Therapy Dogs.

[FerapyDogz]

I was wondering if anyone has any experience of therapy assistance dogs for trauma? I have the chance to get one, though in the UK feel it's a bit of a scam, and it also involves getting a puppy which I am pretty against. However, that's the only option.

I already have another dog who is very calming but not specifically trained at all. They are lovely though.

How old is your other dog? Could they be trained instead?

No, it's not an option - they are four (I explored this a couple of years ago). Also they don't have the right temperament / are very active / very large breed.

Where have you been offered it from?

it’s only a scam if you print off your own certificate online. If you are looking at a properly trained dog to help improve your quality of life then there’s no problem with that.

my only concern would be with your existing dog. Whilst they maybe fine with Another dog coming in, a therapy dog which is intended to develop a particularly close bond with the owner may leave your other dog feeling displaced

my only concern would be with your existing dog. Whilst they maybe fine with Another dog coming in, a therapy dog which is intended to develop a particularly close bond with the owner may leave your other dog feeling displaced

This is my concern too.

It's being offered via a charity who will train it (and train me), I have a list of breeds I can choose from in terms of what will fit and they have met my other dog.

I am disabled and have an assistance dog. At the time of applying for one I looked into all the charities and some trained a dog you owned and others gave you a trained dog. I ended up waiting for a trained dog but was offered a training opportunity with a charity to train my own dog prior to this but there were many rules as you say about breed and age but you also had to have already owned the dog. For the charities I looked into you weren't allowed to buy a dog for the sole purpose of training it to be an assistance dog. I don't know if it is different because it's a therapy dog but it does sound a little doggy to me. There was one company I found that you could buy a dog from and they trained it and then put it through the assistance dog charity to get the ADUK accreditation to ensure you had public access rights but I'm not sure if you would get that with a therapy dog. Just make sure it is 100% legitimate. Good luck.