1Jurisdiva

Going off of the below therapy thread (didn't want to threadjack lol) I was wondering if those who do therapy work with their dogs had a preference between the two, or if it was more of a geographic choice. I noticed TDI was founded in New Jersey, so I would assume that there were several chapters around, but was wondering if anyone has worked with the two organizations and has an opinion on the difference?

Also, just wanted to say I am SO impressed that so many members here are wanting to get involved in therapy work. It just reinforces how many great people there are on this forum.

 

SnorPuddel

I have worked with TDI, Foxxy is certified. They don't organize your visits, I called and visited a home for the elderly with Dementia and Alzheimers. With TDI you can go in with your poodle by yourself, whereas the Delta Society require you to work in pairs, two people for every poodle.
If you feed anything raw at all, be it bones, or what have you, you will not be able to work with the Delta Society.

amerique2

That's good to know. I'll be interested in learning more.

happyhaley

Sunny just passed his TDI test and I'm waiting on his ID card in the mail now. They seem very straight forward and easy to work with to me but I don't have anything to compare them to.

~Haley

Raena

I have never heard that you have to have two people per dog for delta. Mighite has been certified for 2 years and just retook his test, although we don't have much of a choice out here there is only a delta certifier, but i have been happy with them so far.

flufflvr

Sorry this post is so long, but there's so much to say on this topic, at least for me!
First, the two people rule must be for your individual affiliate. Delta DEFINITELY doesn't recommend to have two people for each animal.

Delta's very prevelant in our area, as are Intermountain Therapy Animals. There are lots of registries though. There's Delta, TDI (Therapy Dogs International), TDI (Therapy Dogs Incorporated), Love on a Leash, The Humane society, Alpha Affiliates, Bright and Beautiful, Intermountain Therapy Animals, and Paws for Friendship. I don't know a lot about all of them, only the organizations in my area. There are some really important questions I asked and compared between therapy animal registries here. There's quite a spectrum of an organization who has all of their policies and procedures laid out, and under control, and others who really just send you out on your own. I wanted one who had more experience, could give me better training, and that I felt confident would back me up, and then it really came down to who I clicked with. The organization I'm a member of is an affiliate of Delta. The people were really friendly, it's small so everyone knows everyone, and I guess I just clicked with them better.
Here were the questions I asked:

1. What training do you provide for therapy animal handlers?
Some have no training at all, others a ton. I chose the organization in my area with more training, and I've used that training every time I visit. It was very worth it to me.

2. How are the instructors trained and registered?
I wanted to be trained by someone who had lots of experience doing this. Some organizations had dog trainers teaching the classes, others had health care professionals. I learned under instructors who had lots of experience in different settings, and went to class on how to teach the class. After 6 years, I actually became an instructor.

3. How are the therapy animal-handler teams tested for skills and aptitude for therapy work?
These really varied. Some just accepted them if they passed their CGC, but that didn't test them as if they were actually in a facility. Others don't have a standard test at all that's been proven in the field.

4. How are your therapy animal-handler team evaluators trained and registered?
Some are just AKC certified instructors, which qualified them for evaluating obedience, but not the whole other part of the actual therapy visit.

5. What are the health requirements for therapy animal-handler teams?
Some didn't have any health requirements at all. That kind of scared me because they'd be visiting immunocompromised people. I guess I'd rather go with safe rather than sorry. Delta dogs have to see a vet, have a stool sample done to make sure they're not bringing anything in.

6. What kind of liability insurance do you provide for your therapy animal-handler teams and their clients?
Some don't provide any, so it all falls on your homeowners insurance. This is pretty important because if someone is walking down the hall, reaches over to pet my dog, and falls, then claims that the dog pushed them or something, I want to be protected. Delta Society provides $1,000,000.00 of liability insurance for Pet Partners working as volunteers and adhering to Delta Society’s Policies and Procedures.

7. What policies and procedures do you have to guide your therapy animal-handler teams in their work?
Once again, some organizations didn't have any, which kind of scared me. I guess I'm one of those people who likes to stand on the shoulders of otheres, so I don't make mistakes that could hurt someone. I didn't want to make it up as I went.

8. What are your infection control policies for your therapy animal-handler teams?
Delta Society has very strict infection control policies to keep everyone safe, which has really turned a lot of people against them. I know that I visit a cancer floor in a children's hospital, with people who are receiving cancer treatments that have no immune system whatsoever, and I would hate, hate, hate to make one of them more sick than they already are. I also know that some of these people who are confined to their rooms for months on end benefit the most from visiting with Liberty. So for me, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

9. How often are your therapy animal-handler teams re-tested for suitability in their work?
Delta has their teams recertify every 2 years, because animals and people change. . . sometimes as an animal gets older, it's less patient, other times they get better at this with age.

10. How are therapy animal-handler teams qualified and assigned to different areas to serve?
I didn't want to be out there on my own. With Delta, you can choose your own environments in which to volunteer, in keeping with the rating that tyou have received. My affiliate under Delta visits and assesses the facilities that request our therapy teams before I even go in, so that the staff is prepared and supportive and don't just leave me with a group of unknown people as a babysitter, and they check that I'm not going into a place that's unclean, with meds and bodily fluids on the ground. They help match our teams to facilities and clients that suit them best, so that a great dane might not work best in the teensy, crowded rooms of a care center, and a young energetic dog might work best with kids who will want to play, rather than with frail people.

11. What kind of coaching/mentoring/continuing education do you provide for members? My affiliate first has us shadow an experienced team, then they mentor us with our own teams. That really helped me more than anything when I first started.

12. How has your organization contributed to the field of animal-assisted therapy?
This one might or might not be important to you. It wasn't the most important to me, but was just rather interesting. Delta Society pioneered the Standards of Practice for Animal-Assisted Activities and Animal-Assisted Therapy in 1996. It is recognized throughout the world as an organization with standardized and rigorous requirements for training and testing of its registered Pet Partner therapy animal-human teams. Members are involved in current research studies all over the world.

I'm definitely not paid by Delta, it's all volunteer, I can just tell you why I chose as I did, and sometimes it's a pain working with them because you have to follow all of their strict guidelines, other times I'm really glad because those strict guidelines have prevented a lot of problems. It's really a matter of personal preference and who is more prevelant in your area. Whoever you go with, I know you'll love it and have a lot of fun. I actually loved it so much that I went through a year long master's program with the University of Denver in Animals and Human Health. I just can't get enough of the whole Animal Assisted Therapy thing. I love it, and so does Liberty.

1Jurisdiva

flufflvr - thank you so much for all of that info! I really appreciate it! I hope I can pick your brain further once I get a puppy and am actually in training with a therapy organization.

ChocolateMillie

All of this information is so helpful!

amerique2

Thanks, Flufflvr, for taking the time to post that in-depth response. I understand much more about the Delta therapy program after reading it.

flufflvr

No problem! Feel free to pick my brain any time. I can share what I know, but believe me, I learn more about this every day. . . there's so much more to know!