Three Therapy Dog Handling Skills I Do Differently (and Better!) Than When I Started
“Hold her head! Hold her head! Don’t let her bite me!” the third grade boy shrieked repeatedly, hiding behind his mom.
I felt flummoxed.
It was our first session and the boy’s mom had been excited during our phone intake when I mentioned my therapy dogs, exclaiming that her son loved animals and would be thrilled to meet Delta and Sky.
Yet here I was, closing Delta in my inner office with a snack while we tried to calm this boy enough to participate in a speech and language evaluation, his mom repeating to him, “You love dogs, remember?”
It turned out that yes, he loved animal facts, devouring documentaries and books about animal life cycles and migrations. In fact, his preferred topics on this day, once settled, was an extinct species of porpoise and the unique properties of brine shrimp.
However…he’d never actually had close encounters with a live dog before.
I’m always grateful that my therapy dogs are resilient enough that situations like this one don’t rattle them for long, but ideally I’d like work days to be joyful for my canine co-therapists. While most sessions with my therapy dogs run fairly smoothly, I’ve definitely found a few ways to refine my animal-assisted speech therapy over the years
So here’s the lesson I took away from this situation, plus two more changes I’ve made since becoming an animal-assisted interventionist:
Speech therapy dog Delta sits on a bolster swing with me. I’ve learned a lot about being an effective animal-assisted interventionist since first partnering with her in 2019
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#1. Asking multiple times in multiple ways about likely reactions to a therapy dog
While the opening example was the most extreme surprise I’ve experienced after getting assurance a child would be fine working with a therapy dog, I’ve had a handful of other times that it became clear the parent really loved animals but the child…not so much.
In these instances my dog was just able to have some down time in the room and not be so actively involved in sessions (see also points #2 and 3), but nonetheless it left me having to think on my feet to ensure the child was comfortable.
So now I make sure to:
bring up therapy dog inclusion at least a couple times during intake,
give specific examples of what interactions might look like between the child and dog, and
leave questions fairly open-ended while asking follow-up questions if I sense any uncertainty.
I also ask if any family members have fears, allergies, or immuno-compromised status that could mean I’m not the best provider for this client. If a caregiver is uncomfortable in my office that will likely transmit to the child I’m tasked with treating and therefore another therapist might be a better fit.
I suspect many people envision a therapy dog just lying on the office floor, but since my dogs are more energetic (and in Delta’s case, large), I need to make sure they know that if they become my client they will be actually interacting with dogs to some degree every session.
While I have some kids who just aren’t that interested and Delta or Sky are able to nap during their sessions, both dogs are nonetheless likely to at least try for some pets and may be wandering the room as we work.
I now also remind families I’ll have a dog with me when I send them a reminder for our first appointment and offer to meet them in the parking lot if they’d prefer. This way Delta is less likely to bark (see The Perfectly Imperfect Speech Therapy Dog: Knowing When to Train and When to Manage), Sky is less likely to jump up, and everyone has more space to move around each other and not potentially feel trapped in a corner.
If I have any suspicion a child might have difficulty with novel environments (e.g., autism spectrum disorder or anxiety) I also text a photo of whichever one of my dogs will be with me the day of their first appointment and ask the caregiver to please show it to their child.
Like social stories or comic-strip conversations, a simple visual can sometimes make all the difference in a child knowing what to expect and therefore feeling more relaxed about a new situation.
Therapy dog Sky often prefers to lie next to children during animal-assisted speech therapy sessions. Even kids who aren’t especially motivated by the therapy dogs will be interacting with them at some point in each session, so screening at intake is important.
#2. Being more proactive about including decompression activities into my therapy dog’s day
My dogs have always loved a nice Kong Classic stuffed with something yummy to lick, but I used to reserve these for those few times when I needed to close them off separately from a therapy session to keep them busy and not feeling so left out.
Now I try to make sure my therapy dogs have moments throughout the day to engage in naturally calming dog behaviors like licking, chewing, and sniffing/searching.
Just as I try to make sure my clients have their sensory needs met before they become dysregulated, I’m trying to do the same with my therapy dogs. I’ve noticed Delta is more interactive in my late afternoon and evening sessions, when she used to prefer to nap, if I break up her day once or twice with a few moments to lick a Kong, rustle through a snuffle ball, or chew on a bully stick.
(Note: some organizations recommend against dehydrated meat products for therapy dogs due to the slight risk of salmonella contamination as they are considered raw food. I choose to use them as part of my dogs’ decompression routines and healthy diet but inform families of the risk and have handwashing protocols in place as part of every session.)
Just like including gum-chewing, chew necklaces, or bite tubes to help an anxious or sensory-seeking child, allowing a dog to really work their jaws helps trigger endorphin release to bring a sense of calm and contentment.
Delta and Sky also light up any time their favorite dog puzzles are included in a session, allowing them to use their brains while also activating their olfactory sensory.
The younger kids I work with giggle and cheer as Sky picks up the pieces of a level 1 puzzle while they use their new articulation skills to encourage her to “find it” or say “good dog”. Older kids like to challenge Delta with the level 2 puzzle, planning out ways to make the treats harder to access.
Check out this great podcast episode from Therapy Dogs Australia about decompression.
Sky enjoys searching for treats from a simple dog puzzle during animal-assisted speech therapy sessions. Clients get to practice their articulation while she engages in a fun decompression activity.
#3. Letting my therapy dogs participate when it makes sense organically
I admit, when I first brought Delta to work I felt I needed to prove she had a role in my work.
I wanted families to see exactly why animal-assisted therapy is beneficial, which meant I tried to actively involve her for a least a part of every session.
Sometime this meant asking her to participate in ways that were more effort than they were really worth, such as having her act out a role in a literacy skit as a reminder of a previously practiced sound-letter correspondence, when really that child just needed a photo or simple visual to recall the concept. Or coming up with a fairly abstract word that wasn’t even in a child’s vocabulary to target a particular sound, like asking her to spin by saying “revolve” to target the “r” sound.
With time comes perspective though, and I’m less concerned with proving Delta’s (and now Sky’s) particular worth session after session. I know the value they bring to a session from having witnessed the change in my clients over time.
I also get feedback from many caregivers about how much their child enjoys coming to speech therapy to see the dogs.
Some have even stated specific positive differences they’ve noticed in their child compared to previous therapy offices they’ve attended, such as:
spontaneously talking about speech at home between sessions,
showing interest in the calendar to know how many more days until speech, and
receiving reports from school staff that the child spontaneously demonstrated what they are working on “with the dogs”.
So now I let my therapy dogs rest a lot more, whether that’s on their bed or next to our client as they desire in the moment. And when I do actively include them it’s with a clear purpose and intended outcome in mind.
I think we are all happier because of that!
If you’re interested in learning more about how to include animal-assisted interventions into your work, I have several resources available. Get your FREE Roadmap to Partnering with a Speech Therapy Dog, check out Paws for Progress: Integrating Animal-Assisted Interventions Into Your Speech-Language Pathology Practice, or dive in with Talk to the Paw: Foundations for Therapy Animal Inclusion in a Professional Setting.
May your days be filled with puppy wiggles and children’s giggles,
Sharlet
