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Therapy dogs are just one type of therapy animal. Other pets that can be used for emotional support are cats, rabbits, birds,horses—even llamas and alpacas.

Therapy Dogs and Service Dogs

You may have also heard ofservice dogs, but they’re different from therapy dogs.

How Therapy Dogs Can Boost Your Health

Some mental health challenges and psychiatric disorders are known to respond well to therapy dogs. Patients diagnosed with a range of issues, such asdepression,bipolar disorder, autism,ADHD,post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD), and Alzheimer’s disease, benefit from their interaction with therapy dogs and other companion animals.

Sometimes, emotional challenges are the result of physical health problems, and therapy dogs can help with those too. Research suggests that patients who are recovering from difficult surgery or a bad accident who participate in animal-assisted therapy may feel less pain. Studies have shown that such interactions can increase the mood-boosting hormone oxytocin and decrease the stress hormone cortisol.

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What Kind of Dogs Can Be Therapy Dogs?

Any friendly breed of dog can be a therapy dog with a bit of training. Larger breeds like golden retrievers, standard poodles, St. Bernards, and Labradors are commonly used as therapy dogs. But smaller breeds like mini poodles and Pomeranians are good choices when the dog and the patient are sharing a small space.

The dog’s good demeanor may partially be a function of its breed, but it’s mostly dependent on how the dog is raised and how evenly its temperament develops. Prior to being accepted as therapy animals, dogs are tested and observed for their response to stimuli, such as loud or confusing noises, suddenly being grabbed, or even equipment, such as canes or wheelchairs.

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Getting Your Own Therapy Dog

If you would like to learn more about finding atherapydog to help yourself or a loved one, there are a number of directories online. Do an online search for “therapy dog” and the name of your city or town to find individuals and organizations near you.

If you’re interested in learning about training your dog to be a therapy dog or visiting nursing homes or other facilities with your pet, do a web search for “therapy dog training” and the name of your city or town to see what opportunities are available. Or simply phone or email the facility you have in mind to learn their acceptance procedure.

How an Emotional Support Animal Can Benefit Your Mental Health

5 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.ADA National Network.Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals. 2014.Brooks HL, Rushton K, Lovell K, et al.The power of support from companion animals for people living with mental health problems: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence.BMC Psychiatry.2018;18(1):31. doi:10.1186/s12888-018-1613-2Swall A, Ebbeskog B, Lundh Hagelin C, Fagerberg I.Stepping out of the shadows of Alzheimer’s disease: a phenomenological hermeneutic study of older people with Alzheimer’s disease caring for a therapy dog.Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being.2017;12(1):1347013. doi:10.1080/17482631.2017.1347013Calcaterra V, Veggiotti P, Palestrini C, et al.Post-Operative Benefits of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Pediatric Surgery: A Randomised Study.PLoS ONE.2015;10(6):e0125813. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125813Petersson M, Uvnäs-Moberg K, Nilsson A, Gustafson LL, Hydbring-Sandberg E, Handlin L.Oxytocin and Cortisol Levels in Dog Owners and Their Dogs Are Associated with Behavioral Patterns: An Exploratory Study.Front Psychol.2017;8:1796. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01796

5 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.ADA National Network.Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals. 2014.Brooks HL, Rushton K, Lovell K, et al.The power of support from companion animals for people living with mental health problems: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence.BMC Psychiatry.2018;18(1):31. doi:10.1186/s12888-018-1613-2Swall A, Ebbeskog B, Lundh Hagelin C, Fagerberg I.Stepping out of the shadows of Alzheimer’s disease: a phenomenological hermeneutic study of older people with Alzheimer’s disease caring for a therapy dog.Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being.2017;12(1):1347013. doi:10.1080/17482631.2017.1347013Calcaterra V, Veggiotti P, Palestrini C, et al.Post-Operative Benefits of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Pediatric Surgery: A Randomised Study.PLoS ONE.2015;10(6):e0125813. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125813Petersson M, Uvnäs-Moberg K, Nilsson A, Gustafson LL, Hydbring-Sandberg E, Handlin L.Oxytocin and Cortisol Levels in Dog Owners and Their Dogs Are Associated with Behavioral Patterns: An Exploratory Study.Front Psychol.2017;8:1796. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01796

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

ADA National Network.Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals. 2014.Brooks HL, Rushton K, Lovell K, et al.The power of support from companion animals for people living with mental health problems: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence.BMC Psychiatry.2018;18(1):31. doi:10.1186/s12888-018-1613-2Swall A, Ebbeskog B, Lundh Hagelin C, Fagerberg I.Stepping out of the shadows of Alzheimer’s disease: a phenomenological hermeneutic study of older people with Alzheimer’s disease caring for a therapy dog.Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being.2017;12(1):1347013. doi:10.1080/17482631.2017.1347013Calcaterra V, Veggiotti P, Palestrini C, et al.Post-Operative Benefits of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Pediatric Surgery: A Randomised Study.PLoS ONE.2015;10(6):e0125813. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125813Petersson M, Uvnäs-Moberg K, Nilsson A, Gustafson LL, Hydbring-Sandberg E, Handlin L.Oxytocin and Cortisol Levels in Dog Owners and Their Dogs Are Associated with Behavioral Patterns: An Exploratory Study.Front Psychol.2017;8:1796. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01796

ADA National Network.Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals. 2014.

Brooks HL, Rushton K, Lovell K, et al.The power of support from companion animals for people living with mental health problems: a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the evidence.BMC Psychiatry.2018;18(1):31. doi:10.1186/s12888-018-1613-2

Swall A, Ebbeskog B, Lundh Hagelin C, Fagerberg I.Stepping out of the shadows of Alzheimer’s disease: a phenomenological hermeneutic study of older people with Alzheimer’s disease caring for a therapy dog.Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being.2017;12(1):1347013. doi:10.1080/17482631.2017.1347013

Calcaterra V, Veggiotti P, Palestrini C, et al.Post-Operative Benefits of Animal-Assisted Therapy in Pediatric Surgery: A Randomised Study.PLoS ONE.2015;10(6):e0125813. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0125813

Petersson M, Uvnäs-Moberg K, Nilsson A, Gustafson LL, Hydbring-Sandberg E, Handlin L.Oxytocin and Cortisol Levels in Dog Owners and Their Dogs Are Associated with Behavioral Patterns: An Exploratory Study.Front Psychol.2017;8:1796. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01796

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