A Therapy Dog
is not the
same as a
Medical
Assistance
Dog.
A Therapy Dog
provides emotional support.
A Medical Assistance Dog
Provides a Medical Service of
some kind.
The sensitivity and intelligence of the Maltese, combined with their loyal and loving personality, makes them perfect for certain types of work as Therapy Dogs & Service Dogs. They can easily be trained to alert to the onset of various conditions such as Diabetes (drops in blood sugar), Epilepsy, Oxygen Lows, Emotional Support, etc.Mollie was my "breath dog"
for 16 years.
If I was asleep and my
oxygen became dislodged
off my nose, Mollie would
lick my face. If I went to
the store and was walking
around, sometimes my
oxygen stat would drop
from the exertion. I don't
always think clearly when
this happens and think I am
just tired or something, and
it never dawns on me to put
the oxygen on.
Mollie would sense that my
stats were low and lick my
face. I always knew this
meant to stop and put the
nasal cannula of oxygen on.
She died last year just
before her 17th birthday. A
few weeks ago, I was
sleeping and felt someone
licking my face. I awoke to
find no one there but my
oxygen had gotten moved
off my nose. I am sure it
was Mollie, still taking care
of me.
A Therapy Dog is a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes,
nursing homes, schools, people with learning difficulties, and stressful situations, such as disaster areas.
Therapy dogs come in all sizes and breeds. The most important characteristic of a therapy dog is its
temperament. A good therapy dog must be friendly, patient, confident, gentle, and at ease in all situations.
Therapy dogs must enjoy human contact and be content to be petted and handled. This describes the
Maltese dog perfectly.
A therapy dog's primary job is to allow unfamiliar people to make physical contact with it and to enjoy that
contact. Children in particular enjoy hugging animals; adults usually enjoy simply petting the dog. The dog
might need to be lifted onto, or climb onto, an individual's lap or bed and sit or lie comfortably there. Many
dogs contribute to the visiting experience by performing small tricks for their audience or by playing carefully
structured games.
Therapy dogs are not service or assistance dogs. Service Dogs directly assist humans and have a legal right to
accompany their owners in most areas. In the United States, service dogs are legally protected at the federal
level by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Many organizations provide testing and accreditation for therapy dogs. In the United States, some
organizations require that a dog pass the equivalent of the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen test
and then add further requirements specific to the environments in which the dogs will be working.
Other organizations have their own testing requirements. Typical tests might ensure that a dog can handle
sudden loud or strange noises; can walk on assorted unfamiliar surfaces comfortably; are not frightened by
people with canes, wheelchairs, or unusual styles of walking or moving; get along well with children and with
the elderly; and so on.
The Medical Service Dog can also be a dog that is trained to alert it’s owner or others to a change in medical
condition such as a drop in blood sugar for a Diabetic, and eminent epileptic episode for those suffering
epilepsy, or a drop in oxygen level for someone with emphysema etc. A Medical Service Dog might also be a
dog that provides emotional support to a person with psychological challenges such as agoraphobia.
Although we do not complete the necessary training for our puppies here, we support their development into
a Medical Service Dog or Therapy Dog by implementing a breeding program specifically for the required
temperament for this type of work, and working with puppies by providing necessary experiences and
desensitization.
Copywrite Storybook Maltese 2012
