Qualifications to become an assisted dog!

For a dog to be certified in to be used in animal assisted therapy, hours of training and observation are required.  Any breed of any size can qualify to be an assisted dog, but not all dogs qualify based on their traits.  The most important quality of a dog is their temperament to qualify to be a dog assistant.  This should naturally take place before training, as the dog should be non-aggressive.

 They should also be able to get along with everyone such as:

Elders

Children

Females

Males

Other Animals

Other qualities they should have included:

Patience

Friendly

Confident

Gentle

Socialization

Different types of Animals!

Different animals are used for animal assisted therapy.  These animals are used to assist children who have disabilities, have been abused, or have an illness.  The animals are used to provide physical and emotional benefits for the children. The main three animals used in animal assisted therapy is, horses, dolphins, and dogs.

Horses:  Horses have helped children with a wide range of disabilities.  The benefits of riding are posture, balance, motor development, as well as emotionally. Different types of horses are used for many different purposes.

 Dolphins:  Dolphins are used as motivators for children who are working on a variety of skills.  Through having this experience with the dolphins, many benefits for children with disabilities have been seen. It has been noted, through this type of therapy, a child’s attention span has been increased to help with further progression.

Dogs: Dogs can be used for multiple purposes. The dogs can be used to perform different tasks to help with assistance as well as support and motivation to overcome obstacles.   The dogs help with increasing activity which can help with progressing the children’s abilities.

Career Choice (AAT)

http://www.animaledu.com/Careers/AnimalAssistedTherapyCareers.aspx

After seeing different videos on animal assisted therapy, I was really curious on how someone would become an animal assisted therapist.  I was looking online, and this particular school called Animal Behavior Institute, was one that came up.  Through this school, there are many different options on career choices with working with animals.  The website expresses how animal assisted therapy is a new field and is predicted to be a rapidly growing career. Many AAT (Animal Assisted Therapists) work closely with psychologists, counselors, and occupational therapists.  I would love to have the opportunity to sit in on a therapy session, and observe the interactions between the children and the animals.

Video on Animal Assisted Therapy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbBguMj7bEg

The link I have posted is a video which shows animal assisted therapy taking place.  The video shares the benefits seen with assistance from these animals and how much they have truly impacted the lives of many children with disabilities.  I find it so amazing, how through these animals, children have overcome so many obstacles they have been faced with.  To see the extensive training and observation that takes place to train a dog for animal assisted therapy, shows how dedicated these different organizations are to impact the lives of children.  The video not only shares dogs, but cats, hamsters, and dolphins as well for assisting the children.  To see the joy on each of the child’s faces, really show how much these animals are benefiting them as well as making an extraordinary impact on their lives.

Animal Assisted Therapy

Pawws to heal is an organization which supports and helps children who have been abused and have physical disabilities.  Pawws to heal is an interactive animal therapy organization which provides therapists, with the assistance of animals, to help and improve the lives of children.   The goal is to use animals to help achieve positive goals for each child whose coping with a form of abuse or a physical disability.  This organization is currently an outreach program located in Wisconsin, but has a vision of having an on-site facility which would have therapist and many different animals for children to interact with during therapy.  

The organization has five animals which are used in animal assisted therapy.  Two dogs which are named Winnie and Jillian are used in therapy, as well as Pheonix the parrot.  Two cats named Ziggie and Marley are also used as assistance to the therapists. The founder of this animal assisted therapy was Roxy, a dog whose battle with cancer ended in 2011. Having these animals present during the therapy sessions with the children has shown to lower anxiety levels.

The videos located on the website, shows the great results and benefits children have had through the use of animal assisted therapy.  The videos are definitely worth a look!! 

http://www.pawwstoheal.org/

Introduction to Research Topic!

        After debating on many different topics to research for the quarter, I have decided to focus on service dogs and animal assisted therapy for children with disabilities.  Animals are and have always been a big part of my life.  This topic came to me this past week as I was watching my boyfriend’s four year old brother who has Down syndrome.  As he was playing with the dogs at my house, he had the biggest smile on his face as he was laughing and chasing them all around.  This really made me start to think, what are the benefits of having a trained dog for assistance for a child with a disability as well as any animal?  After going online, I found many different places and organizations that train dogs for assistance for a child with a disability.  What are the benefits of having a service dog or a child in animal assisted therapy?    I wonder, what would a parent’s perspective be of animal assisted therapy for their child with a disability? Where would a parent get the appropriate information on animal assisted therapy and the benefits?  How much of an impact can these dogs have on a family who has a child with a disability? This topic is one I am really looking forward to take the time and research.  Animals are a passion of mine, along with children,  so this will be the perfect topic to investigate to learn more about!