Therapy dogs come in all breeds, shapes and sizes. One thing they all must have in common is temperament. Therapy dogs must be confident, friendly, patient and gentle in all situations.

While formal obedience training is not mandatory, your dog must have solid obedience skills in order to pass the evaluation. We highly recommend completion of Puppy Kindergarten, Beginner's Obedience & Advanced Level 1 (or equivalent) and the Canine Good Neighbor course.

A therapy dog must be current on all vaccines required by law and have a negative fecal test and annual health exam by your veterinarian every 12 months. When a dog is unwell, visits will pause until a veterinarian clearance has been given.

There is not a special diet for therapy dogs, but therapy dogs cannot eat a raw diet. This is due to an increased risk of food-borne pathogens such as e-coli and salmonella. This also includes freeze-dried meat products.

Dogs must be at least 2 years old and younger than 10 years old to be evaluated.

No. Upon successful completion of OTD's orientation, evaluation & mentoring process your dog will not have public access rights as a service dog would. Ottawa Therapy Dogs only wear their bandanas while visiting our approved facilities with the handler that was evaluated with the dog. Completion of our application process does not provide any special status or certification for your dog. There is no recognized certification for therapy or emotional support animals in Ontario. ​

Therapy dogs need to have a calm and gentle disposition. They should actively solicit interactions with people while maintaining their good manners. Their behaviour must be reliable, and predictable. Their body posture should be relaxed and they must be able to sustain moments of eye contact. Therapy dogs should be more people oriented than animal oriented. A therapy dog enjoys being petted, touched and hugged by others outside their family unit. Therapy dogs must not jump on others and they need to walk nicely on leash without pulling.