What makes a good therapy dog?

A good therapy dog should be "people oriented".

At New Leash On Life, every dog rescued from the shelter is evaluated to determine their temperament and specific needs.

Most dogs will do well in the care of the staff and volunteers at the Ranch, and will go on to become wonderful family pets. But some dogs are destined for more. When a dog shows the right personality traits, it becomes a candidate for the Lend A Paw program.

So we asked Sharon Vincuilla, a Therapy dog Evaluator and the Coordinator for the Lend A Paw program, what qualities are needed to make a good therapy dog.

First and foremost, the dog has to be at least one year old. Then, Sharon evaluates the dog to determine if he/she is "people oriented". Does he/she seeks the company of humans? Does he/she greets everyone around?

A good therapy dog is also comfortable around other dogs as they will often go to visits where other LAP teams participate.

A therapy dog might get his ears pulled and should not respond aggressively

The ideal dog should also have a calm disposition. And finally, he/she should be comfortable with being touched. The LAP teams visit children and individuals with mental health issues or mental retardation. A dog might be subjected to having his/her ears or tail pulled or being brushed roughly. It is important that the therapy dog not respond aggressively to such treatment.

If all those qualities are present the rescued dog will enter a training program at K9s Only to become a therapy dog.

On July 22nd, Ava was evaluated to be a good candidate for the LAP program.

On July 22nd, four NLOL dogs were evaluated: Ava (left), Atom (above), Fargo (top photo) and Nougat. Although they were all adorable and very friendly, only one exhibited the personality traits necessary to become a therapy dog; Ava, a two years old terrier mix/ mixed breed. She left NLOL that day to begin her training at K9s Only.

If you are interested in adopting any of these dogs, please visit NLOL.org. Despite the fact that Ava is training to become a Lend A Paw therapy dog, she is still up for adoption. Adopting an already trained therapy dog can be very rewarding to someone who wishes to rescue a pet and would like to offer support to people in need!


Photos and Story by Nathalie Seguin