[tkdgirl]

I'm just wondering how many of your Ts have dogs, like in the office. I don't know if it was just coincidence or what but T3 has 2 "therapy" dogs in her office, and T1 also had a dog (though she never called it a therapy dog). Just wondering how common this is.

[pbutton]

T has a stuffed dog toy in his office. I'm guessing that doesn't count? One time it was tipped over and I practically broke my fingers trying to avoid running over and setting it back upright.

[missbelle]

Wow..I think a "t" with a dog in the office is a great idea unless of course a patient had a dog phobia..then..not so good...LOL

Seriously though animals make great therapy dogs and sometimes help a patient to relax and talk

[healed84]

One of the Ts in my Ts office has a dog she brings with her to work.. I am assuming he is an thearpy dog.

[lostmyway21]

Mine doesn't... but I have a service dog, and he says he is the only dog that comes to his office.

My lawyer has a dog in his office. He's kind of a therapy dog

[velcro003]

i would melt into a puddle of oozy gooeyness if my T had a dog in her office!

[Nightlight]

I took my dog in once when he was a puppy. He's a bit big these days. He'd barely fit in the lift! He didn't think the lift was much fun last time and particularly as he outweighs me these days, if he doesn't want to go somewhere, lying down looking placid generally means we don't get to our intended destination very quickly.

[Beholden]

One of my T's had 2 dogs and even though she asked if it was okay for them to be there, and I said yes, it pissed me off! I was in an angry place back then. I didn't want to be in THAT office. But it was back when I was told from my workplace that I would go for 3 sesssons of therapy or get fired. SO I went while waiting to get into therapy with someone else - of my choice. I was put on paid leave for about 3 weeks at that time. I'm sure they expected that I would quit, but I didn't. I was so stressed that it was affecting my 'behavior' at work. I'd stopped taking my anti-dpressants and was going down down down that ring of fire!

Now the P-doc I see every 3 months for my medication management brings their pet into the office. He is a dream. He stays in their reception area closed by a child's gate. He comes over for a pet and is so calm and cute. I'm in a much better place than I was back when I HAD to go to therapy.

[stopdog]

I do not like it. I find it to be distracting. I do not find other people's pets to be useful to me.

[lostmyway21]

Originally Posted by stopdog

I do not like it. I find it to be distracting. I do not find other people's pets to be useful to me.

It is distracting, I bring my service dog when I don't want to work in therapy that day. I wonder if my T has noticed the trend yet.

As much as I love dogs, having one in session with me would be terribly distracting.

[tkdgirl]

Originally Posted by stopdog

I do not like it. I find it to be distracting. I do not find other people's pets to be useful to me.

Originally Posted by lostmyway21

It is distracting, I bring my service dog when I don't want to work in therapy that day. I wonder if my T has noticed the trend yet.

Originally Posted by farmergirl

As much as I love dogs, having one in session with me would be terribly distracting.

I do agree the dogs were a bit distracting at first, especially when the one with anxiety decided to bark at random noises. However, after a few minutes they both seemed to lie down and didn't do anything else for the entire session.

I agree lostmyway that the dogs could be a convenient way to avoid actually doing therapy without akwardly sitting in silence.

My T and i have taken her dogs home when they got out of her yard does that count? And i have been babysitting her dog the past 6 months. He is great therapy for me.

[stopdog]

I adore my own pets. I have several and can not imagine not having them. I just do not find them useful in the therapist's office.

[lostmyway21]

Originally Posted by tkdgirl

I do agree the dogs were a bit distracting at first, especially when the one with anxiety decided to bark at random noises. However, after a few minutes they both seemed to lie down and didn't do anything else for the entire session.

I agree lostmyway that the dogs could be a convenient way to avoid actually doing therapy without akwardly sitting in silence.

Exactly, to avoid silence when im in a quiet mood, I bring my dog and we end up playing with and laughing at him all session.

Dogs? No, I wouldn't like that. I used to love dogs but I have very little patience with them these days...

I think I'm more of a cat person, as pets go. I've met T's cat but he hasn't come into the therapy room with us. I think even a cat could be distracting, though.

Equine therapy could be interesting - then my T could meet my appaloosa

This thread reminds me about With-Or-Without-You's T's mortification at her misbehaved cat ruining her polished professionalism during their phone call

I took my dog to therapy a few times when she was still a puppy. The DBT skills therapist loved her- more than me I think!- which felt a bit strange. My T didn't pay much attention, and just focused on me, which I prefered I stopped taking her when T's office building was taken over by an NHS dentist, which meant there would be lots more people in the waiting room, and it didn't seem very appropriate to have a dog in a dentist! I checked this with T and she agreed, but a few weeks ago a girl came out of her session with a dog I felt a tiny bit of 'oh-she-must-be-more-special-if-T-lets-her-bring-her-dog' but then remembered that T is so laid back she would probably let me too if I wanted to enough. Or maybe this girl just didn't ask, and T is not good at confrontation!

[Rosie23]

Mine has a dog. Just a little thing, but it kinda wanders around the office when my T isn't in hers. But they go together and the dog hangs out near my feet or curled up in her basket.

I think the dog is more of a pet though instead of any sort of therapy assistant.

[eskielover]

I always brought Celia & Leo to my T appointments in California. It was about an hour drive to get there & Celia always was my companion dog.....she even passed the test to be able to go to the local nursing home. Then when Leo was born & we didn't sell him, he went everywhere with me, so Celia & Leo would both go into therapy with me. When I was in the hospital, my husband would always bring them to visit me also.......even though they couldn't actually go into the hospital. My psychologist actually fell so in love with my eskie dogs that when Destiny had her last litter, my psychologist had lost his cocker spanial the year before & decided to take one of the puppies. Another one of his patients took the other puppy & I kept JoGI.

Thinking back about T dogs, I kept ending up in the mental hospital & my insurance forced me to be taken way down to a hospital 100 miles away from where I lived....for some reason it was the only mental hospital they allowed patients to go to. The one thing I remember about that hospital was that they had therapy dogs come in once a week.....it was about the only thing I remember about that hospital.....I was pretty out of it most of the time I was there because of being so angry at being taken so far away from home & probably even more angry because I was forced to be there on a hold.....guess the dogs must have made a big impression at the time as it was the one thing I would reach out to was animals.