Large Therapy Dogs Breeds
These large dogs were bred to help, and they still enjoy their duties today.
With a history of rescuing stranded travelers in Saint Bernard Pass, theyre quite naturally good therapy dog breeds.
Like many dogs on this best therapy dog breeds list, the Saint is friendly and affectionate. These fur babies do not need a lot of exercises.
They need space to stretch out.
Shedders and droolers, they require quite a bit of maintenance.
Needing a lot of exercises, these elegant pups are great as guide dogs for the visually impaired.
They are also large enough to fetch anything their owner needs.
Rugged and tough, these pups can survive in almost any condition.
Their short hair is attractive and easy to maintain.
This breed is a dog’s dog.
They love dog activities like barking, digging, and chewing.
With graceful strides and silky hair, this canine is ready to stroll into the hearts of many.
This friendly breed loves being around lots of people and getting lots of attention.
Affectionate, intelligent, and easy to train, dogs in this breed make excellent therapy and service dogs.
Active and energetic, the Irish Setter does not do well living in apartments.
They need room to roam and stay busy.
Traditionally hunting dogs, Labs take to training easily.
Their size and strength make them great for fetching things.
All this with a friendly attitude make this one of the top contenders on the best therapy dog breeds list.
With a desire to please, these pooches make great service dogs.
Friendly and gregarious, Labs do well with everyone.
These dogs need obedience training starting early.
They are so playful and energetic that they can accidentally hurt someone.
These canines have a reputation for being reserved around strangers.
They don’t get distracted easily, so they are great for intense work like guiding and listening.
Calm and restrained, these dogs have the attitude needed to be a serious work dog.
Despite this, they can also be loving and playful. German Shepherds need socialization training to avoid becoming aggressive.
These dogs can be destructive when bored.
Beautiful and bold, the “Miniature Collie” isn’t just looks, and no brain. One of the smartest dogs in the world, these dogs make excellent therapy dogs.
These friendly dogs are healthy and devoted.
They are usually loving to everyone they meet.
The long, luxurious coat on these pooches get easily matted. They require extensive brushing and grooming.
A traditional racing dog, they have to be calm in crowds, easy to train, and excel in agility.
This breeding gives them everything they need to perform tasks for disabled owners.
Friendly and calm, the Greyhound is great around children and other animals.
Although they are calm in attitude, they still have energy to work overtime. These fur-babies are jumpers.
Make sure you have a high fence in the areas where they are not on a leash.
This stigmatized breed is usually not thought of as a therapy dogs, but its use as police dogs, search and rescue dogs, and guide dogs show that it is.
Calm, loyal, and brave are the qualities in these large dogs.
They are friendly and gentle unless trained to be otherwise.
They need obedience training and socialization training starting as early as possible.
These canines are gentle, friendly, and devoted.
Everything a canine on the best therapy dog breeds list should be.
Of course, they are also intelligent and easy to train.
These popular dogs are loving and willing to please.
With devotion and kindness, they make great service dogs.
Traditional hunting breeds like these need room to roam and ways to work off their excess energy.
You may be surprised to find these dogs on the best therapy dog breeds list due to their extra-large size.
These gentle giants have what it takes to be a volunteer.
Patient and kind, their physical and emotional strength make them great servers in the community.
This working breed still loves to work and is happy doing whatever you need.
They are easy to groom and shed little. Reserved with strangers, trainers need to start socialization early to avoid aggression.
This large dog has a tendency to overeat.
This immediately recognizable animal has already made a name for itself in the service industry.
With endurance to spare, they are up to busy days working with their human.
Athletic and cheerful, this is one dog that is ready for work as a therapy or service dog.
While you often see these dogs in public areas, they can become aggressive and will need socialization training.
Agile and energetic, pooches in this breed shine in dog shows.
Those traits along with friendliness, and a readiness to learn, make them shine as therapy dogs as well.
Intelligent and easy to train, this dog does exceptionally well in working roles.
