Top 10 Breeds That Make Excellent Therapy Dogs

Therapy dogs are becoming increasingly common in the UK as people start to

recognise the powerful impact they can have on mental health and help people

manage and overcome many conditions.

Therapy dogs are prominent in many settings these days, including hospitals, care homes, and schools. This post will explore the characteristics of a good therapy dog, what some of the best breeds are, the process of training a therapy dog, and the main benefits.

What Makes a Good Therapy Dog? There are a few characteristics that make a good therapy dog. This includes a gentle temperament, being easy to train, and good social skills. Keep in mind that therapy dogs are different from service dogs - therapy dogs provide emotional support, while service dogs are trained to assist people with specific disabilities, such as seeing-eye dogs for blind people. Therapy dogs are commonly used to help people with stress and anxiety. If you have experienced this due to a traumatic event, you might be able to make a claim for compensation to cover the costs of a therapy dog.

Top 10 Therapy Dog Breeds: Here are 10 of the best breeds that are commonly used as therapy dogs:

Labrador: Gentle in nature, intelligent, and highly social.

Golden retriever: Easy to train, friendly, and loving.

Cavalier King Charles spaniel: Small and affectionate.

Greyhound: Calm, intelligent, and easy to train.

Lurcher: Gentle and excellent with people.

Poodle: Highly intelligent, easy to train, and hypoallergenic.

Yorkshire Terrier: Small, friendly, and good at reading people.

Beagle: Highly social and easy to train.

Maltese: Small, easily trained, and loves human attention.

German Shepherd: Bright, trainable, and aware of their surroundings.

Training & Certification: Therapy dogs must undergo training and certification before they can be used in various settings. This involves programmes like the Kennel Club’s Good Citizen

Dog Training Scheme and temperament assessments. There are a few organisations that provide certification, such as Pets As Therapy (PAT).

Benefits of Therapy Dogs: Therapy dogs can provide emotional support for various groups, including children with autism, elderly individuals in care homes, and people recovering

from trauma. There are currently around 6,300 PAT dogs working across the UK, which goes to show that therapy dogs are a highly effective tool for helping people with a wide range of mental health and emotional well-being challenges.

Therapy dogs are becoming increasingly recognised as an effective way to offer support and comfort to people in a wide range of settings. Dogs have always been man’s best friend, and they are now being used to help people manage and overcome a wide range of mental health conditions. There is a great deal of training involved, but there are also a handful of breeds that are particularly effective and can help people in many settings.