Updated August 31, 2026first published December 15, 2021Rewritten in full against the current regulations
Last updated: 24 August 2026
This page is about getting your dog qualified to do therapy visits — hospitals, care homes, schools, hospices.
It is not about getting a dog for yourself. That’s an emotional support animal or a service dog, and they’re different in every respect. The previous version of this page confused the two, opened with a section about ESA letters and mental health practitioners, and sent people looking for the wrong document entirely. If that’s what you’re after, service dog vs therapy dog sorts out which of the four things you actually mean.
A therapy dog works for strangers. Its whole job is going somewhere unfamiliar and letting people it has never met put their hands on it, and being glad about it.
Here’s what it takes to get there.
First: is your dog actually suited to this?
Start here, because this is the gate, and it isn’t training.
The standard Pet Partners applies is that the animal must:
“welcome, not merely tolerate, interactions with strangers.”
Read that twice, because most people fail it on the second half.
A great many well-behaved, obedient, affectionate dogs will politely put up with being handled by someone they don’t know. They sit still. They don’t growl. They wait for it to be over. That dog is being good, and it is not enjoying itself, and asking it to do this work for two hours a week is asking it to endure something for your benefit.
The dog you want moves toward people. It approaches. It settles against somebody without being placed there. It looks for the next person.
The honest signs your dog isn’t the one
- It hides behind you, or moves away from strangers reaching down
- It’s fine with people it knows and stiff with people it doesn’t
- Sudden noise, wheelchairs, walkers, medical equipment or shouting rattle it
- It’s reactive to other dogs — you will meet them in corridors
- It’s a resource guarder, even mildly
- It’s uncomfortable being handled clumsily — grabbed, leaned on, patted heavily on the head
None of that makes it a bad dog. It makes it a dog with a different job. Plenty of superb service dogs would be miserable doing therapy work, because a service dog is trained to ignore everybody except its handler and this is the exact opposite.
Breed is nearly irrelevant here
You’ll find lists of “the best therapy dog breeds” everywhere, including on the old version of this page. Ignore them.
Size, coat and energy affect the practicalities — a giant breed can’t get close to a hospital bed easily, and a heavy shedder is harder in a clinical setting — but temperament is the entire test, and it varies far more within a breed than between breeds. If you want the honest version of how breed relates to temperament, it’s in the 64-breed guide.
What you’re actually signing up for
This is volunteering, and it has a schedule.
The certification is not a certificate you frame. Organizations require you to keep visiting to stay active — the Alliance of Therapy Dogs requires members to have logged at least one in-person visit every three months to remain in good standing.
You’ll be committing to regular visits, at times facilities need them, for as long as your dog is working. If that isn’t realistic right now, it’s better to know before you spend the money.
The organizations
There is no government certification for therapy dogs. What exists are established nonprofits that evaluate teams, register them, and provide the liability insurance facilities require.
Two of the long-standing ones:
Pet Partners
- Handler minimum age 10. Background check for handlers 18 and over
- Animal minimum age 1 year, and it must have lived in your home for at least 6 months
- Current rabies vaccination, reliably house-trained, no history of aggression or bite training
- A handler course, then a team evaluation — you and the animal are assessed together
- Registration renews every two years ($70 renewal), and liability insurance is included
- Registers nine species, not just dogs: cats, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, birds, miniature pigs, llamas and alpacas
Alliance of Therapy Dogs
- Handler 18 or over, with a junior handler route for ages 12 to 17 with parental involvement
- You must have owned or had a close relationship with the dog for at least 6 months before testing
- Vaccinations current, plus a negative fecal test and an annual wellness exam within the past 12 months
- One handling assessment, then three or four observed visits with a volunteer tester, completed within six months
- Background check for handlers 18 and over
- At least one logged visit every three months to stay in good standing
On fees: Pet Partners publishes a $70 two-year renewal; the initial registration and handler course cost extra. The Alliance of Therapy Dogs sets out its dues in the application packet rather than on the public page. Ask both, in writing, before you commit — and if anyone quotes you a price with no evaluation attached, that isn’t certification, it’s a purchase.
