Frequently Asked Questions

To become a Therapy Dog team with CIC, your dog must attend CIC’s 8 week Therapy Dog training class. However, to join this class, you must successfully complete CIC’s Foundational Skills Training Class OR be an active member with a traditional therapy dog organization OR pass an evaluation with one of CIC’s trainers. Once you are a Therapy Dog team with CIC, you can access your online portal for upcoming volunteer opportunities!

Maybe! One perk of CIC’s programming is that it is active, skills based work for your dog. This means it’s a good fit for younger, more energetic dogs compared to traditional therapy dog work at hospitals or nursing homes. While many CIC Therapy Dogs can do both types of therapy dog work, the excitable dogs fit best with CIC’s programs! Our Foundational Skills class will provide you with the dog training skills to help them navigate their big feelings, help them understand what we’re asking of them, and ensure you know proper methods to manage their energy. That being said, student and dog safety is first and foremost, so dogs that can’t regulate emotionally after training likely won’t be successful as a Therapy Dog.

This answer is a bit more difficult to provide succinctly. Some of our best Therapy Dogs can be fearful of certain situations or specific populations of people — but this means that their volunteering locations are limited to ensure they aren’t going somewhere that may trigger fear. There is also an important distinction between a startle response to stimulus and uncontrollable fear when triggered. An example would be this — a janitor accidentally enters the gym at the school with a large cart, banging against the door on his way in. We might expect most dogs to jump at the sudden noise and new person, but once reassured, they settle down and go back to business, happy to work with their student. This would be a startle response. A fear response would be much more dramatic - the dog may begin barking, tuck their tail, tremble and try to run away. Dogs that have full fear responses cannot provide therapeutic interactions because they have triggered their sympathetic nervous system and are experiencing fight or flight emotions. Please reach out to Taylor to discuss your dog’s situation.

CIC Therapy Dogs first priority is the human students, NOT the other dogs. You will never have to let your dog interact with another dog, on leash or off leash, during classes or volunteer sessions. We ask all volunteers to be respectful of their dogs entering another dog’s “space bubble” during a session. If your dog can co-exist near 2 to 3 other dogs while on leash, they will likely still enjoy volunteering with CIC! However, if your dog experiences a lot of anxiety being in close proximity to other dogs, then CIC may not be a good fit for them. Please reach out to Taylor to discuss your dog’s situation.

When you become a certified Therapy Dog through Canine Inspired Change you will become eligible to volunteer at CIC’s many contracted schools and organizations in which CIC provides a 6 to 10 week long program. On occasion, CIC will host reading programs or provide one time sessions for different facilities such as a hospital or nursing home. Outside of CIC programming, your badge can be used to become a volunteer with the University of Minnesota’s PAWS team or with Interim Hospice. Other organizations may accept CIC’s badge for you to become a volunteer with them, however, this is often a case by case basis. You will need to check with the organization you wish to volunteer with to find out what their requirements might be. We are happy to answer any questions the organization might have for you. Please note, any volunteer sessions done outside of CIC’s programs are not covered by CIC’s insurance.

National therapy dog organizations, like Pet Partners or Alliance of Therapy Dogs, set broad, standardized criteria for therapy teams. Their programs work well for settings like hospitals or airports, but those environments often require very strict standards. That means many wonderful dogs who love people and have great temperaments aren’t always a fit for those specific roles.

Unlike those national programs, CIC not only trains and certifies our own therapy dog teams, we also run all of our own therapy programs. That means we can match each dog’s personality and skill set to the right environment, whether it’s a school, mental health center, or community shelter. A dog who’s a little too wiggly for a library reading program might be perfect for helping a student practice emotional regulation in school.

Our certification meets AKC’s national therapy dog standards, but it’s designed specifically for the work we do in our communities. While not every outside organization automatically accepts CIC certification, many do! Including the University of Minnesota’s PAWS program! They’ve seen the quality of our teams in action.

In short: national programs certify therapy dogs for general volunteer work, while CIC trains, certifies, and supports therapy dog teams for our own mission-driven programs that change lives right here in our community.