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Therapy dogs are trained to provide support in public settings to various individuals, enhancing mental and physical well-being. Comfort dogs, or emotional support dogs, offer personal comfort to their owners at home without specific training for public interaction.
For many animal lovers, dogs can naturally provide a calm and soothing environment, making these furry friends great companions in moments of high stress or other challenges. That’s where comfort dogs and therapy dogs come in; although comfort and therapy are similar acts, each type has its own purpose. This also means that they have different jobs, needs, and requirements. Whether it’s comfort dog training, therapy dog certification, or understanding emotional support animals (ESAs), our experts can help you navigate the world of assistance animals.
Therapy Dogs & Comfort Dogs - What Are They?
Therapy dogs are specially trained to provide psychological or physiological therapy to individuals other than their handlers; they often visit hospitals, schools, or nursing homes to help improve mental and physical health through interaction. Comfort dogs, also known as emotional support dogs, are not specifically trained for therapeutic interventions but offer comfort and support to their owners by being a constant, calming presence. While therapy dogs usually work with a variety of people in public settings, comfort dogs primarily serve their owners at home and do not have the same broad access rights to public places as service animals.
Therapy Dogs vs Comfort Dogs
Therapy and comfort dogs are similar in nature and have the same ultimate goal: providing a positive and soothing environment to humans in crisis. However, each type has its own use cases and requirements. For example, therapy dogs help humans in times of distress or injury, both mental and physical, providing much-needed attention and affection to individuals in institutions such as hospitals, recovery centers, schools, and assisted living facilities. These animals are not the same as service animals or emotional support animals; they have the same general responsibility as ESAs but with the federal protections granted to service dogs.
On the other hand, comfort dogs respond during moments of crisis and trauma, such as car accidents, natural disasters, and unexpected loss. While an ESA is a long-term companion that lives with you, a comfort dog springs into action when someone needs immediate consolation and attention. However, like ESAs, comfort dogs are not considered working animals and don’t have the rights afforded by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). They act in specific moments of crisis, but they go home with their owners or handlers once their attention is no longer needed.
Just as there are different requirements for service dogs and emotional support animals (ESAs), therapy dogs and comfort dogs need a degree of training — but do they need certification? For therapy dogs, certification is required before they are qualified to interact with medical patients or others in need. However, since comfort dogs are not trained to provide any specific services, they do not require certification and can volunteer as long as they have had basic dog training.
How to get Therapy Dog or Comfort Dog Certification
To get your canine companion in the world of therapy dogs, first it needs basic behavioral training to prepare them for their work with the public. Once they have finished their basic training, therapy dogs must learn to comply with the 10 skills of the Canine Good Citizen test, provided by the American Kennel Club (AKC). Once they pass the CGC test, they must be certified as therapy dogs by one of many qualified organizations.
Since comfort dogs have fewer responsibilities, they do not require certification. However, if you want to extend your canine companion’s capabilities to assist with your mental health challenges by certification, you can get an ESA letter from Pettable.
Unlike comfort dogs and ESAs, therapy dogs require specific training in addition to the basic behavioral variety. They need to learn the 10 CGC skills, which include:
Accepting a friendly stranger
Walking through a crowd
Sit and down on cue and stay in place
Reacting to other dogs
To prepare your canine companion for this test, you can choose to train it yourself with the help of AKC resources or work with a certified therapy dog trainer.
What do Therapy Dogs Do?
Therapy dogs can play an incredible role in helping people heal and recover, even if they don’t have their own assistance animal. With the support of their owners and handlers, these canine heroes volunteer in clinical settings, such as hospitals, hospices, rehabilitation facilities, and schools. Rather than performing specific tasks for individuals, therapy dogs provide comfort, attention, and affection for people in recovery or receiving palliative care, and other sensitive circumstances. Once their volunteer time is over, these pups go home to their beloved human families.
What do Comfort Dogs Do?
As opposed to therapy dogs, which provide care in clinical settings and situations, comfort dogs specialize in more general trauma recovery. They are most often utilized after someone experiences a traumatic event, such as an accident, unforeseen medical events, unexpected loss, and other similar moments of need. They provide soothing attention and affection to people when they need it most, and once their shift is over, they return to their homes. Like therapy dogs, comfort dogs are not considered service animals or working dogs.
Therapy & Comfort Dogs vs. ESAs and Service Dogs
While therapy and comfort dogs work in social situations, emotional service animals (ESAs) and service dogs provide their care directly to their owners. Like their canine colleagues, ESAs provide general affection and companionship to their owners to help aid their mental and emotional health challenges. Also, like therapy and comfort dogs, ESAs are not covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), so they don’t have the same public accommodation rights that service dogs boast.
However, thanks to the Fair Housing Act (FHA), ESAs are permitted to live with their owners in rental housing situations. Since they serve similar purposes, therapy and comfort dogs could also qualify as an ESA if their owners’ are living with a mental health disorder, which is a great option for many of these cuddly canine companions.
How to Get an ESA Letter
If you want to bring an emotional support animal into your life, all you need is an ESA letter — and Pettable is here to guide the way. First, complete our easy online ESA assessment, which helps us determine your qualification for an ESA. Next, we will connect you with a licensed mental health professional certified in your state. They will give you a virtual consultation and diagnose your emotional or mental health disorder, determining your need for an assistance animal. Once they have completed the ESA letter, it will be issued to you within 24-48 hours — and it comes with a 100% money-back guarantee. Take the assessment and get started today!
Matt is a Midwestern-based writer and devoted dog dad, living with a sweet mixed-breed pup named Robin. A life-long dog lover, he had the pleasure of growing up with several German Shepherds, a Cocker Spaniel, and a Black Labrador. He is a full-time editor, as well as a musician and poet, who loves basketball, birdwatching and listening to The Cure and Nick Cave.
