The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was originally bred in England for Kings as a comfort and companion dog. Because of their loving nature, they are one of the most perfect therapy service dogs. Cavalier King Charles are easy to train and make wonderful therapy service animals.

To become a therapy service dog, there are two key characteristics that Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and other applicants should meet.

1. Your dog should have a loving and compassionate temperament.  This is easy, as almost all Cavalier King Charles Spaniels have this.
2. The dog should be at least one year old and the handler should be at least 12 years old with adult supervision.  Most handlers are adults.

The Role of the Therapy Service Dog

Therapy service dogs help to make people feel better.  They visit shelters, foster homes, home for abused youth, nursing and assisted living homes, and rehab clinics.  Therapy Service dogs may also go on to do more intense training and be involved in disaster and trauma situations.  Therapy service dogs work closely with their handlers to be trained and become accustomed to public indoor and outdoor places.

Training

Therapy service dogs are trained to not be afraid of loud noises such as wheel chairs, crutches and walkers, and be okay with being around children and babies, teenagers, adults and elderly.

Obedience training may be necessary to get along with all types of humans and other animals, and for following commands and directions.  Training also helps therapy service dogs to avoid from being startled.

A certification is obtained upon completion of training and once application characteristics are met.  Therapy service dogs may wear a well deserved dog vest which alerts passersby that they are on the job.

Advanced Service Dog Training

Therapy service dogs may go on to become advanced service dogs for crisis response teams who aid and respond to natural disaster, crisis and traumas.  Training involves many hours and includes various certifications upon completion.  Dogs who are chosen are able to remain calm and focus on the job of comforting others during challenging training and of course in real life traumatic situation.  Some of this training may include remaining calm during loud noises and blaring lights, walking through hectic situations, flying on airplanes, riding on trains, walking through smoke and fires with a gas mask, etc.

Because Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are smart, obedient in nature and naturally have a very loving nature, they make one of the most fitting therapy service dogs.  If not trained early however, some Cavalier King Charles Spaniels however are sensitive and unable to withstand loud noises and possibly territorial or afraid people not part of their household.  If you are a pet owner and are interested in participating in therapy service with your pet, train your pet early and practice often.  This piece of advice is key to becoming a successful therapy team.

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