Delta Society "bans" raw fed dogs from its program
- Thread starter Brattina88
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That sucks. I strongly prefer Therapy Dog International anyway. When you get your TDI they provide liability insurance for your dog in case something goes wrong (like a bite) while the dog is actively doing a therapy visit.
Something that always irked me about the Delta Society is that they won't allow "exotics" to be registered in their therapy animal program. Animals like ferrets, iguanas, etc. My old man iguana made visits to dozens of school and had thousands of children handfeeding/petting him, he did a lot of good and yet they considered him "dangerous"
Something that always irked me about the Delta Society is that they won't allow "exotics" to be registered in their therapy animal program. Animals like ferrets, iguanas, etc. My old man iguana made visits to dozens of school and had thousands of children handfeeding/petting him, he did a lot of good and yet they considered him "dangerous"
...."they are an organization that trains and places service and therapy animals"
Basically they train people and certify therapy dog teams. If you want to do therapy dog work, it's difficult to just walk into a facility and tell them you have a therapy dog. But if you're with a certifying organization like Delta, they will help you find facilities to do work in, as well as administer certification exams for you and your dog. So then you can walk into a facility and say you're certified with Delta, which means more. I think they are the largest certification organization for therapy dog teams, so they do tend to set standards that other organizations will also adopt.
Which is why this particular statement is scary. If Delta does this, I would imagine that most other organizations in the country will also start doing this; I'd also imagine that it would spread to the assistance dog community since those dogs are also working in public.
Hmm... I suppose I understand some of their concerns as far as shedding bacteria if the dogs are going into hospitals where there would be individuals with compromised immune systems. Oh wait, they say just that:
I've never heard mention before of shedding pathogenic bacteria but that certainly doesn't mean it's not true... interesting. I'd like to see more of the science behind this.
I've never heard mention before of shedding pathogenic bacteria but that certainly doesn't mean it's not true... interesting. I'd like to see more of the science behind this.
As Lissy said, Delta does not itself train or place service or therapy animals. They register therapy dogs, though. The only reason I would prefer Delta over TDI is that they let you use whatever therapy program you want...TDI doesn't let you use any other program except TDI programs. But, there's no Delta evaluator anywhere near me.
I'm not too impressed with the whole therapy dog thing anymore. When my mom was in the hospital for a week in March, she was visited by two "therapy" dogs. The first one was a Samoyed who stressed, pulled like heck to get OUT of the room, and did NOT want to be pet. The second was a lab mix who did let us pet her, but was way more interested in my mom's lunch and sniffing around the room. I had always thought that therapy dogs were supposed to want to be pet by people, and be comfortable in hospitals. But, maybe they've lowered the bar these days? *shrug*
Although I do think its dumb to not register dogs who are fed raw. If they're really worried about the dog carrying bacteria in its mouth, why not have the owner brush the dogs teeth or something before going to work? I mean, dogs eat worse than raw meat, they eat poo!
Although I do think its dumb to not register dogs who are fed raw. If they're really worried about the dog carrying bacteria in its mouth, why not have the owner brush the dogs teeth or something before going to work? I mean, dogs eat worse than raw meat, they eat poo!
I wanted to get Meg tested through the Therapy Dogs of Vermont, as her greatest joy in life is simply leaning up against someone and being touched. She would adore it, but they have long refused dogs who have access to any raw food in six months.
Their argument is ridiculous, considering that kibble-fed dogs emit the same bacteria in their stool.
Their argument is ridiculous, considering that kibble-fed dogs emit the same bacteria in their stool.
This has been effect at the hospital here for a looooong time. The therapy program i used to be involved with didn't go to hospitals, just certain seniors homes and special needs schools (they liked the dragons and bunnies the best).
Based on one study by a certain vet from Calgary... I call it the Joffe Study.
Preliminary assessment of the risk of Salmonella infection in dogs fed raw chicken diets
Basically he took a group of 10 dogs, all clients of the Tail Blazers in Calgary and told them he's doing a study that's going to be pro-raw. He then fooled them all and released this bullshit study that proves nothing basically.
Don't know if that's a study they used in anything with Delta Society, but that's what's used around here all the time.
Joffe and the franchise owner of TB often have battles on the breakfast tv news shows about raw food.
