Volunteering With Your Labrador. Could Your Dog be a Therapy Labrador?
Share the Love with a Therapy Lab!
Dogs bring joy to everyone around them and volunteering with your dog is a great way to spread that joy! Most Labrador Retrievers make excellent therapy dogs because of their calm temperament, willingness to learn new skills, and friendly natures. When considering if your pet would make a good Labrador therapy dog, think about how your dog has been trained and socialized. Do they enjoy meeting new people and visiting new places? If the answer is yes, this may be a great volunteer opportunity for you.
Therapy vs. Service
An important point to keep in mind is that therapy dogs are NOT service animals. A service animal is a dog, or another animal, that has been trained to help perform tasks for a specific individual who has a physical or mental disability. Because a service dog is necessary for a person who is disabled to help them on a day-to-day basis, service dogs are legally allowed to accompany their people everywhere.
On the other hand, a therapy dog is a pet that has been trained to visit different places with its owner, to meet new people, and to participate in activities with those people, which means that they do not have the same legal status as a service animal.
Finding a Volunteer Organization
Therapy dogs visit many different places. Some common places that schedule therapy dog visits are medical facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes, children’s reading programs in libraries, and K-12 schools and colleges. Around the USA, there are many different organizations that work to help people find places to volunteer with their therapy dogs. You can find a great list on the AKC’s website to help find an organization near you.
Skills and Training
Your Labrador will need to have solid obedience skills like sitting, lying, and walking obediently on a leash. If you are interested in visiting a medical facility, work on socializing your dog. Train your dog to comfortably and obediently meet people in wheelchairs. Some hospitals allow therapy dogs to jump onto a bed so that the mobility-challenged patients can also visit with your Labrador. These are just two examples of good ways to help prepare for your therapy visits. By checking with the organization you plan to work with, they will assist you in training your dog in some helpful skills. With their help, both you and your dog will be thoroughly prepared for your first visit.
AKC Therapy Dog Program
If you have an AKC-registered dog, such as an AKC-registered Labrador Retriever, you can also earn the title of AKC Therapy Dog with your pet. This involves working with one of the AKC-approved organizations and tracking your dog’s therapy visits. If you and your dog complete 400 visits through your approved organization, you can achieve the highest level, AKC Therapy Dog Distinguished!
Share the Love!
As a Labrador Retriever owner, you know the joys of a doggy smile, a wagging tail, and that head poised to the side as if trying to understand what you’re saying. Your Labrador, America’s favorite dog, can chase your worries away as fast as they chase that ball you threw. Volunteering with your dog can allow them to share that love while helping those in need to reduce such things as stress, loneliness, and anxiety wherever you choose to volunteer.
