What is a therapy dog? How do they act? Learn here
Have you ever heard of or even seen a therapy dog? These dogs are really very powerful and, therefore, deserve a very complete article here on our blog. After all, their work is so important to people that, today, they are indispensable in halfway houses, hospitals and even in patients' homes.
However, what are the therapies that dogs apply and what are their “methods” of work? Or, even, which are the patients that can be helped by canine therapy? This is what we are going to understand from now on. So keep reading and find out all about it!
What is a therapy dog?
A therapy dog is a dog that helps other people to have a better quality of life or well-being during a specific treatment. Just the presence of a therapy dog in the treatment environment is enough to improve the mood of the space and, thus, make the patient more relaxed.
As much as a dog, in general, can relieve the tensions of an environment, only the therapy dog has what it takes to bring benefits to the patient. That is, the dog needs to be prepared. It is not enough just to put the patient in a room with a dog for the therapy to happen.
In addition to being well cleaned and brushed, dogs need to receive vaccines and deworming up to date. They can't eat anything and they can't stay in the environment for a long time either. Several rules need to be followed for the effects of therapy to actually work.
Unlike a guide dog, who must stay with his tutor in need all the time, the therapy dog has a specific function to relieve tension, stress, anxiety and blood pressure. Therefore, treatment needs to be very assisted and done carefully.
What is the dog therapy process like?
In general, treatment with a therapy dog takes place in assisted ways. That is, the dog is not left with the patient for hours on end. He stays long enough to build a calm and peaceful environment.
On therapy days, the dog comes to the environment where the patient is, stays for a while and then leaves. This is important so that the effects are really achieved.
In addition, the dog needs to have a balanced diet (it cannot eat meat or drink milk) and needs to receive all hygiene care. This serves to make the environment absolutely comfortable for the patient and, in fact, the dog can transmit affection, affection and presence to the patient.
The simple fact of running your hand over the dog's brushed hair, makes the body relieve blood pressure, stress, anxiety, etc. And this, of course, is very important for the treatment of various diseases and also for improving the well-being and mental health of the patient.
Patients a therapy dog can help
In reality, a therapy dog can help many people. From those with more serious illnesses, to those with milder conditions.
But for everything to work out, you have to act according to each patient's needs. But in general, here are some conditions that a therapy dog can help treat:
Anxiety;
Cancer patients;
Patients with autism;
Miscellaneous social disorders;
Hospitalized patients;
People with learning disabilities;
Patients with schizophrenia;
Dogs having this therapy power are really cool. The simple fact that they provide well-being for a sick person makes that person's body able to focus, even if for a short time, on something other than their illness.
And this is really very important for treatments.
Can all dogs be therapists?
As much as all dogs can, yes, make us happy on a day-to-day basis, not everyone can be a therapist for sick people. After all, there needs to be a great balance at the time of visits, so that therapy does not become something even more stressful for the patient.
That is, the dog cannot be agitated, he needs to have a very high level of training, he needs to know how to interpret commands and other things.
Otherwise, the therapy environment can easily become a mess and, in this case, the effects will not be noticed – including, a messy dog can even generate more stress and anxiety in the patient.
Therefore, when doing therapy with dogs, try to understand which are the best breeds for this. Look for professionals who already work with dogs trained for this practice and, certainly, the results can be promising over time.
It is also important to understand that all therapy processes are long term. That is, as much as the dog can create an excellent mood at that exact moment, improvements can be even more promising when done more often.