Is there a Dr. Dog in the house?

I have self-tested all my dogs in the hopes that one of them would turn out to be a Dr. Dog.

At two months, I tried to see if my pups would pass the fur-pulling and ear pulling tests to see how they would react.

So far, what I have are human-loving doggies who are not afraid to express how they feel towards humans.

Dr. Dogs? I have not yet been fortunate to have “humaned” one yet.

Soon.

Any human with a dog thinks the world of his or her dog, but it takes a different kind of doggie temperament to become a Dr. Dog. I believe the Dr. Dogs are born with a temperament, and we humans can only nurture what kind of temperament our doggies already have.

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I got an e-mail from Anna Cabrera of the Philippine Animals Welfare Society (PAWS) about a recent visit of Dr. Dogs to Child Haus.

A new recruit is Taltos, a Dr. Dog who did not have to go through the temperament tests (fur-pulling and other patience-testing exercises given by PAWS to determine if a dog can be a therapy dog).

He is an accredited therapy dog in Hungary and has done dozens of hospital visits. 

At nine years old, Taltos is considered a veteran therapy dog.

“Taltos loves being with kids and we noticed that PAWS’ Dr. Dogs works with a lot of pediatric cancer cases. We were also happy to see that the Dr. Dogs here have a special song for children so we have learned the action and the words, and we sing and dance along with them. It’s a lot of fun for us. We love this charity work,” says guardian Luca Albert.

Taltos is happy to be working as an official Dr. Dog-Philippines therapy animal. For the visit to Child Haus Dr. Dog Taltos was joined by Dr. Sarah (Golden Retriever), Dr. Carlee (Poodle), Dr. Kohler (Mini Schnauzer) and Dr. Una (Labrador). The Dr. Dogs visited the kids of Child Haus, a temporary shelter for indigent patients from the different provinces who have cancer or other diseases and have no place to stay in Metro Manila while undergoing medical evaluation or treatment.

At Child Haus, the Dr. Dogs distributed photos for autograph-signing session with the kids. Each Dr. Dog had his own “prescription pad” where he/she would “sign” with his /her paw.

The Dr. Dog parents would write the kids’ names individually as they come up for “consultation” and sign the prescription with a message to “Get well soon! Love and Kisses,” from their canine doctor.

“Many of the kids escorted the furry doctors all the way to the sidewalk outside the Child Haus gate,” shared Anna. “They kept shouting ‘Good bye Dr. Carlee! Good bye Dr Una!” and to each and every Dr. Dog until the cars carrying the dogs drove away.”

It was an amazing day for the guardians and the kids, Anna said. And just another day of a job well done for the four-legged doctors who are perfect ambassadors for the motto, “ Dog love is the best medicine!”

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Here are some facts about PAWS Dr. Dog program:

What is Dr. Dog and how can my dog join the program?

PAWS’ Dr. Dog is an animal-assisted therapy program under Animal Asia’s Dr. Dog Program. 

Basic volunteer requirements:

• Dr. Dog volunteers must be over the age of 18 and have their own dog. 

• Volunteers must be committed to the program and its aims. 

• Volunteers must have good “people skills” and an enthusiastic personality. 

• Volunteers must be willing to be a part of a team and enjoy meeting new people.

Basic requirements for potential Dr. Dogs/Professor Paws

• Volunteer dogs of pedigree or mixed breed naturally need to be healthy and have a happy, placid, nature. 

• Dogs must be at least two years old before examination. 

• Both male and female dogs must be de-sexed (spayed/neutered). 

• Dogs must display basic obedience skills. 

• Dogs must have lived with the handler for at least six months prior to examination. 

• All vaccinations must be up to date and proof of vaccination provided for PAWS’ records. 

• Any dog over 20 kg in weight must be held on a leash not more than two meters in length when in a public place (as specified by the Dangerous Dogs Legislation) by the Agriculture and Fisheries Department (AFCD) in Hong Kong. 

Is your dog suitable to be a Doctor or a Professor?

The examination for potential Dr. Dogs/Professor Paws consists of three basic parts and takes approximately 10 minutes: 

1. Initial observation of the dog interacting with their owner, strangers and other dogs. Dogs should have a loving bond with their owner and appear relaxed and friendly towards new people and dogs. 

2. Temperament assessment: Examiners begin with a basic health check, examining eyes, ears, teeth and skin condition. This progresses to handling the dog all over, pulling ears, pinching skin, pulling their tail, blowing in their face, touching their paws and checking for possible areas of pain in the back and hips. We do need to handle the dogs quite roughly in order to assess their tolerance levels and reaction to patients (i.e. small children who may inadvertently pull their tail.) Dogs are also assessed for their reaction to loud noises and behavior around food — they must remain calm and not “snatch” at food, even when teased. 

If a dog is not aggressive but shies away from human contact or seems unhappy, this is not a good choice for Dr. Dog. The program promotes happy animals as well as happy people and it is not their aim to involve dogs that will simply put up with being patted. They must enjoy their role too! 

3. Basic obedience: Dogs should walk calmly and quietly on a leash with their owners and be able to “sit,” “stay” and “come” on command. Owners should display a reasonable amount of control over their dog and the dog should respond readily to instructions. 

Potential Dr. Dogs should:

• Appear healthy, friendly and relaxed. 

• Display no signs of fear or nervous tension. 

• Happily allow strangers to approach. 

• Appear interested in people and have an outgoing nature. 

• Be able to handle a reasonable level of stress. 

• Feel comfortable in strange surroundings and with crowds. 

• Allow clumsy/over enthusiastic petting or pinching.

Potential Dr. Dogs should not:

• Bark or whine continually. 

• Display territorial behavior. 

• Be aggressive towards other dogs. 

• Be possessive over food or toys. 

• Display any signs of anxiety.

There is no fee for joining the PAWS Dr. Dog Program or for the assessment. For Dr. Dog volunteers, the only cost is the transportation of getting to the school/hospital.

If your dog is not yet spayed/neutered, PAWS offers low-cost spay/neuter. The PARC Clinic rates can be found here: http://paws.org.ph/site/388/default.aspx.

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For information, e-mail philpaws@yahoo.com or call tel. 475-1688 during office hours.