Your opinions

[Lauri & The Gang]

I'll preface this by saying both dogs in the videos are VERY well trained and seem to pass the tests with flying colors.

But ... neither dog, in my opinion, looks like they would ENJOY being therapy dogs. The Dobe seems to have it's ears back for most of the time it's interacting with the other people during the test. The little dog seems happier to meet the people during the crowd test than the Dobe but still seems so much more focused on the owner.

I KNOW that Kaynya would flunk those tests right now (pregnant or not). She needs lots of work on her self control when it comes to meeting people. She LOVES them and wants to jump up and kiss everyone!

But I would think that you would want your dog a little more excited about meeting people than what I see in these videos. Isn't that the whole purpose of doing therapy work with your dog - because they ENJOY being around people?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7s5c...eature=channel The Dobe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb_5n...eature=channel The little dog

Opinions?

[BlackPuppy]

That dobe doesn't look like it wants anything to do with people. The little dog is much better.

Balto, OTOH, would be an awesome therapy dog. I took him to my dog club yesterday for training after a break of several months. He had to stop by every person just to say hello and ask if they had any treats. Ears back, butt wiggling out of control. He's a people dog, for sure.

[AbbyK9]

That poor Dobe just looks uncomfortable around the people he's interacting with - and looking to the handler, like he's saying, "Oh, I don't like this. Please let's go." He doesn't seem like he's getting any joy out of visits.

[ladylaw203]

The problem is that the majority of Dobes that I see are nervy. The dog is clearly uncomfortable,does not have a real stable temperament and if someone stomped their foot or dropped something loud,he would run to Dallas..

[Elaine]

I think you guys don't realize that's the normal look for a bored dobe. He did fine.

A lot of people, like me, take the test just for the certification, not with any actual plans of ever doing therapy work. I have taken the test in the past, just for fun, as it was being offered at a dog show I was at and I figured they were doing it as a fund raiser anyway. It was super easy and cheap so I did it and a ton of other people did it and most of the dogs passed with no problem.

[ILGHAUS]

Quote: I have taken the test in the past, just for fun, as it was being offered at a dog show I was at

Which test did you take? The only open testing that my dog club offers during AKC shows and matches are the Canine Good Citizens (CGC) evaluations.

[AbbyK9]

It could have been the TDI test. When I lived in Virginia, our kennel club down there offered CGC and TDI testing during their events, such as their Open House, as one of their members was an evaluator for both.

[ILGHAUS]

I didn't bother watching the whole video on the Dobe. I hope he didn't pass as a Therapy Dog.

The parts that I saw of concern were moon eyes when evaluator walked past, yawning and lip licking when left alone and another dog - who did not get into dobe's space nor pay any attention to dobe - but was in general location. There were probably other things but the lighting on my monitor or maybe the video itself made parts of watching a black dog hard to see.

If dobe was bored he would have been looking elsewhere, glancing mildly at other dog, or even trying to sneek a nap.

[ILGHAUS]

Okay with the little dog. Better, but it would have been nice to see the handler look away once in awhile from the dog. Even when meeting the evaluator the handler and dog only looked at each other. (Kind of a strange way for person-to-person contact.)

When little dog was meeting "patients" the handler kept a running verbal encouragement to the dog going to keep dog's interaction with other people. I would say this dog is safer to be around strangers but I don't see any interest on the dog's part. I think it would probably be happier just being with its owner. And I don't see much fun with visiting a dog that keeps its full focus on the handler. Might as well carry a soft fluffy stuffed toy dog into the facility.

Therapy Dogs besides being safe for the patient need to be able to draw people out of their shells or at least give a big effort to make a happy friendly contact with the person. When doing a visit, the handler is also more to the team then just someone holding a leash. There should be some kind of contact going on between handler and patient, smiles - a hi - some talk about the dog - talk about the weather - something. The handler can not expect to spend a whole visit just talking to the dog to get it to approach and stand nice for pets.

[AbbyK9]

I think TJ summed it up really well.

My girl Abby tolerates petting by anyone but is very selective with the people she really connects with and WANTS to spend time with.

Ronja, on the other hand, is just a sweetie and loves everyone. All someone has to say is, "Oh, look, a DOG!" and she will wag her little tail and want to come over for pets. As long as someone will touch her, she will wiggle her little self right over to them, lean into them, or even flop over for belly rubs. (This from the dog who is SO serious about her bite work!)