Facility Dog Program

What is a facility dog?

Occasionally, we find that a dog we have been preparing for service dog has many wonderful traits but isn't suitable for that line of work. These dogs are often perfect in a work environment with a professional. For these special dogs, we will consider the following partners.

How is a Facility Dog Trained?

A Paws’itive Teams Facility Dog receives two years of intensive training with a professional service dog trainer, and is skilled at maintaining a calm manner in all situations. The dog is adaptable and used to interacting with a variety of people, including those with physical and/or developmental disabilities. In order for someone to fully benefit from activities utilizing the dog’s skills, however, it is essential that such activities be incorporated as a part of the therapy program designed for the patient or student.

The Facility Dog lives in the home of a Paws’itive Teams certified Handler and goes to work with this person. The Handler is a professional who directs the dog during goal-directed interactions with clients. Prior to certification of the team, Paws’itive Teams works closely with the professional for months, conducting customized dog handling sessions, including numerous sessions at the facility itself.

Typical Tasks in a Health Care Facility

Tasks can be customized to meet the needs of the patients and facility.

• Retrieval of items (keys, cane, crutches, water bottle, medicine containers) placed at different heights promotes balance while reaching
• Playing fetch promotes upper extremity coordination, timing, and sequencing.
• Brushing the dog promotes strength, range of motion, and coordination.
• Walking alongside the dog or playing fetch promotes visual coordination/awareness.
• Inviting the dog to put its front paws in the lap promotes social interaction and language.
• The dog can assist with patient balance while walking or climbing stairs.
• Providing moral support when the patient first uses a wheelchair in the community.

Benefits of a Facility Dog in a Health Care Facility:

• Patient motivation: Patient and dog together engage in physical activities which help achieve goals set by the therapist. The dog offers the patient unconditional love and is nonjudgmental in his/her interaction. This leads to a treatment session that is pleasurable as well as productive.
• Functional outcome goals: The dog can be utilized to promote range of motion, strengthening, balance, coordination, visual and cognitive goals. Simple tasks such as grooming or playing fetch can bring about functional results. The patient reaches higher than before as he grooms the dog that is positioned on a high mat or takes that extra step promoting forward balance as he tosses a fetch toy.
• Social interactions and language: Simple petting can encourage talking. A friendly dog promotes social interaction and language with a patient who has speech difficulty.
• Feelings of safety and well-being: For the patient, a hospital setting may cause feelings of anxiety and loneliness. A dog brings a pleasant distraction which may reduce negative feelings. This external focus can raise a patient’s spirits and brighten the day.
• Indirectly help staff of healthcare facilities: While these trained dogs are primarily intended to help patients, their visits also cheer staff, reducing stress in the workplace.
• Increased opportunities for FUN: Patients and staff find themselves laughing more through interaction with the dog!

Typical Tasks in an Educational Setting:

Tasks can be customized to meet the needs of the students and facility.

• The Facility Dog can be used as part of the reward system for good behavior and may be a powerful motivator for students to reach specific goals. Rewards can include special time with the dog, either interactive play (ball tossing) or quiet time.
• When reading aloud to a dog, children are often less inhibited and read more clearly. Research has shown that reading to a dog can help improve reading ability. After all, the dog won’t correct or interrupt!
• In the classroom, students can learn safe ways of interacting with an unfamiliar dog. Getting to know a well trained Facility Dog helps children overcome fears and achieve more confidence around dogs.
• Students can learn how to teach new commands to the Facility Dog. This accomplishment gives them confidence and improved self-esteem while enhancing their understanding and appreciation of animals.
• By learning positive ways to interact with a dog, students develop improved social skills with both peers and adults. Activities include walking the dog, giving the dog basic commands, and rewarding the dog with praise.
• Individual counseling sessions may be enhanced through the use of a Facility Dog who listens quietly as the child shares secrets too difficult to tell an adult. Research studies have shown that children display noticeable progress in both therapeutic and skills development through the involvement of dogs during therapy.
• A Facility Dog can help calm a child experiencing a high level of stress. Just sitting quietly with a dog gives the child time to reflect and develop better coping skills.

Benefits of a Facility Dog in an Educational Setting:

• Student motivation: By interacting with a Facility Dog, student involvement increases. The children engage in activity that is fun, comforting and reinforcing. The dog offers unconditional love and is nonjudgmental in his/her interaction.
• Social interactions and language: Simple petting can encourage talking. A Facility Dog can promote social interaction and language with a student who might have difficulty speaking or is feeling sad, worried, or fearful.
• Promote feelings of safety and well-being: A transfer to a different school can cause distress. A Facility Dog offers a friendly and pleasant distraction which reduces feelings of anxiety or loneliness. This pleasant external focus of attention can raise a student’s spirits and make the transition easier.
• Increased opportunities for Fun: Both students and staff find themselves laughing more through activities with the dog.