And note what the AKC is not
The American Kennel Club runs a therapy dog program, and it is widely misunderstood. Their own page says it plainly:
“AKC does not certify therapy dogs; the certification and training is done by qualified therapy dog organizations.”
What the AKC awards is a title, based on visits you have already made, once your dog is certified by somebody else. The levels run THDN at 10 visits, THD at 50, THDA at 100, THDX at 200 and THDD at 400 — one visit counts as one day at one facility, however many people you saw. Canine Good Citizen is not a prerequisite.
It’s a nice thing to work toward. It is not the thing that gets you through a hospital door.
The health and hygiene requirements — the part nobody writes down
If you’ve ever seen therapy dogs working in a hospital, you’ll have noticed they are immaculate. That’s not pride. It’s a requirement, and it’s the reason facilities allow animals in at all.
From Pet Partners’ infection control standards:
- Bathed or cleaned no more than 24 hours before a visit, with attention to eyes, ears, nose, feet and under the tail
- Nails trimmed before visits, so the animal can’t scratch a client
- Hands washed before and after anyone touches the animal, or sanitizer where there’s no sink
- No visiting at all if the animal has any wound or broken skin
- Raw meat diets are prohibited for therapy animals — the parasite and foodborne illness risk transfers to clients. If that rules out what you currently feed, what working dogs actually need from their food covers the alternatives
- A clean towel, sheet or disposable barrier between the animal and any client it sits with
- Equipment disinfected between visits — collars, leashes, harnesses, blankets, brushes, toys
There’s clinical guidance behind all of this. The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America has published recommendations on animals in healthcare facilities, written for hospital infection control staff rather than for dog owners.
Think about who is on the other end of this. People mid-chemotherapy. Post-surgical patients with open incisions. Elderly residents whose immune systems aren’t what they were. The grooming rules exist because the person your dog is about to lean against may not be able to fight off what your dog brought in.
The evaluation
You and the dog are assessed as a team. The handler is being tested as much as the animal.
Expect the evaluation to cover the dog’s reaction to clumsy handling, to being approached from behind, to medical equipment and unstable movement, to raised voices and dropped objects, and to other dogs. And it will cover whether you are watching your dog — reading it, advocating for it, and prepared to end things.
That last part matters more than people expect. Pet Partners requires handlers to be able to “read your pet’s body language, recognizing approaching and avoidant behaviors” and to “advocate for the safety and well-being of your pet at all times.”
Being your dog’s advocate means being willing to say no to a person in a hospital bed. That’s harder than it sounds, and it’s a large part of what’s being assessed.
What a visit actually looks like
Shorter and more managed than most people imagine.
Pet Partners describes visits lasting up to two hours, with the animal needing water, breaks and rest during them. The handler stays actively engaged the whole time — their framework is PETS: presence, eye contact, touch and speech.
Practical rules that come up immediately:
- Use the equipment your animal was evaluated in. Not a new harness you bought last week
- Keep the leash in your hands. Never tie it to furniture, and never hand it to a client
- Watch for the animal disengaging — yawning, looking away, turning aside — and when you see it, end early. Not at the end of the hour. Then
That last one is the professional standard and it’s worth internalizing before your first visit. A dog concentrating on strangers in an unfamiliar building is working hard even when it’s lying still being admired.
Getting into an actual building
Certification does not come with a placement, and this is the step nobody warns you about.
Registration makes you eligible. It doesn’t get you through a door. Facilities decide who visits, and most have their own process on top of your certification.
How teams usually find visits:
- Through your organization’s local chapter or group. Both major organizations have regional structures, and existing members know which facilities want teams and which have waiting lists
- Directly, through a facility’s volunteer coordinator. Hospitals, care homes and school districts almost all have one. That’s the person to ask for, not the front desk
- Through an existing team. Handlers often bring newcomers along to shadow before they take their own visits
Expect the facility to add its own requirements. Common ones: their standard volunteer application, their own background check, a TB test or health screening for you, an orientation session, confidentiality training, and sometimes a probationary period where you’re shadowed.
None of that is them doubting your certification. A hospital that admits volunteers has a whole apparatus for it and your dog doesn’t exempt you from it. Budget a few more weeks.
