Our Board and Train Therapy Dog Program offers clients the opportunity to start training their puppy under the direction of our Certified Therapy Animal Consultant. Our instructor, Michelle McCarthy, has years of experience raising and training Therapy Dogs. Therapy Dogs are life changing for persons with Autism, developmental disabilities or chronic health conditions. These dogs offer companionship, emotional support, participate in therapies to improve speech and coordination and improve social skills. There are currently waiting lists for as long as 2 years for people wanting a Therapy Dog. With our help clients are able to select their own puppy and work with us to complete the training process.
Puppies entering our training program must be between 4-6 months of age. All puppies must be crate trained and well socialized with people and other dogs. While we do not expect young puppies to be reliably housebroken, an established housebreaking routine must already be established. All puppies entering our program must have a current Health Certificate from their Veterinarian and be free of parasites and disease.
The process begins with an application and thorough behavioral evaluation to determine if your puppy is a good candidate for our Therapy Dog training program. If you do not own a dog, we can help you with the selection process. The major ingredients for a Therapy Dog are personality and temperament. Therapy dogs must be even-tempered, good natured and able to accept handling by humans. While a dog may be a wonderful family pet this does not necessarily mean they will make a good Therapy Dog.
The next step in the process is to evaluate your needs to determine your training goals for your dog. To be successful, the family must have the time and desire to commit to ongoing training.
**We do not work with dogs that have a history of aggression, reactivity, resource guarding or fear issues**
Once a puppy is selected to enter our program they will live with our Instructor in her home for approximately 4-6 weeks, the time varies based on the puppies age and current level of training. Your puppy will share a home with our instructors family and their 2 well socialized adult dogs. During the training process your puppy will learn foundation obedience skills, basic household manners and ongoing support of their housebreaking routine. There will be ongoing socialization and exposure to people, places and other dogs by working in the community and in group classes.
While your dog is in training you will be given weekly
updates on their progress. When your dog
returns home you will continue their training by participating in our Dog
Training Fundamentals–1 group class. Upon
completion of the group class you will have learned the necessary skills to
effectively work with your dog. We ask that students live within 1 hour of
For more information contact Michelle at 734-395-2608 or michelle@k9homeschooling.com.