What Do Therapy Dogs Actually Do? An Interview with Monica Callahan (10+ Years of Therapy Dog Work)

While most of us have heard the term ‘therapy dog’, what therapy dogs actually do remains a bit of a mystery to many!

In this episode, I’ll be interviewing Monica Callahan to help us all gain a true understanding of what therapy dogs really do and how they improve lives everywhere!

MEET MONICA CALLAHAN

Monica Callahan has been a professional dog trainer for over 10 years and graduated from the Karen Pryor Academy in 2012. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. She is a current rally judge for the C-WAGS organization. In 2021, she graduated from the prestigious licensing program, Family Paws. Family Paws is geared toward working with families who are welcoming babies into families with dogs or continuing to keep toddlers and children safe and dog aware.

Monica also runs her own dog training business, Family Fido Dog Training. Monica helped start the MYR Airport P.E.T.S. therapy dog program in December of 2021. On top of all of that, The Hero Dogs was started by Monica and her husband to showcase the therapy work they do for first responders and crisis response.

Learn more about Monica and her work here: https://familyfidotraining.com/

WHAT DOES THE THERAPY DOG CERTIFICATION PROCESS LOOK LIKE?

Monica stressed that one reason she loves and believes so strongly in the Alliance of Therapy Dogs is because of their testing and certification process!

Many other tests and certifications are strictly behavior based, but ATD’s certification process chooses to focus on handler and dog relationship and temperament.

Monica emphasized that this type of certification process helps to more effectively approve only the dogs that can truly handle therapy dog work.

Of course, there are behaviors your dog should have a solid understanding of to become a therapy dog. Here are some things your dog should be able to do:

-Loose leash walking

-Responsiveness to handler, even in distracting situations

-Not jumping when greeted

-Not jumping when greeting someone sitting down (as is common in a therapy work situation)

-Not being startled by people rushing by (ie, nurses down a busy hospital hall)

Monica recommends ensuring that your dog could pass the Canine Good Citizen test as part of their therapy dog training!

As part of the Alliance of Therapy Dogs’ certification process, dogs are required to go through three different on-site (ie, senior citizens home, hospital, etc.) observations to ensure their capabilities.

WHAT DOES A THERAPY DOG DO & WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

While there isn’t one specific task a therapy dog does, their general role is to provide affection, comfort, and support to people in need.

This can be done in a variety of ways and in a variety of scenarios.

Here are some places where therapy dogs often do their work. ⬇️

-Hospitals

-Schools

-Offices

-Nursing homes

-Disaster areas

-Police & fire stations (more on that later)

-Libraries and more

Here are some of the specific things a therapy dog might do during their work. ⏬

-Be pet by people

-Play simple games with people

-Snuggle & cuddle with people

-Be groomed by people (especially those in rehabilitative situations working to improve or re-learn motor skills)

-Simply, be near people needing support and comfort

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