also needs to be well-socialized and well-mannered. It should be well controllable and it needs to obey the commands for the first time even in a noisy environment. It should also handle new environments, noises and situations with ease. Canistherapy is about physical contact – stroking and cuddling. The dog should be able to accept it calmly, patiently and gladly even from strangers. It is also a good thing to let the future therapist get used to slight pulling of hair, ears or skin to be ready for this kind of situation if it occurs.

Basically, the only special skill the dog therapist needs to learn is being able to stop playing and positioning. When you don’t know what to do next, you can make use of any canistherapy school that focuses on this.

If you still think you and your dog have everything necessary and you are ready to dive in, try to pass the exams you need to be able to practice canistherapy. Every company may include different disciplines, so don’t forget to check in advance what you are going into.

Related articles

Yoga with a dog, or doga in other words

Doing yoga with a dog, or doga in other words (the combination of “dog” and “yoga”), has become popular in the United States of America, but it has not become so popular in the Czech Republic yet. What is it about and what benefits does this sport have...

How to prepare a cat for winter

Days are getting colder and it is time again to prepare our furry friends who live outdoors for winter. All cats (whether they live outdoors or only go outside occasionally) need our greater attention in this season.

Little big loves – how to feed them the best?

Each dog is an individual and has different needs. When it comes to diet, it depends on its health condition or physically demanding activities. However, we can generalize these needs to a certain degree according to a breed, age and mainly the size of...

Rabbits also have a holiday dedicated to them

The International Rabbit Day is celebrated on the fourth Saturday or Sunday in September. This year, it was 22 September. This annual celebration of a cute mammal with long ears, short tail and a velvet coat is not only meant for the million of rabbits...

BARF, i.e. back to nature by food

Do you also follow the recent trend which encourages us to come back to our roots and mind our planet more? I am personally very happy about that. More and more households live according to zero-waste and non-toxic principles and we don’t forget about...