Animal Assisted Therapy

1 07, 2025

The Importance of a Therapy Dog: Saving a Life

2025-06-28T17:16:05+00:00July 1st, 2025|Animal Assisted Therapy, Dog Owners, Stories, Therapy Dogs, Volunteers|Comments Off on The Importance of a Therapy Dog: Saving a Life

An important part of being a therapy dog handler that is often overlooked is your ability to interact with people. A good therapy dog handler is an engaged listener, taking time to listen and process what someone is telling you while on a visit. They offer a smile when they approach and can hold a [...]

1 07, 2025

Teamwork Without Ownership: Preparing for the ATD Certification Test with Someone Else’s Dog

2025-06-28T17:37:20+00:00July 1st, 2025|Animal Assisted Therapy, Certification with ATD, Therapy Dogs, Volunteers|Comments Off on Teamwork Without Ownership: Preparing for the ATD Certification Test with Someone Else’s Dog

Did you know Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD) allows you to test with a dog you have had a relationship with for at least 6 months? Being the dog’s owner is not a requirement to become an ATD therapy dog team. There are instances when a person may want to get certified with a dog [...]

1 06, 2025

Teaching “Go Say Hi”: Level Up Your Therapy Visits with This Cue

2025-05-22T16:58:17+00:00June 1st, 2025|Animal Assisted Therapy, Certification with ATD, Dog Owners, General, Therapy Dogs|Comments Off on Teaching “Go Say Hi”: Level Up Your Therapy Visits with This Cue

If you’ve been visiting with your therapy dog long enough, you’ve probably run into someone who doesn’t want to say hi to your therapy dog. There are a variety of reasons someone may not want to say hello to your dog; they’re in the middle of a task, they don’t want to get covered in [...]

1 05, 2025

When is it okay to end a therapy dog visit?

2025-05-05T14:55:56+00:00May 1st, 2025|Animal Assisted Therapy, Therapy Dogs, Uncategorized, Volunteers|Comments Off on When is it okay to end a therapy dog visit?

A question that is often asked by Members new to therapy dog work is when is it OK to end a therapy dog visit early? The short answer is always. As volunteers, we feel obligated to fulfill our duties to those we are visiting, but the most important thing to remember on a therapy dog [...]

1 03, 2025

ATD Insurance vs. Work Insurance: What is the difference and why does it matter?

2025-03-06T13:52:33+00:00March 1st, 2025|Animal Assisted Therapy, Certification with ATD, Dogs at Work|Comments Off on ATD Insurance vs. Work Insurance: What is the difference and why does it matter?

Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD) is first and foremost a 501c3 nonprofit. We are an international registry of certified therapy dog teams. At ATD, we provide testing, certification, registration, support, and insurance for Members who volunteer with their dogs in animal-assisted activities. Our objective is to form a network of caring individuals and their special dogs who [...]

1 02, 2025

Why Does Alliance of Therapy Dogs Require Retesting?

2025-01-25T16:40:55+00:00February 1st, 2025|Animal Assisted Therapy, Certification with ATD, Therapy Dogs|Comments Off on Why Does Alliance of Therapy Dogs Require Retesting?

What are Alliance of Therapy Dogs’ (ATD) Retesting Requirements? ATD requires teams to be retested if they have not made and logged a visit within 3 months of their previous visit. If you have gone over 3 months, but less than 6 months since your last logged visit, you are required to complete the ATD [...]

3 01, 2025

When a facility or event is not working out…

2024-12-29T18:03:07+00:00January 3rd, 2025|Animal Assisted Therapy, Dog Owners, Facilities, Volunteers|Comments Off on When a facility or event is not working out…

Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD) has an exceptional registry of committed, loyal Handlers who follow through on their commitments and ATD applauds each and every one of you. But sometimes a facility or an event falls short in some way, making our visits difficult. What to do? Start with a conversation with your contact person. [...]

3 01, 2025

5 Steps to a Successful Therapy Dog Visit

2024-12-29T18:02:22+00:00January 3rd, 2025|Animal Assisted Therapy, Therapy Dogs, Volunteers|Comments Off on 5 Steps to a Successful Therapy Dog Visit

A Successful Therapy Dog Visit Starts with You!  Therapy dog visits can be a great way to brighten someone’s day. The magical effect dogs have on humans is undeniable, but we cannot forget about the other end of the leash. The handler is a big part of a successful therapy dog visit. In order for [...]

8 11, 2024

Facility Spotlight: Military Base, USA

2024-11-08T21:25:20+00:00November 8th, 2024|Animal Assisted Therapy, Facilities, Volunteers|Comments Off on Facility Spotlight: Military Base, USA

Why did you want to bring therapy dogs into your facility?   This training command is a service member's first stop after boot camp, so they are often missing home and working to adjust to this new lifestyle. With the high stress environment they are in, one of our goals is to provide our service members [...]

3 11, 2024

Spreading Smiles and Joy: Why Donating to the Alliance of Therapy Dogs This Holiday Season Makes a Difference

2024-11-03T19:15:59+00:00November 3rd, 2024|Animal Assisted Therapy, Donations, Holidays|Comments Off on Spreading Smiles and Joy: Why Donating to the Alliance of Therapy Dogs This Holiday Season Makes a Difference

Ways Your Donation to ATD Can Make a Difference Alliance of Therapy Dogs (ATD) has been a charitable 501c3 organization since 1990. We are an international registry of certified therapy dog teams. ATD provides testing, certification, registration, support, and insurance for members who volunteer with their dogs in animal-assisted activities. Our objective is to form [...]

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