I can tell that Lily is going to be a terrific therapy dog. She’s got a loving, engaging personality, she adores people, and she loves to cuddle. We continue to make “practice” visits to the nursing home that James visits every week. I take Lily over on Sunday morning when it’s relatively quiet. She’s a natural at the job! She politely greets people and moves herself into position so they can pet her. She, of course, loves the attention!
In addition to the nursing home visits, Lily is enrolled in an Intermediate Manners class at our training center, True Blue Dog Training. It’s a small class, so she’s getting lots of practice working on name recognition, sit/down stays, recall, and loose lead walking at my side – all with distractions. These skills are important to master when looking to do therapy dog visiting.
Practice makes perfect… so we’ll keep working together as a team. When I feel she’s ready, I’ll sign her up for her evaluation for therapy dog certification through Bright Spot Therapy Dogs, Inc.
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