THERAPY WORK
Not all canines possess the temperament, patience, and intuition that a therapy or service dog requires. To learn and perform specific tasks, the dog must have a calm demeanor, confident, have a love of human contact, patient, observant, and not easily distracted.
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Most dogs require a level of training for the type of service or therapy needed. However, there are certain intuitive traits that make for an ideal candidate.
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Therapy and service dogs possess inherited traits like high emotional intelligence, empathy, and calmness, enabling them to intuitively detect stress, medical crises, or emotional needs in humans. Key inborn characteristics include a desire to please, intense focus on handlers, and low reactivity to environmental chaos.
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Key Inherited Intuitive & Service Traits:
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Empathy and Sensitivity: Dogs can naturally read human emotions, offering comfort by snuggling or licking when they sense distress.
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Intuitive Alerting: Some dogs inherently sense medical changes, such as blood sugar drops or spikes, without training.
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Calm Demeanor: A naturally relaxed temperament enables them to navigate high-stress environments like hospitals or school rooms.
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Handler Focus & Biddability: Inherited from working or gun dog breeds, these traits make them highly attentive and easy to train.
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Social Curiosity & Tolerance: A desire to interact with strangers and endure different types of touch.
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Adaptability: The ability to remain calm in unpredictable, noisy, or crowded situations.
These innate characteristics are often enhanced through specialized training to become certified therapy or service animals.
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Timberland Goldens began its journey with Therapy and Service Goldens, when we acquired a girl named Dreamer. Dreamer is from a long bloodline of champions, and she was very different from the usual Golden breed we had. She was calmer, had a slightly larger bone structure, and was extremely intuitive. With her, we would need a suitable mate to sire her litters...one that would compliment her traits.
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Our selection ran far and wide. However, one clear winner was in our hopes. Chubby, a renowned Golden Retriever therapy dog, located near the prestigious town of Laguna Beach, California. Not only did Chubby exceed our expectations in the Therapy and Service field, he had earned his AKC championship title at on 22 months old! With his owner expecting a puppy from the Chubby & Dreamer litter, we were on our way.
Dreamer
Morgan
At the age of 7 months old, we had our first therapy contestant. Morgan was maturing quickly, being just over 75 pounds at 7 months old. He was not overweight, but rather had a stout, wide bone structure, acquired from his mother's traits. He had a character that could learn easily. He was originally one of our top 5 show quality picks. He would make a fine services dog, with the ability to use his muscle and bone structure to complete certain therapy tasks a smaller dog could not. When we began seeking a home for Morgan, a few people in need came forward, however, one applicant stood out. Lea R. suffered from PTSD and needed a therapy dog to train for deep pressure (compression) therapy.
Lea R. wrote in to us: "I've been searching for a dog suited for service work and have been looking at many breeders, but am wondering if your dog would be a good fit for my needs. I am a 22 year-old woman with PTSD and panic disorder and would like to find a dog I can train for deep pressure therapy."
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We knew Morgan would be a fit for this task. Lea met Morgan, and it was love at first sight. What followed, was almost incomprehensible.
UPDATE: Sent from Lea R. on July 14, 2024, only a few weeks after Lea adopted Morgan. She wrote us:
I want to let you guys know that something extraordinary happened today about an hour ago. Everyone was gone on an outing and I stayed home to watch Morgan and a couple hours after everyone left I had a panic attack and fell to the floor and started crying. I called Mona (Lea's first therapy dog) to help since she's been trained in this area a bit and layed flat down so she would be able to apply pressure. Right before Mona got to me, Morgan eased his way between her and I, laid down next to me, and applied pressure against me. All of this was done by him without any cues or any training for this. After I began to calm down he immediately started licking my face which is another task that he hasn't yet been trained for, but is used for grounding. All of this combined helped me regulate in less than 10 minutes which is genuinely a record for me.
Way to go Morgan!!!
7 months old, and a professional already!
We are convinced, as we embark on our breed development for service work and therapy work, that the traits of the parents of these puppies makes a world of difference. We will keep you informed of our service dogs or therapy dogs, and how they are making a difference for their owners.
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Many psychiatric conditions can benefit from the use of a therapy or service dog.
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Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A mental health condition that can develop after a person experiences or witnesses a severely stressful or life-threatening event. Symptoms include reliving the event, avoidance of trauma reminders, negative moods and thoughts, and hypervigilance or arousal, which can significantly impact daily life. It can develop weeks, months, or even years after the event
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Secondary Traumatic Stress: Often seen in caregivers or first responders, this is a "compassion fatigue" resulting from indirect exposure to others' trauma, producing symptoms nearly identical to PTSD.
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Adjustment Disorders: These occur when an individual has difficulty coping with a specific stressor (not necessarily a life-threatening trauma), leading to emotional or behavioral symptoms.
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Complex PTSD (C-PTSD): Results from chronic, long-term trauma (such as abuse), often involving more severe disturbances in self-regulation.
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Prolonged Grief Disorder: A severe, persistent form of grief that may share some symptoms with trauma-related distress.
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Acute Stress Disorder (ASD): The closest match, ASD occurs within the first month after a traumatic event. Symptoms include flashbacks, avoidance, and anxiety. If it lasts longer than a month, it is typically diagnosed as PTSD.
Conditions with Overlapping Symptoms
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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Can look similar to PTSD due to shared symptoms like impulsivity, recklessness, and difficulty concentrating.
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) & Panic Disorder: Both involve high anxiety and fear, similar to the hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD.
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Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD): Shares symptoms like emotional dysregulation and dissociation.
Child-Specific Disorders
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Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD): Involves serious problems with emotional attachment to caregivers, often stemming from early abuse or neglect.
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Disinhibited Social Engagement Disorder (DSED): Causes children to be overly comfortable with strangers, often resulting from early social neglect.
Other Conditions
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Autism: Therapy and service dogs for autism provide immense support by offering a calming, non-judgmental presence that reduces anxiety, prevents meltdowns, and aids in emotional regulation