Need advice

[sleepgrazed]

I'd like to visit hospitals and be with patients. I'm planning to bring my dog, a labrador in these visits. Is there a training or preparation in doing this?

[Randi]

What a wonderful idea! I'm sure the patients will be thrilled. Perhaps try nursing homes, too.

You should first check whether the hospitals will allow it - I hope they will! If they do, they will most likely want to make sure the dog is trained. I don't know how you go about that.

Good luck!

[cats4ever]

Most likely, your dog would have to be a certified therapy dog. You'll find more information online how to go about it.
The AKC is offering a therapy dog program, but there are several others out there.
Good luck!

[Taz_Zoee]

I'm not sure if there are different rules to different cities or states, but where I live (Bay Area in California) the dog needs to be CGC (Canine Good Citizen) certified.
And then, of course, you'd need to check with the facility you want to visit.
Good luck and have fun!! I wanted to do this with my boy dog, because he loves the attention. But, unfortunately, I am LAZY!!!!

[Vette]

As already stated i think you need a licensing if you want to make it a more than one time thing.

i remember when i was in high school my friends little sister wanted to bring their dog to school for show and tell an they had to jump through hoops to even do that