Therapy training

[gophertee]

Hi all, last night was my first night with my rottie in therapy training. I am training her to be a therapy dog and classes have begun.

One of the tests is to allow people to come up to her and pet her all over. Well she loved it - WAY TOO MUCH. I am afraid of her twisting and bending will not only scare a child but also fail her in the exam.

How do you train a dog to RELAX when people want to knee or sit beside her to just pet?

[PatchO'Pits]

How old is your dog?

What type of training and socialization have you already done?

What advice has the trainer given you?

Does this trainer also have a certification to give the therapy test after you take his/her course?

Just some quick suggestions:

As for calming down, and acting appropriately when people approach a lot of that is basic obedience control with distraction training. You need to practice in all types of situations not just a class setting and make her aware of what you expect. If she is too excited all petting and attention is stopped and started again when she calms down.

You can teach a good solid stay command to help and also a calm and or watch me command

You can also treat her as she is being pet for being appropriate.

Best of luck with your training!

[gophertee]

How old is your dog? She will be 3 in August.

What type of training and socialization have you already done?She has passed beginner/obedience class but no formal training yet.

What advice has the trainer given you? Really none, I asked about her "squirling" around and she said that is ok but I think its a bit too much.

Does this trainer also have a certification to give the therapy test after you take his/her course? NO. If she teaches the class she can not provide the test. Someone from the outside has to do do that.

[lindsayanng]

i have been working on that for my dog as well.. he is a handicapped dog, and i thought he could do some good teaching handicapped and "normal" kids that even though someone LOOKS different, they arent all that different..

But i have had the same problem. He sees kids and he wants to lick their faces. I have been trying to train him to stay with just a leash and some treats.

If he gets too excited, i ask the kids to step away and when he calms a give him a treat. When the kid re-approaches, if he is acting all crazy, i do the same.. if he is calm he gets a treat.

I also keep the leash very short but not tight. A tight leash means a tense owner, so you want to give your dog the opportunity to mess up and learn from his mistakes. SO if he jumps up, instead of pushing him down with my hands (because that becomes a game) i used the leash as like a barrier so it pulledhim down instead of pushed.

Its all a matter of time, but the fact that he is ENJOYING the attention is a GREAT start

[PatchO'Pits]

How old is your dog? She will be 3 in August.

What type of training and socialization have you already done?She has passed beginner/obedience class but no formal training yet.

What advice has the trainer given you? Really none, I asked about her "squirling" around and she said that is ok but I think its a bit too much.

Does this trainer also have a certification to give the therapy test after you take his/her course? NO. If she teaches the class she can not provide the test. Someone from the outside has to do do that.

Sounds like you are off to a great start!

[gophertee]

Yea, I think she will be fine and according tio the trainer she that the squiriling, twisting excited swing is ok. I just don't want a little child who is in the hospital get scared because my dog is twisting like she has ants-in-her-pants.
Tough part is that if my wife and I kneel down or sit beside her - she is fine. But if you did it, OMG its like I am gonna have a heart attack - pet me now!!