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Often people use the terms service dog and therapy dog interchangeably. There is, however, a difference.

Service dog

A service dog is trained to aid an individual with a handicap of some type. It may be a guide dog to assist someone who is blind, pull a wheelchair, retrieve dropped items and/or assist with household chores.

Seizure alert dogs pick up on subtle cues informing the dog a change is about to take place. The dog communicates that pending change to the person by performing a trained behavior. This warning allows the person a change is about to occur giving him or her time to take precautions.

A hearing assistance dog will alert its person when someone is at the door, when the fire alarm sounds, the baby is crying or other sounds they are trained to respond to.

Service dogs give the individual they work with more confidence and independence. Service dogs are trained by organizations or private companies and then matched with an individual who needs assistance.

See how much you can learn about dog training when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don’t miss out on the rest of this great information.

Therapy dogs

Therapy dogs are also part of team. The dog and its owner help many different people by visiting nursing homes, hospitals, children’s homes, rehabilitation facilities, Paws to Read programs and more.

Their capacity to serve is nearly unlimited. They bring smiles to the faces of those they spend time with and many times it’s a therapy dog that initiates the beginning of small miracles.

One woman was visiting a children’s home and a young boy, who had lost his family in an accident several months earlier and hadn’t spoken a word to anyone since the accident, showed great interest in the dog. The handler moved her dog away from the group and the boy followed them. In a short time the boy began talking to the dog about the loss of his family. The entire staff was moved to tears with joy. The dog had not only brought comfort to the boy, but joy to the staff too.

Many therapy dog teams report experiences of visiting with people who normally showed no response when visited. Then the dog makes an appearance and those same people will often interact with the dog. These small steps can be the beginning of recovery.

Therapy dogs come in all shapes, sizes and ages. Purebreds and mixed breeds alike, any trained dog can apply to become a therapy dog. The dog must be friendly, have good manners and confident enough to handle an environment filled with unusual sights, smells and sounds. Therapy dogs must pass an evaluation, which tests for temperament, confidence and manners prior to being awarded the title of “Therapy Dog”.

Tip of the week: A good therapy dog class may require previous training because top therapy dog classes will have you and your dog visiting hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, children homes and more during its course. The course is used to condition and prepare both handler and dog how to handle the unexpected!