POPULAR DOGS – POODLES: POODLE PAWS TO HEAL
Intelligent Poodles of all sizes excel at dog-assisted therapy
Fluffed and coiffed, Poodles have a look that says pamper me, oui? The real truth about the national dog of France is that beneath all that hair, there’s a ruggedly-built water retriever that’s extremely qualified to help others. In fact, Poodles excel at dog-assisted therapy, bringing comfort and joy to the sick, injured and elderly.
All three Poodle varieties, Standards, Miniatures and Toys, of all colors love nothing better than clowning around and putting on a show at hospitals, schools or nursing homes. If it means bringing a smile and motivating healing, they’ll jump through hoops, fetch a facial tissue or dance on their hind legs. Well-bred, well-raised Poodles are soothing, natural healers. Intuitively, they sense when someone needs a curly mop-top head to pet.
If you think your Poodle would make a good therapy dog, know what personality traits it should have and what it needs to learn before you walk into a hospital with your dog on a leash. Any size or color Poodle will do, but it must be healthy, clean and odor- free.
“Dogs need to be friendly, outgoing, interested in people and enjoy having new experiences,” says Michelle Cobey, a spokesperson with the Delta Society, a national therapy dog registry and network in Bellevue, Washington. This organization screens dogs and their handlers for its Pet Partners Program. According to Cobey, any dog of any breed that has basic obedience training, lots of socialization, and is confident in new settings can become a therapy dog.
BEAUTY AND INSPIRATION.
Many breeds can become therapy dogs, but Poodle owners and therapy organization experts say that this fashionable dog that looks the world in the eye is a top candidate. “Poodles are intelligent, very loyal and love to please,” says Doris Cozart, president of the Poodle Club of America and longtime Poodle breeder. “These characteristics make them ideal canine counselors.”
Members of the AKC-designated Non-Sporting group, Poodles are very easy to train. To work as assistance dogs, they should understand basic commands, such as sit, stay, down and come. They must be calm and shouldn’t be afraid of strange noises and medical equipment, such as I.V. poles, wheelchairs and walkers. Poodles should also have stable personalities and not frighten easily if disabled patients make sudden, uncoordinated gestures. Because of their small size, Toys and Miniatures make great lap sitters or bed snugglers, and they need to be steady and confident if someone holds them too tightly. The last thing you want to have on your hands is a dog that is so frightened of these experiences that it urinates or defecates in the facility, bites someone or wants to run out the door.
When it comes to entertaining patients, it’s a bonus if your Poodle doesn’t mind wearing a costume either. “Bunny ears, red, white and blue patriotic outfits for the Fourth of July; Halloween getups; or reindeer antlers can easily become part of a Poodle’s visiting attire,” says Liz Palika, of Oceanside, California. Palika is the owner of Kindred Spirits Dog Training, which teaches therapy dog classes, and she has worked with several dozen Poodles.
POODLES ARE TRICKY
The adorable factor also helps. Who doesn’t ooh and ahh over a cute little dog? “Most Poodles are pretty cute, and this makes introducing them to people in a facility easy,” Palika says. “The breed usually likes to learn tricks and to perform them, which is a great way to make people smile during a visit.”
Neal Jennings, director of Pets on Wheels, a pet-visitation therapy program in Scottsdale, Arizona, discovered this immediately when he took his two black Poodles, Jacques, a Miniature, and Jill, a Toy, to visit his wife in a nursing facility 15 years ago.
“People would ask me if they did any tricks, so I taught them how to jump through my arms, shake hands and dance just to liven up the visits,” Jennings says “The word spread, and pretty soon I had other people bringing their dogs, too.” From there Jennings organized Pets on Wheels in 1990. In 2005, he had about 130 volunteers, including 16 Poodle teams who visited 13 nursing homes, an adult day-care center, three high school classes for developmentally challenged young people, and a few homebound individuals.
“The residents hug and pet the dogs, and some even kiss them,” Jennings says. “They open up by talking about the pets they once had, but pretty soon they’re talking about everything. Many patients look right past you in the hall, but when they see one of our Poodles coming, they’re so excited.”
With Poodles, the question of hair always comes up, but there’s an easy answer. Poodles don’t need fancy coat trims to be assistance dogs. Sally Eller of Ovid, New York, takes her black Standard assistance dogs, Jackson and Nell, to the grooming salon about once every five weeks for a short buzz cut. “Other than that, the grooming isn’t a problem,” Eller says.
Eller brushes them and cleans their ears every day, trims their nails weekly and gives them a bath once a month. Many groomers and veterinarians will trim Poodles at a reduced rate once they know that they’re therapy or service dogs.
You don’t have to worry about shedding and allergies, either. Poodles shed slightly, but instead of the hair falling to the floor or clinging to people or the furniture, it’s caught in the coat. The dead hair retained in the coat will form mats, so the coat needs to be brushed out every day. Loose hair is easier to keep track of this way! Poodles don’t develop the dander that people are allergic to, either. Bathed regularly, Poodles have minimal doggy odor.
