Therapy Dog

[_whits_]

On Friday Addie will be 4 months old. I can't believe I've already had her for four weeks, but I also can hardly remember my life before her.

She's been in puppy training for a couple of weeks now, and is doing really well. Especially considering I thought her short attention span was going to make training nearly impossible. Instead she just seems to pick up new commands really quickly. She is also absolutely in love with everyone she meets, especially kids. I'm really proud that she approaches everyone in a friendly but relatively calm manner.

I'm thinking I would really enjoy training her as a therapy dog because of how much she loves people, and how inherently gentle she is with strangers. I'd really like to see if I could find a way to get her involved with either visiting returning or wounded vets, or childrens' hospitals.

Do any of you have any experience with this? I know she'll have to go through more obedience training, and pass the Canine Good Citizen test, but beyond that I don't know the process or any specific organizations for therapy dogs. I want to get her (and her mom!) headed in the right direction.

[Dempsy's Mom]

A therapy dog would be a real accomplishment in your life, in Addie's life and so many just waiting to meet this little four legged angel. You won't regret this path that you have started. All the love you and Addie give will circle right around you both. Keep going and let us share in your experiences. Addie - your a cute smart looking little Cairn angel.

I will be watching and learning with you.

[bradl]

Cairns can indeed make good therapy dogs and I know we have some on Cairn Talk ... hopefully they will share their experiences and knowledge.

Delta Society and Therapy Dogs International are two good places to start, and the main organizations I'm aware of.

[Lynn in TN]

Kelly loves people too and has recently started barking at them if they don't pay attention to her.

[darkpantherbabe]

Sadie loves people and will go up to them wagging her tail but is a little bit hyper when first meeting people and even ppl she knows quite well.. except for me 'n the kids, she wont go to us hyper but will come to us happy and wagging her tail. Sadie is my daughter's at home therapy pet therapy dog(but i'm working on obedience to do the good canine citizen test with her).... I wish you all the luck with Addie in becoming a therapy dog.

[kjwarnold]

Packy isn't a certified therapy dog, but I have had him at nursing homes and he's a real gentleman. He likes to show off for them and act all cute and cuddly, but he's very gentle with them and seems to know which people he can play around with and which ones need more gentle licks. I even know one Cairn locally who is a diabetes alert dog. Cairns make great therapy dogs!

[_whits_]

An update on Addie's progress to therapy dog certification. Addie is now 8 months old. She started training the first weekend of August and - with the exception of holidays - has been in training every week since then. Addie and I have been extremely lucky as we found a trainer at Petsmart who has a Cairn herself and she has been incredible with helping Addie and I develop a great understanding of each other. Addie's been through puppy, intermediate and is now 6 weeks into advanced training.

Addie adores training. She gets bored fairly easily and tends to get destructive (or at least into trouble) when she gets bored, so training has been a wonderful tool to keep her mind occupied. She's learning lots of things. She absolutely loves loves loves any of the more utilitarian commands - she's even starting to learn how to pick up and put away her toys (although it looks like it might be a while til she masters it). She's also learning to read(!); technically she's learning to recognize the shapes of words like sit and down.

Training has been a long but very rewarding journey. I thought she'd never learn to walk calmly on a leash, let alone through crowds of people or in stores, but she's really starting to master it. She's still a puppy so it takes all her will-power to sit to be pet and we're still dealing with some jumping. But she is a remarkably calm and patient Cairn when she needs to be (in public) and compete insanity (in the best way) at home.

My trainer has told us Addie is well on her way to being able to pass the Therapy Dog International test once Addie turns a year old in April.

[hheldorfer]

Congratulations to you and Addie on your progress and good luck with the therapy dog test. Keep us posted and have a very Merry Christmas!

[Tuesday]

Congrats to you both!!!

[Zekey's Mom]

Let us know how it works out. And post pictures!!

My Dad was recently in the hospital for 10 days, and had 2 visits by therapy dogs. It really brightened up his days, and gave him and the family something else to talk about besides health issues.

I think Zekey would make a good therapy dog -- he's very approachable, and kids seem to gravitate toward him. Maybe someday. I just have to make the time to get us both trained.

[Dempsy's Mom]

That would be the ultimate accomplishment in my book. Good luck and keep us posted.

[Hawkeye]

So pleased to hear Addie's training is going so well. Congrats!

[_whits_]

I just have to make the time to get us both trained.

That is the best explanation of training I've heard. All these months, I swear I'm actually the one being trained. Addie knows exactly what to do from the first time her trainer shows her something, and it takes me about 10 - 15 tries to get it. Addie will even look at me sometimes like "Seriously mom? It's not THAT hard."