Realistic timeline from decision to first visit: a few months for certification, then several more weeks for facility onboarding. Somewhere between three and six months is normal, and it’s longer if the facility you want has a waiting list.
Staying certified
- Keep visiting. Quarterly at minimum for ATD; check your organization’s rule
- Keep the veterinary paperwork current — annual exam, vaccinations, fecal test where required
- Renew on time. Pet Partners runs on a two-year cycle
- Log your visits. You’ll need the record for renewal, and for an AKC title if you go after one
One warning, because this site says the opposite everywhere else
I write a great deal about service dog registration and certification being a scam. It is. There is no registry in the ADA, the certificates are worthless, and the companies selling them are making money from disabled people.
Therapy dog certification is the exception, and I don’t want anyone dismissing the real thing because of what I’ve said about the fake one.
Here’s how to tell in three seconds:
If someone will sell you a therapy dog certificate without evaluating your dog, it’s worthless. No assessment, no observed visits, no veterinary records, no background check, instant PDF — that’s the same business as the service dog registry mills, wearing a different hat.
A real certifying body makes you earn it. They want your vet records, they want to watch you work, they want a background check, and they want you to keep showing up. That’s the difference, and it’s the same test in both directions: a scam sells you a document, a certifying body makes you earn one.
If you want the full picture of how the paperwork industry operates, it’s in how to identify a fake service dog.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get my dog certified as a therapy dog?
Register with an established therapy dog organization such as Pet Partners or the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. The process involves a handler course, current veterinary records, a background check, and an evaluation of you and your dog together as a team. Some organizations also require observed visits before full registration. Certification typically takes a few months and must be maintained through regular visiting.
What are the requirements for a therapy dog?
The dog must be at least a year old with most organizations, must have lived with you for at least six months, must be house-trained and current on vaccinations, and must have no history of aggression or bite training. Above all it must welcome, not merely tolerate, contact with strangers. Handlers face requirements too, including minimum age and a background check.
How much does therapy dog certification cost?
Less than people expect. Pet Partners publishes a $70 renewal every two years, with initial registration and the handler course charged separately; the Alliance of Therapy Dogs sets its dues out in its application packet. Ask for the full figure in writing before committing. Anyone charging for a certificate without evaluating your dog is selling paper, not certification.
Does the AKC certify therapy dogs?
No. The AKC states plainly that it does not certify therapy dogs and that certification is done by qualified therapy dog organizations. What the AKC offers is a title awarded for visits already completed by a dog certified elsewhere, starting at 10 visits for the novice title and running to 400 for the highest.
Can any breed be a therapy dog?
Yes. Breed is close to irrelevant — temperament is the whole test, and it varies far more within a breed than between breeds. Size and coat affect practicalities such as reaching a hospital bed or shedding in a clinical setting, but no breed is excluded and no breed is automatically suitable.
How often does a therapy dog have to be bathed?
Before every visit. Pet Partners requires the animal be bathed or cleaned no more than 24 hours beforehand, with attention to eyes, ears, nose, feet and under the tail, and nails trimmed so the animal cannot scratch a client. An animal with any wound or broken skin does not visit at all.
How long does a therapy dog visit last?
Up to about two hours, with water and rest breaks during it. Handlers are expected to watch for signs the animal has had enough — yawning, looking away, disengaging — and to end the visit early when those appear rather than finishing the scheduled time.
Is a therapy dog allowed in stores and restaurants?
No. Therapy dogs have no public access rights. They are not service animals under the ADA, and they enter facilities by invitation under those facilities’ own rules. Outside of a scheduled visit, a therapy dog has exactly the same access as any pet.
I’m a service dog handler of twelve years, not a therapy dog handler — I’ve watched teams working in VA hospitals and nursing homes and asked their handlers a lot of questions, but I haven’t run a therapy team myself. Everything procedural on this page comes from Pet Partners, the Alliance of Therapy Dogs and the AKC’s own published requirements, all linked above. Pet Partners and the Alliance of Therapy Dogs both charge fees for certification; I’ve named them because they are the organizations that do this work, not because anyone paid for the mention. If you run a therapy team and something here is out of date, tell me and I’ll fix it and note that I did.