A SHINING STAR
Poodles don’t need to have any unique abilities to be therapy dogs, but many of these majestic dogs are definitely gifted. Cara, a black Standard is an exceptional assistance dog with an uncanny knack for reaching children and adults previously thought unreachable. Despite having lost a leg to bone cancer, this amazing Poodle was the American Kennel Club (AKC) recipient of the Award for Canine Excellence (ACE) in 2002.
A happy therapy dog for nearly seven years, Cara and her owner, Sherry Brosnahan of Bridgewater, New Jersey, had regularly been visiting children and adults with developmental disabilities, when Cara was diagnosed with cancer. “The chemotherapy was very hard on Cara and I thought her visiting days were over,” Brosnahan says. “Then one day, the hospital called because they needed a dog to see a special little girl.”
When 16-year-old Jessica Evans, met Cara at the Matheny Medical and Educational Center, in Peapack, New Jersey, there was an instant rehabilitation connection. “Jessica has cerebral palsy and was unable to use her hands,” Brosnahan remembers. “I asked her if she wanted to give Cara a piece of food, but it was difficult for her to hold it. The treat became her therapy. She kept trying until she could do it.”
The three-legged dog became an inspiration to Jessica and other children and adults with developmental disabilities at Matheny. “The patients relate to Cara because she has a disability too,” says Sandy Josephson, director at the Matheny Center. “When they interact with Cara and the other dogs in the program, they can forget about their own disabilities.”
Brosnahan and Cara also went to the family-assistance center in New Jersey’s Liberty State Park to comfort families of 9/11 victims, and met with patients at a veterans’ hospital. After meeting Cara, one veteran said his first words after years of silence.
OODLES OF MEMORIES
Of the three sizes, the Miniatures and the Toys are probably the most popular with nursing-home residents. “Many seniors had small Poodles in the 1940s and ‘50s, and these dogs bring back pleasant memories of the time when they had their own dogs,” says Jennings, whose first Poodles, Jacques and Jill, were inducted into the Arizona Animal Hall of Fame for their years of therapy service. “The residents aren’t intimidated by the smaller-sized dogs, either.” In 2005 Jennings was still doing therapy visits with Clyde, a silver Miniature.
Having good Poodle memories goes a long way towards healing. When Standard Poodle breeder Tom Carneal of Maryville, Missouri, rescued Brandon, a black Toy Poodle from a shelter, he thought the dog would be a good hearing dog for his mother, whose Toy Poodle had just died. “At first she didn’t want another dog because she thought it would remind her of the first loss, but within two days, she said she couldn’t live without him,” Carneal. says.
Using praise and food, it took Carneal a year to train Brandon to be a hearing dog. “Now he scratches at the phone when it rings, goes to the door when the mailman comes and twirls in circles when the smoke detector goes off,” Carneal says.
AT THEIR SERVICE
Poodles can do amazing things, but can a Poodle be a guide dog for the blind? “Absolutely,” says Steve Hoyt, training director at Pilot Dogs, Inc., in Columbus, Ohio. “We have a long waiting list of sight-impaired people who want Standard Poodles.”
According to Hoyt, Poodles are the ideal guide dog. “Standard Poodles are the perfect size and weight (they’re generally between 22- and 24-inches tall, when measured from the top of the shoulder blade to the floor, and weigh 50 to 70 pounds) so they can comfortably fit beneath a desk at school or work, and easily ride in a taxi or a bus,” Hoyt says. They also don’t scare people, strange noises don’t bother them and if a family member is asthmatic, there’s no dander to be allergic to. Plus, they don’t shed hair all over the place.”
To prepare Poodles to become guide dogs, they spend the first year of their lives being raised by foster families. Pilot Dogs begin training the dogs when they are 12 to 14 months old.
SAR STARS
Seeing a Poodle wearing a red doggie vest with the canine search-and-rescue insignia is awe-inspiring. Although there aren’t large numbers of Poodles participating in this work, the few that do are incredibly special. SAR dogs rely on their owner-handlers to help them locate missing people in many different types of terrain and conditions. This training is extremely intense and requires patience and dedication from both dog and handler.
In SAR, dogs use airscenting (following a scent in the air) and tracking (following a scent on the ground) to find and rescue lost people. Several different types of canine SAR work exists, including three types of airscent rescue: live- only airscent, cadaver-only airscent, and those trained for both.
“Poodles are great airscent dogs because they work off-lead, are intelligent and can understand that they need to check back with the handler so they don’t get lost,” says Jan Frazee of Oceanside, California, a coordinator and evaluator for the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR), and a member of the California Rescue Dog Association.
“They can work independently yet they’re capable of making the decision to be disobedient when they’ve picked up the scent of a victim.”
“Poodles can learn complex chains of behaviors and can communicate, ‘I am doing my task and I have located what it is you want me to find,’ ” Frazee adds. “Larger Poodles are good at disaster work because they can cover a lot of ground, but we need smaller ones to go into a pile of rubble. If terriers can do that, so can small Poodles.”