They are great for first-time owners and trainers.
These canines love people so much that they get depressed if left alone too much.
Like many breeds, they need training to like other dogs.
Another breed that you may find surprising on this best therapy dogs breeds list of the best therapy dog breeds, the Bloodhound has an excellent sniffer.
These fur babies are great for medical service work. They can sniff out chemical changes in the body of their person.
Dogs in this breed are sweet and mild-mannered. They do great in situations where they are around crowds and strangers.
They don’t have much energy and are prone to weight gain.
Emotional support animals are not limited to dogs. They can be cats, birds, horses, rabbits, pigs and other animals. The ESA is usually regarded as a companion to humans. This is a psychological therapy for the treatment of many emotional disorders, such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, phobia, motor skills disorder, learning disabilities, etc. The requirements of the ESAs are not as strict as those of the service dog under the ADA. Whilst access to public spaces is not as unrestricted as with the service dog. One benefit, however, is that an ESA can be taken to live in a small apartment.
A service dog is trained to work for a variety of special disabilities including mental and physical illnesses. Such as seeing-eye dogs, hearing dogs, mobility assistance dogs, dogs for anxiety and depression, dogs for diabetics or against seizures, etc. They are very professional and trained rigorously. In addition, the service dog has a priority – it has the priority of full public access, such as aircrafts, schools, hotels, stores, etc.
A definition of a therapy dog has already been given in the first paragraph. The biggest difference between therapy dogs and the other two kinds is that they work for a specific task and not for a specific handler. They have no owner, but in fact, their human teammate is always their handler.
German Shepherds can be trained to be very strong because they are very intelligent and show a stable behavior. That is why many of them work in the military or are police dogs. Thus, this kind of canine can protect the owner because of its great capability. At the same time, they are happy to be obedient and athletic, and to work all the time.
The reason why this small dog is called Cavelier King Charles Spaniel, is that King Charles II worshiped this fluffy puppy in the 16th century and named it after him. They are trainable and can help people in many ways to recover from depression. They are also dogs preferred by children.
What Are Therapy Dogs?
According to a study conducted by Psychology Today, pet owners tend to have greater self-esteem, be more physically fit, are less lonely, more conscientious, are more socially outgoing, and have healthier relationship styles.
If just owning a dog can have these benefits, imagine the possibilities of actively working with dogs to support the well-being of vulnerable members of the community. This is the rationale behind therapy dogs.
Officially, therapy dogs are dogs that have been trained to provide affection, comfort, and support to people who need it, often people that are in hospital, retirement homes, nursing homes, hospices, schools, libraries, or disaster areas.
Therapy dogs are different from service dogs, which include guide dogs for the blind as well as diabetes detection dogs. Service dogs have been trained to complete very specific tasks for a particular disabled individual. These dogs are granted special access to public places so that they can accompany their owner at all times.
This right is not extended to therapy dogs, which are usually granted specific access to the locations where they are working.
Therapy dogs are also different from Emotional Support dogs, which are prescribed to support individuals by a mental health professional.
Dogs must pass a series of tests in order to be certified as therapy dogs and be permitted to work. Exact requirements depend on the authorizing organization, but usually include being social around people and other animals, not jumping and barking, and being able to walk loosely on a leash.
See the Alliance of Therapy Dogs for more information.
Therapy dogs have a long history, and it was in fact Florence Nightingale that pioneered the idea of animal-assisted therapy, using dogs to relieve the anxiety of patients living in psychiatric institutions.
Sigmund Freud would also sometimes use dogs in his work to put patients at ease and help them open up. In 1976, Elaine Smith started a program to train dogs to visit institutions, and since then the use of therapy dogs has grown rapidly.
Today there are two general types of therapy dogs:
Therapy dogs have been shown to reduce anxiety and depression as well as just generally boosting the moods of the patients that they engage with.
They can support patients in developing social skills, and they can make patients more open to participating in the therapy process and just feel more comfortable in what is often a strange situation.