Based on one study by a certain vet from Calgary... I call it the Joffe Study.
Preliminary assessment of the risk of Salmonella infection in dogs fed raw chicken diets
Basically he took a group of 10 dogs, all clients of the Tail Blazers in Calgary and told them he's doing a study that's going to be pro-raw. He then fooled them all and released this bullshit study that proves nothing basically.
Don't know if that's a study they used in anything with Delta Society, but that's what's used around here all the time.
Joffe and the franchise owner of TB often have battles on the breakfast tv news shows about raw food.
Interesting . . . I'd like to see more studies done on this, but I suppose with all the human problems in the world, dog diets are low on the list of most scientists. I do remember Consumer Reports discovering that most chicken (for humans) was contaminated with salmonella, including organic chicken. (Cooking kills it.)
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Molly isn't certified and failed the St. John Ambulance Therapy dog program when she was one as she was too exuberant. A senior's facility was requesting dog visits and Molly and I had an interview and they loved her. We've been visiting for 2 years now and they are aware she is on a raw diet. My vet isn't concerned over the raw diet but insists Molly is dewormed monthly (which I do not like) if she visits the facility.
I didn't go back and try to get her on the St. John Ambulance program as they are very strict regarding the interaction between patients and dogs. Molly is allowed to put her front feet up on the rails of the bed in order to be petted/reached and also lays on the bed with a few residents if they wish. This would not be allowed with SJA.
I didn't go back and try to get her on the St. John Ambulance program as they are very strict regarding the interaction between patients and dogs. Molly is allowed to put her front feet up on the rails of the bed in order to be petted/reached and also lays on the bed with a few residents if they wish. This would not be allowed with SJA.
How do you think Delta would know if your dog is fed raw or not? Are they watching you feed your dog? Do you have to show receipts for dog food? I don't see how they could enforce it.
Of course (no offense to the kibble feeders intended), they could look at your dog and see it's in great condition and then accuse you of raw feeding!
Of course (no offense to the kibble feeders intended), they could look at your dog and see it's in great condition and then accuse you of raw feeding!
I think the problem comes when dogs use their paws to hold the raw food, or if it somehow touches their body and the bacteria is transferred to their fur. I think most therapy organizations do not allow dogs to lick - or obviously poop anywhere - so I can't see that is a problem. They do however require dogs to be bathed no more than 24 or 48 hours before a visit (can't remember the exact number), so that in theory takes care of most other bacteria and stuff on the dogs from their environment.
I'm with ya there, Sweet, IMO a lot of people strive to get their dog TDI (or whatever) certified in order to proove to the public how nice their dog is. Many people adopt dogs that they know have been in abusive situations just to show that they can be good therapy dogs too. Sometimes they do turn out well, but IMO most of the time they shouldn't actually be working. I helped with about a dozen TDI evaluations one day, and only one or two of the dogs failed the test.... Though I would have failed all BUT only one or two. NONE of the dogs did an acceptable "Leave It," which I thought was an extremely important part of the test. Also, most of the dogs go on to do visits with children, but nowhere in the test is there an evaluation for the dog around children. So yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about the therapy dogs in general.
Incidently, I brought a service dog to a hospital to see my friend once, and I was expecting the nurses to ask me to take the dog away. Instead, they gave me a list of rooms of people that needed visits.
I'm with ya there, Sweet, IMO a lot of people strive to get their dog TDI (or whatever) certified in order to proove to the public how nice their dog is. Many people adopt dogs that they know have been in abusive situations just to show that they can be good therapy dogs too. Sometimes they do turn out well, but IMO most of the time they shouldn't actually be working. I helped with about a dozen TDI evaluations one day, and only one or two of the dogs failed the test.... Though I would have failed all BUT only one or two. NONE of the dogs did an acceptable "Leave It," which I thought was an extremely important part of the test. Also, most of the dogs go on to do visits with children, but nowhere in the test is there an evaluation for the dog around children. So yeah, I'm not sure how I feel about the therapy dogs in general.
Incidently, I brought a service dog to a hospital to see my friend once, and I was expecting the nurses to ask me to take the dog away. Instead, they gave me a list of rooms of people that needed visits.