GETTING STARTED
If you want to get involved in therapy work with your Poodle, contact one of the many national and local organizations that provide training and certification for therapy dogs and their handlers. Each group has its own training and testing requirements, but the basic skills are pretty much the same.
Many organizations consider candidates if they have certification from the Delta Society Pet Partners Program, Therapy Dogs International or the AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) certification program. The CGC is a 10-step evaluation process and the tests are given at AKC sanctioned-events. To be certified for all of these programs, dogs must demonstrate good manners.
To teach your dog the basics, enroll in obedience classes in your area. Many offer CGC preparation and training. You can also contact any professional behaviorist, trainer, or other dog specialist To locate them, ask your veterinarian, groomer, boarding kennel, breeder or assisted-living centers, hospitals or schools for the names of the training groups they work with. You can also train by yourself; then take your dog to a professional trainer or behaviorist for an evaluation.
“Poodles have so much love to give, so sharing it with people who need them is the best gift,” Cozart says. “They’re truly a devoted, versatile dog.”
SIDEBAR
Be a Canine Good Citizen
The 10 steps of the American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test evaluates how well a dog:
SIDEBAR
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A THERAPY DOG
When Sally Eller of Ovid, New York, was the director of the Phoenix II Alternative High School in Montgomery County, Maryland, from 1983 to 2001, she took Jackson, U-CD Gretara Jackson of Riverton, CD, CGC, WC), her 5-year-old black Standard Poodle, to school with her every day. Jackson is a certified Pet Partner through The Delta Society, a national therapy dog registry and network in Bellevue, Washington, and his ability to reach people came in handy at the school.
“Students and their parents were always in my office for conferences,” Eller recalls. “The tension was high, but Jackson was a great ice-breaker. On one occasion a boy came in with his parents and they weren’t speaking to each another. As Jackson went from person to person for petting, they began to talk about their dog at home. Pretty soon they were all communicating.”
Here’s a look at Jackson’s typical day.
6:00 AM Wake up and go outside to potty
6:30 AM Eats breakfast, then stand still for brushing
7:00 AM Gets into the backseat of the car, wait patiently for harness
7:30 AM Arrive at school, sniff around and greet teachers
8:00 AM Lie on mat in Eller’s office
8:30 AM Greets students and parents coming in for conference. When conference ends, Jackson puts his head in laps.
9:30 AM Greets eight students and a teacher for group therapy session. Jackson sits in the middle of the circle and listens to a student’s problem.
12:00 PM Eat a snack in Eller’s office (cafeteria off limits).
12:30 PM Jackson goes to fenced-in play yard for recess, runs around, retrieves the ball thrown by students.
1:30 PM Greet more people in the office.
2:30 PM Say goodbye to students, sees the school busses off
4:00 PM Bark to go home.
5:00 PM Go on 45-minute walk with Eller to unwind.
7:00 PM Eat dinner
7:30 PM Visit psychiatric inpatient adolescent center with Eller or attends training class to earn AKC Junior Hunter title.
9:00 PM Get a bath if necessary, has toenails trimmed, ears cleaned, teeth brushed.
Lights out!
SIDEBAR
POODLES CAN DO IT ALL
With its good nature, the Poodle is so versatile that it can do just about any helping job there is.
Canine Search and Rescue: Poodles are excellent SAR Airscent dogs. Requires intense training and dedication. Dogs locate missing people in hazardous terrain. www.nasar.org
Water Rescue: Historically Poodles were used to retrieve game from water. Today their superior swimming ability helps to rescue victims in swift-moving or deep water. Dogs can be trained to perform life-saving tasks, like towing a person to shore, taking a life jacket out to a person, and towing a boat. www.dogscouts.com
Animal-Assisted Therapy: Dogs provides physical assistance and help their owners with balance, bracing, pulling, retrieving dropped items, opening and closing doors, and turning light switches on and off. They also assist physical and occupational therapists during patient rehabilitation.
Reading to Children - Poodles go to schools or libraries and sit and listen to children who struggle with reading aloud in a group. www.therapyanimals.org
Visiting at Schools - Dogs go to classrooms and educate children about the proper care and training and how to avoid being bitten.
Hearing - Poodles alert their hearing-impaired owners to important sounds in the household: telephone, doorbell, smoke alarm, crying baby or child. www.dogsforthedeaf.org
Seeing Eye - Guides sight-impaired owner around the house and in public. www.pilotdogs.org
Seizure Response - Gets help if owner has a seizure.
Mobility - Helps support an owner to get up or down and walk.
Seizure or Asthma Alert - Poodles that can sense when the owner is about to have a seizure or asthma attack and signals an alert so that the person can move to a safe location or take medication.
Blood Sugar Alert - These Poodles are capable of getting help if their owner has a drop or rise in blood sugar and needs help.
Emotional/Psychiatric Support - Trained to sense and respond to post traumatic stress disorder and other emotional and psychiatric disorders by helping their owner by seeking help or assisting with medication.