WANTED: Service Dog Trainers & Assistants!

Therapy and Facility Dog Updates

By Barbara McKown and Mary Skrabucha What are you doing on vacation? In the Therapy Dog world, our school programs are on summer hiatus. So, we asked some of the volunteers that work in the school programs what their summer plans are. Many of our volunteer teams are certified with…

Comfort Corner: Pickle!

By Marilyn Davis My 16-month-old golden retriever, Pickle, has not gotten my memo about my plans for her future as a therapy dog. I’ve had other certified therapy dogs –  goldens – who met the brief: “Velcro” affection applied liberally to everyone they meet. Pickle, however, so far, does

Therapy Program Updates—Spring 2023

By Barbara McKown Therapy Dog Program Manager 2023 IS OFF TO A GREAT START! Our January Prep School class was full, and several people indicated they are interested in our Goal Directed Therapy programs. The first Therapy Dog Team evaluation was done in early February and seven teams passed the…

Ricochet the Surf Dog
Date July 15, 2022

Surf Dog Ricochet balances boards… and lives! She’s the only SURFice dog® on the planet who provides canine-assisted surf therapy and healing to empower, enhance and improve the quality of life for individuals with physical, cognitive, or emotional challenges. She is a registered therapy dog through the Alliance of Therapy…

Rally Activity as a Therapy Program Tool

The American Kennel Club (AKC) created Rally in 2005 to be a fun family sport. Today, Rally competitions are held throughout the country. It is considered a team sport offering a way challenge you and your dog. Here’s how the AKC describes Rally: You and your dog navigate a course,…

My, How You’ve Grown!

Pawsitive Teams Celebrates its 25th Year   Think back to 1997, if you were even born:-) Two women, Carol Davis and Charli King, in the Rancho Bernardo neighborhood of San Diego, were puppy raisers for a local service dog training organization. They would spend many, many months working with and…

What Makes a Good Therapy Dog?

  A social dog that likes people and other dogs is the short answer. Can a rescue dog become a therapy dog?  Yes! Another short answer. How can I make sure my dog is social and likes people and other dogs? Now we’re getting to the long answers.   Whether…

In the Beginning …. Who is Pawsitive Teams?

Charli King and I started Pawsitive Teams (PT) in 1997 after being introduced to the world of service dogs while puppy raising for two different service dog organizations. We both embraced the concept but wanted to have more contact with those receiving these well-trained dogs and we also wanted to…