People-Animal Connection
Therapy Dogs vs. Service Dogs
What's the Difference Between a Therapy Dog and Service Dogs?
Service Dogs
- Provided to people with disabilities that need aided assistance
- Trained to perform specific tasks that would ease their handler's disability
- Training is specific to one person only
- Usually have a "no petting" policy
- Interacting with other people can distract them from performing their tasks
Here's a list of a few Service Dog Organizations:
Therapy Dogs
- Trained to interact with a variety of people
- Usually have stable temperaments and have a friendly, easy-going personality
- Help provide psychological or physiological therapy to individuals other than their handler
- They help provide comfort and joy to people they encounter
- They visit people in various social settings such as hospitals, schools, nursing homes, etc.
- PAC Teams are certified to perform animal-assisted therapy through Pet Partners