First and foremost, you need a dog that loves meeting new people. If your dog is fearful (or aggressive) toward strangers, then pet therapy isn't for you. I've turned away many a prospective pet therapy volunteer whose dog was afraid when meeting me. Dogs that back away from friendly new people or hide behind their owners, avoiding contact, just aren't going to warm to pet therapy. In addition, dogs who shy away or hide from a new person will often elicit a response such as, "Oh...your dog doesn't like me!" We certainly never want someone to feel this way on a pet therapy visit!
While loving new people is great, they need to not be overly enthusiastic about it. Meaning successful pet therapy dogs show joy when meeting new people, but they don't jump up on them, paw for attention, bark for attention, or move too quickly. The best pet therapy dogs I know amble or trot up to new people with a loose tail wag, and often a grin on their face as if to say, "Hi! Nice to meet you!" They position themselves for scratches and pats and wait to see if the human wants more. If they do, the dog moves around and makes another pass at the person for attention and love. Yes, dogs can be taught to approach people calmly without barking or jumping up, but it does take time. If your dog is already a mellow, people-lover, there is less you need to do on the front end in terms of training on this skill.
Your dog will also need to have really good on leash manners. That means that they don't pull you, gasping for air as they go. They should walk at your side, or slightly in front of you, but your arm should not be fully extended, nor should you have to ball up the leash to keep good control. Therapy dogs should be able to walk nicely on leash with a flat collar, harness, or head halter; they shouldn't need choke chains or pinch collars for control. You will want to work with your dog to be able to pass by other pet therapy teams in tight spaces without the dogs tangling leashes or getting underfoot.
If you are getting a puppy to train for pet therapy work, start from the get-go! Expose your puppy to friendly strangers even before you can let their feet touch the ground. Take them in a pack, a stroller, or simply carry them in your arms to places where people congregate. Encourage people to pet and engage your puppy and reward your puppy for accepting friendly strangers with interest and joy. Pet therapy visits are chock full of new smells and new noises, so expose your puppies to busy situations that incorporate smells and sounds like hardware stores, department stores, playgrounds, and shopping malls. You should also plan to start working on cooperative care exercises with your puppy so that handling at the vet is optimized, but also so that your puppy will be tolerant of handling (or perhaps a bit of mishandling) on their therapy visits. Therapy dogs need to tolerate having their feet, ears, noses, and tails touched, fur rubbed the wrong way, and an occasional tail pull. Especially if you want to work with patients in memory support, having your pet therapy dog tolerate all forms of handling is a must.
It's important for pet therapy dogs to not be afraid of medical equipment. Take your dog outside hospitals or nursing homes and work with them around folks in wheelchairs or using walkers and canes. You can also take your dog to areas frequented by people pushing strollers or shopping carts. Get your prospective therapy dogs used to wheeled contraptions that have people attached to them.
While it isn't talked about frequently, it is just as important to train your prospective pet therapy dog to leave items they see, smell, or find on the ground. And if they do pick something up, to drop it for you when asked. It doesn't happen a lot on therapy visits, but it happens enough that I've always taught my dogs from the time they were puppies to leave it and drop it on command. That way, if there is medicine on the floor, a needle, or a latex glove, for example, your dog will know to leave it alone when asked, not to mention leaving any food crumbs they find on the floor behind as well.
Lastly, I think that the best pet therapy dogs can tolerate being around other dogs without becoming scared, agitated, or overly enthusiastic. I'm not saying your dog has to love other dogs to do pet therapy; on the contrary, I'm saying they just need to be able to work in proximity to other pets to be successful. I actually prefer dogs who are kind of aloof or indifferent with other dogs on leash because I know that they are always going to choose to interact with the people rather than with the other dogs on a pet therapy visit.
This is, by no means, an exhaustive list of what I look for in a potential therapy dog, but it's a good start. Breed of the dog, age, sex, etc. are less important to me; a young, intact male, pit bull can still be an amazing pet therapy dog, for example. And, yes, I've met Golden Retrievers and Labradors that weren't suitable, at least not until they matured past the stage where they were no longer body slamming everyone they meet, stepping on feet and jumping up for attention. They'll likely be great pet therapy dogs someday, once they've grown up a bit and settled down, so never give up hope!
As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.
Desi was a natural at pet therapy. He would amble toward people, big smile on his face and tail wagging. He would put his sweet, soft face on their lap or in their hand. He never jumped up, pawed, or barked for attention, but would wait patiently for his turn. He could spot someone who needed him a mile away. Agitated dementia patients didn't scare him, neither did crying babies, or fire alarms going off. He was a rock through it all, offering unconditional love and soft collie fluff to bury your hands or face in if you needed to. I miss him every single day.
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