Therapy Dogs

Sometimes humans teach dogs to heel. And sometimes dogs teach humans to heal.

I added two English Setter Therapy Dogs to my practice in 2011. I used to do biofeedback using electrodes attached to a patient’s forehead to teach relaxation strategies to my patients. Relaxation Training is helpful to human beings for managing stress, anxiety and panic, depression, medical illness, weight issues, addictions, insomnia and pain, and for improving performance under pressure.

In my office I see the results daily. My dogs can accomplish in seconds what I used to accomplish in several hours of biofeedback training with my patients. They are simply superior at calming my patients' Central Nervous Systems (CNS) to biofeedback and a lot more fun, too. The calmer CNS produces more relaxation hormones like serotonin, oxytocin, endorphins and enkephalins which improve mind and body functioning for all non-life threatening activities. The calmer mind naturally thinks better-feeling, more reasonable thoughts. And the calmer body naturally feels better due to less muscle tension, lower blood pressure, lower heart rate and slower, deeper, more satisfying breathing. Getting a patient to this calmer state of mind and body benefits the therapeutic process of change by improving mental outlook towards confidence and hope.

I am so glad to have my Therapy Dogs' assistance daily in my office. I required my English Setters, Boon and Rain, to pass the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test prior to accompanying me at work as my Therapy Dogs. Rain passed her CGC test during the Summer of 2011 on a hot day at an Oak Ridge, TN park. Boon failed to pass that day because he refused to lie down. He did all of the other 9 benchmarks beautifully. Boon and I flunked the CGC one more time in the Fall of 2011 at Victor Ashe Park in Knoxville, TN before we finally passed our third attempt. So Boon joined Rain and me at work in November 2011.

When working with dogs, whoever is calmest is the pack leader, and I realized my difficulty working with Boon is that he is routinely calmer than me. Rain is usually more anxious or excitable, so I have no trouble as her pack leader. Any time Boon is calmer than I am, he immediately takes over as pack leader and does whatever he wants rather than following my instructions. I am continuously working to stay calmer than Boon, which is good for my mind and body, and also good for my patients. A calmer therapist and therapy environment is a key ingredient to effective therapy results. Knowing your dog's behavioral patterns can be helpful insight to discovering your own internal levels of stress (o-10 on the Whitworth Stressometer). This example of the biofeedback Therapy Dogs provide for therapist and patients alike demonstrates the value I believe they bring to the therapy process.