I am a breeder of Miniature Schnauzers in California just outside the San Francisco Bay Area. Therefore, I am central located less than 2 hours from almost anywhere in Northern California. So, if you are looking to buy a Miniature Schnauzer puppy, I am the Miniature Schnauzer breeder you are looking for. By the way many of my puppies live in surrounding cities in all of the East bay and Silicone Valley and several other Northern California cities. Are you someone who wants to buy a Miniature Schnauzer puppy in San Jose? Well, I am the Miniature Schnauzer breeder you are looking for. Even if you live in Santa Cruz, Pacific Grove or Danville, California I am still able to serve your puppy needs.
Many people who have purchased my puppies have trained them to be successful therapy dogs.
Miniature Schnauzers make excellent therapy dogs.
Most people, when they are sick, they require more time and attention from other people than what other people are able to provide. Love, support and attention is a basic human need and when people are sick their needs escalate beyond what most people understand to be normal.
Sick people need a lot more. Unfortunately, not all people have the time nor the patience to deal with people who are sick, disabled and challenging or as some say high-maintenance. However, dogs are capable of giving an endless amount of love and attention and they are insatiable. Dogs are the quintessential love bug; they listen and don’t argue of talk back, they will shower you with kisses and sniffing while pouring out from their heart an endless amount of love. Therapy dogs can give the emotional and physical support that most people are unable and unwilling to provide.
Some breeds of dogs are better suited to be service dogs and therapy dogs. I really don’t see the herding breeds to be the best suited, whereas, the hypoallergenic dogs, non-shedding breeds and those in the top 2 tiers of intelligence are my choice. For example, Miniature Schnauzers, Poodles, and the Papillon are great dogs just to name a few.
Therapy dog training requires specializations that are rooted on fundamental dog training. As such, training for this work entails the need to form behaviors in the dog that are of great help to people who are undergoing therapy. Therefore, basic dog training will not suffice if the dog needs to demonstrate other obligations like performing various roles and interacting well with the patient.
Therapy dogs are used in hospitals where mostly the patients are children and the elderly. The handler and the dog will provide the patients with sufficient attention and activities that will let them drift away from the present problems in their lives.
However, therapy dogs are not only valuable in hospitals, the comfort they give are also necessary components in other therapy centers like nursing homes, schools, mental institutions and retirement homes.
The type of training that therapy dogs undergo are especially created and modified from various other trainings to fit the needs called for in situations that usually occur during hospital visitations. Their training will equip them with the appropriate skills to allow strangers to enjoy their company. To provide enjoyable experiences, most therapy dogs are trained to do tricks and performances that the audience will enjoy.
Training of therapy dogs vary from state to state however, it is a general rule that a therapy dog should have an AKC certification of good citizenship before it can enter into the formal training and service. However, even before that training there are such training programs that won’t even entertain the idea of training the puppy if the puppy has not received “Early Neurological Stimulation” during his 0 – 8 weeks of life. Certification, as well as, training could be obtained from local therapy dog training classes or animal shelters. After obtaining this certification, therapy training for the dog will begin.
This kind of training will condition the dog to ignore things like hospital equipments, people who are not the subject of therapy and noise. They are also trained to help with basic tasks like simple activities. However, they must not be confused with service dogs.
These are the dogs, which are under the law, help people who have disabilities. More often than not, they work on a continuous basis. Therapy dogs are more like visitors to patients and not really dogs that will accompany and help people with disabilities with their daily tasks. However, a dog can be both a therapy dog and a service dog. I have known some Miniature Schnauzers that were diabetic dogs (a service dog) and a therapy dog at the same time.
A visiting dog will also help in changing the routine from time to time. Therapy could be quite boring for many people thus the need for change of pace will always contribute something positive to the therapy. Animals could also make the patient feel less depressed or lonely since they create distractions from the unproductive thoughts of the patients.
Dogs also encourage the patient to become less passive and more responsive and active during and after visitations. Therapy training will also help the dog entertain the patient; they may either provide fun or diversion from the pain and suffering currently experienced.
Therapy dog training is relatively difficult to find but the services of the dog for this purpose have been used for so many years.
Many schools and agencies only use puppies that have gone through ENS, Early Neurological Stimulation as a new puppy between 3-8 weeks old.
Barbara Williams
