How to select a puppy or even an adult dog such as a rescue/re-homed dog for potential therapy or assistance dog work is a topic I get asked a lot of questions about. These questions may come from potential handlers or even breeders wanting to know what they should be considering when selecting a dog or helping match a suitable dog to the family. Some potential handlers may already have their dog and want to understand whether their dog may be suitable for the role of either assistance dog or therapy dog.

So, what are some of the things that I am considering when I’m helping someone select a dog or that I recommend people consider when they're looking for a dog to do this kind of work?

I want to look for behaviours that may not be ideal for the handlers needs or the population they work for but also for general traits that may make training and working a dog in this type of work more challenging. One of these traits may be a more ‘bossy’ type of dog personality. This might be the pup that’s taking every toy off other littermates, being too rough in play or wanting to control play, stands over the body a lot, pushes to access food first, is quick to frustrate and bark if restricted access to something etc. I also don’t want a puppy or dog on the other extreme that is nervous to explore, fearful of trying new things, is aloof and avoids social interactions, or even the extreme of being flighty or running off from new things and experiences. You want to look for that ‘middle’ puppy that is interested in engaging calmly with people and other animals, wants to explore new things confidently and then move off, tolerates feeling restricted from accessing what they want for a short while, and settles well independently.

Some other things I look for are being quick to startle and slow to recover which we want to avoid seeing in potential therapy and assistance animals too. As much as we may try to avoid scary experiences, they will be exposed to novel stimuli and startling events on occasion, and we don’t want this to be something that they can’t cope with.

Hyperarousal/overstimulation are traits that we want to look out for. This can be seen in behaviours such as jumping up excessively, mouthing, doing ‘zoomies’, biting at leads, and even mounting behaviour. When dogs feel like the stress they’re under is building up and up and they’re struggling to manage those feeling or be able to escape from the situation, these behaviours can come out and quite explosively. This is impacted by both an inability to cope with a lot of environmental stimuli and changes to the environment, inability to cope with stress too well and some dogs are more prone than others to express these big feelings in this way. If we are working in high stress environments, things get a bit out of hand and we need to manage them but if we have a dog that copes with stress by mounting, mouthing, jumping up, barking, doing zoomies and so on, this is not going to be safe for anyone, let alone doing the role we want from them.

Pups that are very licky and/or touch sensitive, certainly any that show any aggression to handling rule out them being suitable for working. Any resource guarding behaviour is also a red flag. We should never be forcing pups onto their backs or restraining them excessively to test this as we would never want this to be forced onto a dog in a work setting anyway, however testing tolerance to a moderate degree of these interactions is important as they will happen. Some dogs may be more head shy than others or sensitive to being touched in particular areas or surprised by being bumped or woken up. These things will happen in both therapy and assistance dog work so an ability to cope with these events without showing signs of stress that they struggle to recover from or the use of aggression are not characteristics we want to see in a therapy or assistance dog.

A dog that genuinely wants to interact with people is very important, especially in therapy dogs. For an assistance dog, one that is comfortable with people approaching and interacting is important, but we don’t want them wanting to go up and say hello to everyone they see either. This is easy to train however so selection for a people social pup is needed.

Test for response to things that move and whether they’re nervous and bark at it. This could be bikes, skateboards, wheelchairs etc. If possible, probably moreso with older rescues or rehomed dogs, testing predatory behaviour to small animals is something you want to rule out too as you will encounter cats and other animals when out at some time.

If you’re on the hunt for a puppy from a breeder, some of the questions that you should be asking are:

what’s the temperament like of the mother and father? How was the mother’s pregnancy? Was there any stressors?
how do the breeders raise the puppies? Are they inside the home or outside in a shed-type setting?
do they use a protocol for raising the puppies like Puppy Culture? Exposing the puppies to a range of really important early experiences. Things like exposure to sounds, slippery floors, things that move in new and unexpected ways, children, so many things!
are they registered breeders that undertake the necessary health checks required of the breed. If they’re a purebred dog they should be members of the ANKC and their breed specific breeding clubs.
how are they matching the pups to their potential homes? Can you be involved in the process? Does the breeder appear genuinely invested in the puppies having the right homes over financial gains.
how many dogs do they have that they are breeding from and other litters being raised at the same time?
are the pups potentially being exposed to any risk of harm or trauma?
is the physical health of the pups and other dogs being cared for there being well looked after.
how do they select their breeding dogs? What characteristics do they look for? Temperament or conformation? Do they trial their dogs in particular sports etc.
there are so many questions you could ask! Speaking with a trainer to help in the selection process, especially one experienced in selection and training for working roles would be very useful!

You want a dog with a personality that you naturally click with. Don’t underestimate the importance of the gut feel and relationship you have with a dog. In a role such as an assistance dog this is particularly crucial. The bond is everything! Depending on what your needs are from a therapy dog, you might be going to work in an aged care facility for example so an older and more calm dog would be more appropriate than a higher energy young dog that is more playful. If you’re going to work in a youth centre you might not want an elderly toy breed that doesn’t want to run around and be more active. If it’s an assistance dog you’re searching for and you want a dog to assist in opening doors and pushing pedestrian buttons then a Dachshund isn’t going to be suitable. If you've got other pets in the home, is that dog going to fit in well in your household because at the end of the day, this dog has to be a part of your family.

When looking for a potential assistance dog, it’s so important to try to get it right because the investment that you’re making is huge. Thinking about what role you want the dog to play, the tasks you may want them to do to help support you and how that may fit in with your lifestyle, work, family, where you live and so much more. Not all dogs are going to make it in therapy or assistance dog roles. It’s important to allow the dog to consent to the work you want of them too. They aren’t robots that can be forced to tolerate work they’re stressed by because that tolerance may only last so long before something happens and they don’t tolerate it anymore.

If you have any questions about selecting a dog for therapy or assistance roles, have a dog and you’re unsure if they’re suitable, or you are in Melbourne and interested in training to have your dog accredited in either of these roles, please feel free to reach out!

Selecting an appropriate therapy or assistance dog - what to look out for