I’ve been wanting to do some volunteer work to give back to society, but I really couldn’t find something that appealed to me. Then a friend suggested I get my Aussie, Maxwell, certified as a therapy dog. This made a lot of sense because it had two benefits. First, I get to hang out with my best buddy. Second, I get to bring joy to people in stressful situations.

There are a number of recognized organizations in the U.S. that offer certification and placement for you and your dog. In my case my vet recommended HABIT (Human Animal Bond in Tennessee), which is affiliated with the University of Tennessee Veterinarian program. You initially attend an introductory seminar that talks about the program and the profile of the dog that would qualify. What I particularly liked about this program was the concern they had for the well being of your dog. Their top priority was to put your animal in a setting where it is comfortable and would not feel under stress. This could be a nursing home, hospital or school.

From the various stories about other volunteers I learned that all breeds and sizes of dogs could be an excellent therapy dog if they have the right personality. Obviously they look for dogs that enjoying interacting with people. In addition your dog needs to be under control. That means they cannot jump on people, that is particularly dangerous with older people. They also can’t mouth people, be overly vocal, be disinterested or aloof, and show signs of fear.

To join the program you first needed to fill out several forms, which included a form filled out by your vet showing your dog was up to date on their shots. Once HABIT receives the paperwork they arranged an evaluation with your dog. This process can be stressful for the dog owner since you would hate to see your dog fail. The various dog therapy organizations have different criteria for certifying your pet. In the case of HABIT you performed several exercises to show that your dog is under control and comfortable being handled. Then the evaluator takes your dog for further tests. The owner is left alone hoping their best bud doesn’t screw up. In my case, the evaluation took about 20 minutes. Both Maxwell and the evaluator returned, and she immediately commented that he was awesome and would work well in any therapeutic environment. I felt like a proud parent.

There is another aspect of volunteering for a program like this, and that is how the dog owner will interact with others. To be affective like your dog you need to be able to comfortably interact with people. For example, if you volunteer in a nursing home or hospital it is important to be able to initiate a conversation with people who are under stress. It is the goal of you and your dog to relieve some of that stress and to take their minds off the medical issues they are confronted with.

Maxwell and I have been volunteering at the local cancer center. We hang out in the waiting room and talk to patients and their family. Many are there getting treatments and are obviously anxious about the outcome. I’m generally an outgoing person and Maxwell is a crowd pleaser and a ham. So we make a good team. He has two traits that are a crowd pleaser. First, he smiles when people approach him and pet him. Second, he does the head tilt thing when people are talking to them.

So far this has been a very rewarding experience for both of us. Maxwell enjoys any encounter with people, and I get satisfaction in helping individuals during trying times.

If you feel your animal is a candidate to be a therapy dog you can refer to the following link for an organization in your area – http://landofpuregold.com/rxb.htm. You and your dog can bring happiness to people who could really use it.

When not doing volunteering with Maxwell, Fred Waters is the author of the Treadmill Reviews and Ratings.

• Had a bath at Better Pets & Gardens
• Got Keeda a new (even bigger) water bowl, holiday treat, and breath mints
• Tortured Keeda by making her show some holiday cheer with her very own holiday hat (video below)
• Started learning a new trick!

Keeda’s old water bowl has been getting rusty, so while at Better Pets & Gardens for her bath I bought her a new bowl as well. I also picked up some dog breath mints. I’ve seen these around and always been curious as to their effectiveness. Keeda’s breath doesn’t actually smell – it used to be horrible, but improved greatly since she’s been on a proper diet of raw meaty bones and B.A.R.F. However, I picked these up just to see if they would actually work and do anything for the breath. We haven’t tried them yet, but I’ll write a full review about these dog breath mints when we do.

Costume torture

Keeda also had an eye on a candy-cane dog treat at the cash register, so I grabbed that for her as well (what she didn’t know what that I had ulterior motive). When we got home I put on her Santa hat (she actually handled it quite well) and made her do tricks for the candy-cane treat. I know, I’m horrible. I’m not against dressing dogs up just for fun sometimes, but I’ve never done it with Keeda before (even if it is just a hat!). I’ve always thought of her as this dog dog – hardcore and beyond such silly things. But this time I just couldn’t resist. Here’s the video. She was not amused:

Teaching Keeda a new trick

Keeda’s pretty well trained (she picks things up very quickly), but we haven’t learned a new trick in a while. So I decided to teach her to hold a treat on her nose. The eventual goal is to have her hold the treat until I say “Get it!” and then flip it, catching it with her mouth in midair.

So I got some of her favorite Naturalicious pet treats and went at it. I had no idea where to start as I’ve never trained this trick before (Keeda is my first dog, after all), so we improvised.

