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DEFINITION OF THERAPEUTIC DOG |
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A part of a book "KYNOTERAPIA W INTEGRACJI ODRUCHÓW. Metody i techniki neurokinezjologiczne w pracy z deficytami rozwoju psychoruchowego"
Authors: dr Swietłana Masgutowa-Hawryluk and Hanna Wojciechowska |
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Not every gentle and pleasant dog can take part in kynotherapy. A process starting from getting an animal, training and letting it to work, is long and needs not only
kynological knowledge, but also some experience. We can not afford a method of tests and mistakes. A kynotherapist, working with people needed rehabilitation, has to be sure
a perfection of his “tool”. According to a definition, a therapeutic dog it is: |
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1. A SOCIAL DOG |
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We often can hear: “my dog will be for sure good to kynotherapy. My children can play with it at any way, and it lets them for everything”. It is a perfect family dog surely.
Every therapeutic dog will be a great family dog, but not every family dog can be a therapeutic dog. A social dog will be docile not only for members of its family, but also
for the rest of society. |
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2. A PREDICTABLE DOG |
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Many factors are involved dog’s prediction. First of them it is an orginal usefulness of this dog’s breed, which we want to intend to kynotherapeutic work. Unconditional
and conditional features are involved a such kind of dog. On the first group of features we do not have any influence. A dog born with their genetic notation. These dependences
were moulded trough generations. On their rise, among other things climatic conditions, ease (or not) of getting food, frequency and way of contact with a man, conscious farm
selection had some influence. Because of diversity these and many others factors almost 400 breeds of dog came into being. They are differ because of an appearance, but
(and maybe first of all) also an usefulness and predisposition. We have guardian, guard, attacked, shepherd, fetching, harnessed etc. Their usefulnesses and predispositions are
so strongly “written down” in psyche that, f.ex. a shepherd dog will no become a harnessed dog for sure. Of course, some ways of behaviour can be worked out partly, but a dog will
never work good behind features of its breed or a group of breeds. So if we take an animal for some usefulness, we should know a history of rising its breed. Having such knowledge,
we will be sure, which unconditional features a dog of the breed (a group of breeds) has.
We mentioned about conditional features. A man have an influence on them by, among other things selection of ancestors, the way of socialization of puppies and profiled training.
In this moment we know which breed we take. We have to choose a raising where we get a dog from, either. It is a very important moment. We should pay attention that a breeder
joins animals only because of their appearances or also psyches (to eliminate, f.ex. aggressive animals). It is also important that the animals have permanent contact with people.
Both adult animals and puppies. Socialization of puppies, getting know people and their surroundings, associating this contact positively, developing bonds with men depend on
first weeks of dog’s living. If a breeder only inoculates dogs, feeds them and cleans their places, it has an influence on further contacts, which will be upseted, with a new owner.
We should look after with care dogs, which will be therapeutic dogs. Their future behaviours with the handicapped will need a lot of empathy, gentleness, docility and “reading
a person”. So it is very important that a therapeutic dog comes from “a good home” and “soaks up” these features..
We chose a breed and a breeding. What is next? It is known that even from “a good home” not all the children are the same. That is why we have the tests. The tests for puppies
can not include drastic methods. They should be adapted as regards strength of stimuluses to puppies’ ages. Because of the test we can check, f.ex. if a dog is not cowardly,
dominant, if it prefers a man’s company to a group of dogs’ company, if it can function correctly in a group, how it reacts to unknown stimuluses etc. The test should be done by
a behaviorist – a person, who can “read” dogs. We can be sure than, that the tests’ results will be interpreted correctly. It does not have to be a strictly definite test. It will be enough
when we define features, which a dog should have and which not. On this basic a behaviorist make a test good for our demands. Thanks to a right selection, a prediction of our
future therapist is quite big. Now we start to a stage of training. We start from trinkets not to overburden a delicate puppy’s psyche, and with some time we make commands more
difficulty. A good training of a dog is very important. I can not imagine that during making some rehabilitation exercises a kynotherapist has to “negotiate” with a dog to make
a command. Such situation is unacceptable. First of all, it lower our credibility at our patient and his/her feeling of safety, and on the other hand during classes we should
concentrate to our patient makes good recommended exercises and not enforce an obedience of our helper. |
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3. A DOG REPRESENTING A RATIONAL OBEDIENCE |
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A good trained dog is an obedient dog. But the way of making a command can be diverse. Lets imagine a rehabilitation room, where mattresses are spread with children laying
down on them. Our dog is in an opposite corner of a room. We call it to us and:
- a dog runs to us immediately the shortest way not looking it runs through mattresses and laying there patients,
- a dog runs to us choosing the way between the mattresses not treading patients.
But only in the second example we deal with a rational obedience.
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Groups of utilitarian dogs not-recommended to a kynotherapy: |
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- guard dogs, f.ex. Tosa Inu
- guardian dogs, f.ex. Polish shepherd
- attacked dogs, f.ex. Dogo Canario |
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CLASSES OF THERAPEUTIC DOGS: |
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Among therapeutic dogs there are 3 ranges: |
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ADEPT RANGE (K-A) |
passing an exam of adept class by a dog lets to admit it to taking part in some uncomplicated therapeutic classes. These are dogs with basic usefulness as therapeutic dogs. They should part in a such kind of classes, where only their basic preparation does not influence in negative way on progress of kynotherapy. Detailed exam of adept range you will find, at PDF format, here:
>>>
Examination at the Adept Range |
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FIRST RANGE (K-I) |
passing an exam of first range by a dog shows that its abilities meet demands of letting it to regular work as a therapeutic dog. Detailed exam of first range you
will find, at PDF format, here:
>>>
Examination at the First Range |
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SECOND RANGE (K-II) |
passing an exam of second range by a dog shows that its abilities let a Guide to work with bigger spectrum and tougher casus of rehabilitation.
Detailed exam of second range you will find, at PDF format, here:
>>>
Examination at the Second Range |
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