Goldendoodles: Perfect Therapy Dogs

We all know how relaxing sitting on a couch or park bench while petting a dog can be. Especially one that loves your attention just as much as you love to give it. It lowers the stress levels in your body, regulates your heartrate, and provides you with an overall sense of calm. Just you and your companion sitting there watching the world. Maybe feeding the squirrels or pigeons. Maybe reading a good book.

But imagine you are in the hospital after a serious injury to your health. Doctors and nurses are coming in all hours of the day and night. Their constant intrusions wake you from some much-needed sleep. The screeching alarms and constant whir of machinery often prevents you from going to sleep in the first place. You need rest and relaxation to recover, but the hospital is often not the best place to get that rest.

Or imagine your grandmother—who has lived a long and wonderful life—is in hospice care. There are times when someone can’t be there to keep her company and hold her hand. What if you had a dog to pet in the hospital and your grandmother had a dog to keep her from being lonely? A Newsweek article from July 2021 lists the 15 best breeds for therapy dogs. But they are talking about AKC registered pure breeds. We going to explain why Goldendoodles make the best therapy dog.

The qualifications

A good therapy dog needs to be intelligent, well trained, and comfortable. She needs to  love being petted and touched. She has to be mellow, and clean. We know how smart Goldendoodles are and that they are some of the easiest dogs to train. They love giving and receiving attention, and they love to be petted. Their curly hair keeps any shedding to a minimum so they won’t be leaving anything behind when they visit.

Various facilities have different behavioral and organization-specific qualifying tests for the animals and owners as well. Check out your local hospice or hospital to found out their requirements. Pretty soon, your Goldendoodle could be providing some of that necessary rest for a car accident victim or company for an elderly grandparent.

What makes a Goldendoodle perfect as a therapy dog

First point is their ease of training. Both parent breeds are incredibly intelligent, often rated in the top five of dog breeds for intelligence. Second is the fact that most Goldendoodles don’t meet a stranger. Everyone is instantly his best friend. 

Third qualification is that they are clean dogs. Their curly hair keeps them from shedding everywhere, and hospitals and other care facilities need to be kept clean. It would be detrimental to a patient’s health if a bunch of dog hair drifted into a wound.

It is rewarding for you but more importantly for your Goldendoodle

Goldendoodles as a mix of two strong working breeds love to please. They love to experience the reward of accomplishing something worthwhile. Petting a dog has been proven to reduce pain in hospital patients, but being petted by someone who appreciates them, sets those tails to wagging.

For a fulfilling experience, check out getting your Goldendoodle qualified as a therapy dog at your local hospital or long-term care facility.