• I got Keeda into a sit in front of me. I put one treat within easy reach but out of sight, held the rest in my right hand and held one in my fingers in the same hand in front of her. Keeda effectively only saw one treat, which was the one I was holding with my fingers (though she probably smelled the rest in my hand)
• I start out by bringing the treat towards her nose, but found that she just tilted her head too much – it would be impossible to ever place that on her muzzle. So I gently held her muzzle with my left hand to stabilise it (note – not forcefully keeping it in place).
• Keeda started giving me her paw, as if I was giving her the “Say Hi” command. This was very inconvenient, so every time she would raise her paw I would pull the treat back. She eventually began to understand that if she raises her paw, she does not get the treat.
• I gently placed the treat on the flat part of her nose for the first time and then instantly said “Get it!”. Keeda then let the treat fall onto the ground and ate it. I praised her lavishly and immediately gave her the hidden treat. This way, Keeda would be rewarded for the trick and the treat we were working with would not be considered the “reward”.
• I told Keeda to “get it” as soon as I managed to put the treat on her nose for just a moment because I knew at this point she would get it anyway. To set her up for success, I made sure when she got it it was within the constraints of the trick.
• We kept doing this for about 5 minutes (switching between different kinds of treats a couple of times). Each time we did it, Keeda allowed the treat to stay on her nose without having her muzzle held for longer and longer. I made sure that I never made her wait too long – she must never eat the treat without completing the trick successfully.

After about 5-10 minutes, just as we finished with the session, C got home from the gym and I got him to record a couple more attempts for us:

One of the most common reasons why running with your dog can get frustrating is pulling. The best way to overcome this frustrating dog running problem is to teach your dog not to pull.

There are many different training methods and techniques out there and each dog trainer and dog owner will recommend different things. Here is how I taught Keeda not to pull on the leash during our walks and running sessions:

As soon as we started going for walks on leash when Keed a was a puppy, she was not allowed to put any strain on the leash. If she began to pull, I stopped in my tracks and waited for the leash to slacken. Sometimes I turned around and started walking in the opposite direction.

She “got” it soon enough, but just because a dog understands what it’s meant to be doing doesn’t mean it will do it. Keeda kept pulling, to the point of it becoming an extremely frustrating ordeal for both of us. We could barely walk together, much less run.

This is where different training methods suggest that you deal with the problem differently. and there is a lot of controversy in the dog world around the various methods.

Personally, I’m in favor of applying some physical force in dog training. Of course this depends not only on your own preference, but also on your dog’s breed and nature. Keeda is a hardy dog – she has Australian Cattle Dog and Kelpie in her, both of which can be headstrong, independent, and stubborn and need a strong hand in training.

So the way I dealt with this training issue is by lightly smacking Keeda on the side with the soft end of the leash when she pulled to get her attention and get her back in line by my side. For us, this worked instantly. Keeda slowed down to walk by my side, the leash slack in my hand. As soon as the leash was slack and she was in proper position, I gave her lots of verbal praise. Of course, Rome wasn’t built in a day and it took us a couple more walks to perfect our walking and running sessions. After the first couple of weeks, I haven’t had to apply any more physical force to get her attention when walking on a leash. Our walks became more relaxed and pleasant for both of us and the transition to running was seamless.

One of the most important factors in training your dog not to pull is consistency – don’t punish your dog for something one minute and let it slide the next. Applying some physical force during training may not be your thing, but it’s just as important to stay consistent with whatever other training method you use. And remember – there is a difference between using force to get your dog’s attention and causing undue pain to your dog. You should know the difference between a corrective slap on the wrist and a punch in the face in human terms, nobody has any excuse to abuse their dog or any other animal, no matter what training method they use. If you aren’t sure, stick to clicker training, which can also work for many dogs.

When your dog stops pulling on your daily walks, you can start running. Dogs can get more excited when going for a run, so the first few times you run with your dog may still be quite a frustrating ordeal, but through consistent training you and your dog will catch on soon enough and I will no longer have people coming here via “frustration with running with  dog” search terms.

Keeda may not be so great at catching flying discs yet, but she is excellent at catching other toys like tennis balls, her favorite chew toys, or her beloved sock.

Dogs love a game of catch. When your dog is a puppy, stick to a light, easy game as excessive jumping isn’t healthy for their developing joints. And by the time your dog is fully developed it’ll be on its way to becoming catch champion of the world…or at least of your household.

A friend of mine recently asked me how you teach a dog to catch a ball in mid-air. Such a simple concept can seem quite difficult for some dogs to learn.

• First, find a toy that you know your dog can grab in its mouth comfortably, but isn’t small enough for your dog to choke on. You can even use a piece of material or sock that you don’t mind getting chewed up. Socks are lighter and won’t fall to the ground quite as quickly as a proper dog toy would, giving your dog more time to react and catch the object.
• Then, make sure your dog likes the toy. If it isn’t one of your dog’s regular toys already, let it hold it in its mouth, maybe play a little tug of war with your dog using the toy, throw the toy for your dog to chase.
• Hand the toy to your dog from your hand a few times and praise the dog each time it grabs the toy in its mouth. Then, begin to lightly toss the toy from a couple of centimetres away, like a handover with just a second of air time in-between. Keep the praise going each time your dog grabs the toy.
• When your dog can catch the toy as you’re lightly tossing it from a few inches away, continue increasing the distance and begin to throw the toy up more so than across to your dog. From here it’s just a matter of continuous praise when your dog gets the toy and making the throws more challenging for your dog. You can associate a command with the action by saying “Catch” or whatever cue you want to use as you throw the toy into the air.
• Remember to keep the game fun for your dog. Make the sessions short and sweet, a few 5-10 minute sessions per day should be enough.