Therapy dogs are not the same as service dogs, who are trained to provide a specific service. They also differ from emotional support animals, which require an ESA letter or prescription from a licensed mental health professional (but don’t need to have any special training).

Therapy dogs need to be certified from and registered in a reputable national organization such as Alliance Therapy Dogs, Pet Partners, Therapy Dogs International, and others.

To become a therapy dog, your dog needs to undergo training to acquire good manners, social skills and learn to perform specific tasks to assist people with disabilities.