Therapy Dogs vs Service Dogs

Therapy Dogs vs. Service Dogs

To understand the designer dog of a Goldendoodle and Labradoodle you must understand the purpose. The original purpose of the crossbreed of the Golden Retriever and Standard Poodle was to develop guide dogs suitable for visually impaired individuals with allergies. Truly creating the perfect furry friend to meet either or both of these needs of a therapy or service dogs.

Therapy Dogs

A therapy dog is a pet that has been trained to be a working dog with a very specific temperament to provide affection and comfort to people in need of support. They meet the needs of people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, hospices, disaster areas, children with learning disabilities and a wide variety of “special needs” and/or emotional needs. An emotional support dog falls under the therapy dog category and can get clearance for public places. See more www.usaservicedogregistration.com

At Downeast Designer Doodles we have personally seen countless times the affects a dog such as a Doodle has on a child with special and emotional needs. Our personal residence is actually approved to care for foster children and has been blessed to have had a number of children over the years come through our home. The soothing effects we’ve seen first hand a doodle have on comforting children during a challenging (and sometimes traumatic) transition has been incredible…and truly only the comfort a dog could provide.

Service Dogs

Therapy dogs are different from Service dogs. Service dogs are dogs who are specially trained to perform specific tasks to help a person who has a disability. An example of a service dog is a dog who guides an owner who is blind, or a dog who assists someone who has a physical disabilities such as: mobility issues, visual impairment (blindness), hearing impairment (deafness), seizures, diabetes, PTSD, autism, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis (MS), and other physical/mental disabilities.

Service dogs stay with their person and have special access privileges in public places such as on planes, restaurants, etc. The dogs can help aid those with physical disabilities so they can move around in society with more independence. Dogs can even be trained to help alert a person who has seizures that one is about to come on; how amazing is that!

If you are looking for either a service dog or a therapy dog Downeast Designer Doodles is the breeder for you! We are truly here to make and help the world be a better place by providing hybrid dogs designed for just these purposes. We are also happy to connect you with trainers and certifications. So if you are looking for either for yourself or someone you love, please contact us or for additional information check out www.usdogregistry.org