Week Two – Abbie and Livvy’s Pet Therapy Prep Class at Morris K9 Campus

This week we continue to follow the daycare manager Abbie and her six-year-old Shepherd mix Livvy through the pet therapy prep class, as they get another week closer to the evaluation. With the first class done, they have two more weeks to work on the skills necessary to make sure Livvy passes her Creature Comfort certification.

Livvy is introduced to the medical equipment.

Even on week one, Abbie felt Livvy would make a great therapy dog. She said, “I can tell that she is low stressed in a high excitement environment,” which is good, but she added that Livvy still has a lot to work on in the two weeks leading up to her evaluation.

The benefit of the three-week course is to identify and fix any problem areas in order for both the owner and dog to succeed. Abbie mentioned Livvy needs to work on “Leave it,” especially with food, and “No jumping.” This is something they are continuing to focus on outside of class. “To teach her a different behavior gets her the attention that she wants. For example, Livvy has to be sitting or have four on the floor in order for anyone to pet her.”

Morris K9 Campus pet trainer Robin Lash, provides owners and their dogs with the tools they need to succeed, handing out weekly self evaluations detailing home instructions.

Livvy works on down and stay commands.

Since last week, Abbie says that Livvy’s behavior in class has improved greatly, commenting that she is “calmer in class than she was last week,” a trait that is essential in therapy dogs.

Next week is the final week of the prep class. Then they have one week to practice before the evaluation takes place through Creature Comfort Pet Therapy. We will continue to track Abbie and Livvy’s progress to let you know how they do.

What is a Pet Therapy Dog?

The benefits of having a therapy dogs seem to be endless. Morris K9 Campus along with Creature Comfort Pet Therapy have developed a class aimed at helping to prepare your pooch to become a therapy dog. Once your dog is a certified therapy dog, they can visit a variety of places such as schools and nursing homes. Studies have shown that dogs have a calming effect on people which can help reduce stress and assist in opening up communications.

Therapy dogs are often confused with service dogs, but the two duties are vastly different. Service dogs are trained to focus on one specific person for a particular disability. Therapy dogs work with more than one person or groups for a variety of reasons. A therapy dog is considered a pet, and the owner and dog volunteer their time in order to help others. A service dog is not considered a pet, they are working dogs, which is the reason they are allowed in places, such as restaurants or other places that have “no pet” policies.
The Pet Therapy Prep class at Morris K9 Campus, partners with Creature Comfort Pet Therapy, and is a four-week course. It includes three weeks of instruction, followed by your dog’s evaluation with Creature Comfort.

Abbie Stuttard is the Daycare Manager at Morris K9 Campus, and is currently enrolled in the Pet Therapy Prep course. Abbie is hoping to find a positive outlet that really highlights her dog’s love of people. She said, “Livvy is a 6 ½ year old Shepherd mix that I rescued at 3 months. From the moment I rescued her, she always had a love for people, tall and short, old and young. Since joining Morris K9 Campus and going through pet training and agility, I wanted to find her something that truly makes her happy and can give joy to others.”

Over the course of the next month we will follow Livvy’s progress through the Pet Therapy Prep class.