Are you looking for ways you and your dog can help serve your community? The K-9 Caring Angels’ mission is to provide highly trained and caring dogs to share their love with people in need. As a volunteer-based organization, handlers and their dogs offer their time to visit assisted living facilities, hospice, fire stations, schools, and anywhere some canine affection is needed!

The K-9 Caring Angels therapy dog training program is not service dog training.

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Skills Learned in Our Therapy Dog Training Program

Sit Means Sit Apex has been certified by K-9 Caring Angels to test and certify dogs as “Therapy Dogs.” Tests are held quarterly and performed at locations out in public. In order to pass the Therapy Dog certification, your dog will need to understand the following skills and behaviors:

  • Polite Greeting
  • Controlled Walking
  • Coming When Called
  • Ignoring Distractions
  • NO signs of aggression or anxiety

Requirements for Our Therapy Dog Training Program

For dogs and handlers interested in our therapy dog training program, there are a few requirements you must meet:

  • No aggression issues with people or other dogs.
  • Dogs must be 1 year old.
  • All dogs must be up-to-date on all appropriate vaccines, including rabies and DHPP.

What Do Therapy Dogs Do?

Therapy Dog refers to a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people through animal-assisted activities in locations like hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, mental institutions, schools, veterans hospitals and stressful situations such as disaster areas.

A therapy dog gives and receives affection freely. They are generally welcome in any establishment where they can provide love and affection though some establishments may have their own specific requirements that must be met first.

A therapy dog’s primary job is to allow unfamiliar people to make physical contact with them to derive comfort and pleasure. Children, in particular, enjoy hugging animals; adults usually enjoy simply petting the dog. Therapy dogs are exemplary in their behavior and obedience: Calm, relaxed, affectionate, not startled easily, able to be handled and touched everywhere, well-groomed, not driven to jump or take food, etc.

Therapy Dog And Service Dog… Is There A Difference?

Absolutely, a Service Dog is not considered a pet and performs at least two specific tasks for an individual and is protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA.) A dog that is therapeutic to its disabled handler, for instance, is a Service Dog or an Emotional Support animal, not a Therapy Dog.

It is important to note that therapy dogs are NOT service dogs. Service dogs directly assist humans and have a legal right to accompany their owners because they have been specifically trained to assist with a disability. Therapy dogs do not provide direct assistance, do not have legal rights to travel everywhere, and must be invited by institutions. Most institutions have rigorous requirements for therapy dog access. Therapy dog tags do not contain ADA rules on the back as the ADA rules do not apply to therapy dogs. If you are looking for more info on ADA rules regarding therapy dogs they have resources here.

A therapy dog is a very well-trained pet that has met certain criteria and is certified by a recognized organization. A therapy dog operates with the handler or handlers that the dog was certified with. In order for a dog to certify as a therapy dog, it must be certified with a specific handler or handlers. In the case of multiple handlers, the dog must go through the entire certification process with each handler and pass to demonstrate both behavior and handler control. There is an annual renewal fee and refresher task for each dog in order to maintain our insurance for handlers.