If you are looking for an emotional support or service dog, consider a Carrier Family Doodles puppy.
We’ve had many people ask us if our Golden Mountain Doodles would make good therapy dogs or service animals. While we do not do the personality testing that is sometimes a prerequisite for choosing a service animal, we do know that our puppies are intelligent, well-socialized, eager to please, and therefore highly trainable (which is, of course, ideal for the certification process).
Because our puppies are home-raised and well-socialized with our large family (and many visitors), they are people-loving and generally enjoy attention. We typically recommend the quieter, gentler puppies (or the “lap-sitters”) to people looking for emotional support companions. If we are asked for a recommendation for a therapy dog, we usually suggest a “confident” puppy, since that confidence makes an excellent therapy dog candidate.[i] Knowing our puppies intimately enough to provide these recommendations is just one reason why we believe in home-raising our puppies rather than following a traditional “kennel-raised” model.
Of course, training depends largely on the new owner, but we try to provide lots of good advice to get you started. We also partner with Baxter & Bella so that our new puppy owners can get a 25% discount on a lifetime membership to their online training school.
One of our “puppies” (who is no longer a puppy) has recently completed her therapy dog training, and we know of one other that is actively in the process. We were very excited to read the testimony of our “Cora,” and to see her official photos! We also got permission to share them so that others looking for a therapy dog would know that our puppies have made the grade!
Here’s the testimony from Cora’s owner:
“Cora is a quiet, loving girl and has made the absolute best companion. Besides being a companion and emotional support for myself, she serves our hospice patients at work with me daily, as I am a hospice social worker.
Cora serves all over Indianapolis, bringing smiles and love to our care hospice staff members and patients.
Cora has been through a lot of obedience training and it was a breeze. She is the smartest girl and learns quickly. She is eager to learn and please others.
It’s been such a joy to watch our patients interact with her in homes and nursing facilities. One of the stories I will never forget is a patient who had stopped eating and was declining and was the biggest dog lover in life. When I found out, I brought Cora to visit and this patient lit up and was the happiest our staff and the family had seen in a long time. From that day on, our patient bounced back and began eating again.
It’s testimonies like this that remind me every day that Cora is needed. As hospice is such a sad time for many, Cora really knows how to bring the smiles and joy out of others in such a hard time.
I continue to thank God for placing the Carrier family in my life, providing me with such an amazing dog. I will never be able to thank them enough for the service to others in the community as Christ followers, family lovers, and reputable breeders that truly care about their pups and the families they go to.”
We are thrilled that our puppies add value to their new owners and families, and even to their communities! It is always our hope (and our goal) that every one of our puppies is a blessing in their forever homes. Congratulations to Cora! Get in touch if you’ve been looking for an emotional support or service/therapy dog. We can help you choose the best candidate from among the puppies we have available.