Assistance Dog v Therapy Dog
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Do you need an Assistance Dog or a Therapy Dog? How to know the difference. And why does it matter? It matters a great deal, because if you ask your breeder for the wrong one, you'll end up falling in love with a dog who is totally unsuited for the purpose you got him or her for in the first place. All Australian Cobberdogs have a great sense of fun, are goofy clowns who love to make us laugh, and who are always ready for play or activity, for they are naturally athletic and exuberant. But here we are focusing on the subtle differences between the unique abilities that are inborn suiting some of them to Therapy and others (often in the same litter) for Assistance or Service. Therapy is most suited to family dogs.
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The scary thing is that some breeders don't know the difference either, which is all the more reason for you to be clear when you describe what you need in your own particular situation. So let's get started.
THERAPY DOG
Another name could well be 'Comfort Dog' for these intuitive souls who yearn to snuggle close to you and soothe your anxiety with their doggie empathy and loving presence. When you're feeling down, or unwell, they won't leave your side. If you're visiting hospice or homes for the elderly, they intuitively know which person in the room needs them the most and will make a bee line for that individual to stay near to them in benevolent silence and with an undeniable sensitivity to what that person is experiencing, whether it's physical or emotional pain. |
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Therapy Cobberdogs are wired for the job. It's in their genes and things like eye contact don't need to be taught. The only training they need is the basic obedience training that every puppy of any breed needs in order to be a well mannered member of the community. Certified Therapy Dogs working outside of the home are not permitted to lick, so breeders should pass over the effusively kissing puppy in a litter when selecting a puppy they know will be doing certified Therapy work later on.
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To Recap
For Family dog, kids' dog, housebound illness, anxiety, depression, selective mutism in children, a range of confidence issues, emotional support, if a dog is recommended as being beneficial by your therapist or doctor, then THERAPY temperament is the way to go. |
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ASSISTANCE DOG sometimes referred to as Service Dog or 'working temperament'
These Cobberdogs have the same intuitive traits as the Therapy Cobberdogs but-and it's a very important 'but', their temperament is underpinned with a strong prey drive. This means an intense desire or even a need to be always actively learning something new as youngsters. This transfers into a need to be actively doing on a daily basis as an adult what they have learned. They are wired to serve. It makes complete sense when we consider some of the tasks they will be required to perform.
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These may include: Learn several hundred words & relate them to objects: i.e. "Get me my RED SHOES", "Bring me a BEER from the FRIDGE". Learn dozens of actions like turning off the lights, opening and closing doors, noticing dropped objects and retrieving them regardless of being asked or not, bringing their work vest or harness, putting dirty clothes into the washing machine, and emptying the dryer, leaving their owner with SOS Tag to run for help, alerting for a coming seizure or diabetic high or low, just to name a few.
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Likely Outcomes of a Mis-match
Therapy temperament placed where Assistance temperament was required
Because Cobberdogs all have receptive minds to training and puppies often pick up what's wanted after being shown just one time, this puppy's unsuitability for what's expected probably won't be recognized until thousands of dollars have been spent on training. As advanced training progresses, he will lack the enthusiasm to go further. He'll simply flunk the course because he's already satisfied with what he's already learned. Because he's clever, he might even have worked out his own ways to avoid some of the tasks he's not interested in persuing.
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Assistance temperament placed where Therapy temperament was required
This is the most common scenario. This puppy is so bored that he does anything and everything to get attention. In his mind even negative attention is better than what he perceives to be not enough! So he chews, destroys things, digs holes, and misbehaves so badly that his family are frustrated to the point of giving him up. But they love him! When he's cute he's very cute, but when he's in trouble it's breaking their hearts with indecision.
Finally, this article wouldn't be complete without slaying the myth that smaller Cobberdogs are too active to be good Therapy dogs. An alarming number of people are telling me that even "large breeders" are saying this to them. This definitely should NOT be so. Any breeder who is finding this to be true in the Cobberdogs they are breeding, needs to seriously look at where they're going wrong in their breeding programs. As breeders, we produce what we selectively breed for. To ignore temperament in any size of Australian Cobberdog is to lose it altogether in the breed.
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