Heidehof Therapy Program

Heidehof Therapy Program

In 2010, Sparkwatch Professional Dog Training was asked to provide Certified Canine Good Neighbour Therapy dogs to a local nursing home. As Melodi is a Canine Good Neighbour Evaluator for the Canadian Kennel Club, we already had dogs not only certified but distraction proofed and ready to work.

To date, we’ve had over 25 dogs complete and pass the CGN Evaluation and currently have approximately 12 dogs participating in this monthly visitation program.

Every month Sparkwatch visits our elderly residents at Heidehof Home for the Aged in the Nursing Home section. Dogs on leash are brought up to each resident either in their room, or in the common areas of the home. Here our residents get to pet the dogs, talk about the dogs they owned, and have a friendly visitor to communicate with. These dogs are specially trained to accept petting by strangers and show no aggression or fearfulness.