Our First Therapy Visit

We just got back from our first therapy visit, and I think it went reasonably well. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics - it was hard enough to hold Red on his flat collar, plus my purse. I think I will ask someone else if they can take pics next time. But I will give you the blow-by-blow of how it went.

I meant to take him for a run this morning, but since we had to be there so early and it doesn't get light outside until later, I didn't really want to be walking through the woods in the dark. So basically he just ran around the yard for an hour or so before hand.

Once he knew we were leaving to go somewhere, he was jumping around like a maniac. I was getting very worried at this point. "Oh god, he's going to be jumping around like an idiot and people are going to wonder how he ever got certified to be a therapy dog in the first place.." I put his red bandana on him to add a little friendliness - plus I thought it would help disguise the fact that I'd probably be choking the hell out of him in his flat collar while we were there.

We arrived a few minutes early so he could go potty, then I took off his prong and had him just on his flat collar. I could tell right away that this was going to be difficult. Being in a new place with new smells, coupled with all his morning energy, and being on a flat collar = pulling me all over the place. I held the leash right at the clasp to the collar and did my best to appear like I wasn't holding back a charging sled dog. I didn't want to harshly verbally correct him in front of anyone either, so my only weapon was the occasional pop on the flat collar, which of course did not help.

We go inside and there are a few nurses standing there. Red goes straight up to them and tries to lick their faces, then goes into a fit of circle-zoomies and play bows. He will not hold still for a second to even let them pet him. "oh sweet jesus, how am I ever going to get through this??" I'm thinking. To demonstrate that contrary to how he's acting now, he is trained - so I have him go through some obedience exercises - sit, finish, down, and a few fun ones like shake and touch. The girls really liked this, but it seemed to rile Red up even more... Finally, the lady in charge of the volunteering program, and who was going to accompany us, appeared. She herself had a female Doberman, so we had a common connection, which was good.

First, she took us to the dining room where there were about 8 people either sitting at tables or in wheelchairs, watching a big screen TV that was playing the karoake words of YMCA. One of the residents was dancing, and Red really liked him because he was moving around - Red started playing bowing and licking the guy's hands. We went around to each person and Red's reaction to every single one was the same - approach, lick the face, then continue to sniff around everywhere. He knew he was supposed to greet everyone, which he did, but he had a hard time just sitting in one place to let them pet him. So I had make him sit by the chair, hold him by the collar, and rub one of his ears (which is the magical calming spot on him) so at least each resident could get in a few pats.

Then it was off to visit each room. Some residents were still asleep so we didn't bother them, but most were up. We knocked and asked if they wanted to pet the dog. Some didn't want to see him, but most said yes and were delighted to see Red. Red's game plan was the same - approach, lick once in greeting, and continue sniffing around. He especially liked to put a nose print on each TV in the room.

For each person who wanted to pet him, I'd kneel down, make Red sit, and hold his collar or head so people could pat him. After awhile of this, he seemed to calm down and was more willing to sit still and allow people to pet him. One lady really liked him and he stood really well for her while she stroked his head and told him how beautiful he was. Another lady wanted to give him a treat and spent 5 minutes rummaging around the drawers in her room trying to find one to give him. But since residents aren't allowed to feed the dog anything, I told her that he just had breakfast and was ok without a treat. She seemed really sad she didn't have anything to give him. I said that we'd be back to see her next time and maybe she would have something for him then. She reminded me of a little grandmotherly lady who wanted to stuff the grandkids full of cookies and sweets every time they came to visit =)

The only weird thing is that he LOVES licking toes. Even through the thin hospital blankets. I had to pay extra attention to him while taking him around the bed because if toes were exposed, or poking up in the blankets, he wanted to lick them. I don't know - he's got some sort of weird toe-licking fetish, LOL

Red still pulled quite a bit in the hallway between rooms, but he did get better the longer we went. After awhile when we got into a room, he'd just stand there by my side while I talked to residents. His excited energy was wearing off a bit, which was good. Every now and then in the hallways, an employee would stop and ask questions about him and wanted to pet him too.

Our round of the floor took us about 30 minutes. Which, I thought, was enough for now. Since it was only Red's first time, I want him get him used to the environment without overdoing it.

I asked the lady that accompanied us how she thought he did (since I was not sure Red was doing the greatest due to the pulling, excessive sniffing and not sitting still for long for petting), but she said he did well, and the residents really seemed to like him and we got a lot of smiles. She invited us to come back. She signed my TDI visit log, and she gave me a volunteer packet to take home and fill out to return to them with proof of rabies and our information.

We left and got back into the car. Any time we finish with training or anything, I always give Red a jackpot of treats when we get back into the car. Usually I let him stick his face in the treat bag and let him finish what's left, but since there was no treat bag, I gave him a handful of cookies out of my purse.

So all in all, I think it went ok. It wasn't a disaster, but he wasn't the calm golden retriever that you see laying its head in someone's lap for 10 minutes either. I think he will get better as he gets older and also as we do it more, he will know what he is expected to do. I am thinking I want to make this into a regular thing - maybe every week or every other week, on whatever days I have off work during the week. Considering it didn't take very long and the more we go, the better behaved and calmer he should get. Next time, I'm going to see if we can go later in the day so he doesn't have all his morning energy to burn. Maybe after lunch or something which will give me time to run him ahead of time, and keep him awake all morning so he may be a little more sleepy.

There are a couple other facilities on the list from TDI that I may want to check out, but I'm thinking of just going to this one a few times first so Red can get more used to the idea and environment. This was a nice place - the employees seemed really nice and happy we were there, and the residents seemed happy and well taken care of. I can't imagine spending all day every day in a facility, so I feel if I can make a difference in their day, make them smile and be able to pet a dog for a couple minutes, maybe I've made their day a little brighter. =)