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Bow Wow Therapy Dog teams must take a 6-week in-person course at the Dog Alliance after the dog has reached one year of age and already knows all the basic cues such as sit, down, come, stay, leave it, loose leash walking, and polite people greeting.  

Dogs and their handlers are re-tested every 3 years.  

After the therapy dog course, each handler and dog team are evaluated for twenty different exercises.  Half of the exercises test the dog's ability to execute cues in a new environment so that their behavior is well-mannered and predictable when they visit your location.  

An additional ten exercises evaluate the dog's suitability as a therapy dog.  Exercises include testing the dog with groups of people, with an angry person approaching them, unexpected loud noises, meeting several people at one time, hugging, and petting by a variety of people.  If the dog exhibits stress during these exercises or the handler fails to provide the guidance the dog needs to succeed, the handler and dog team will not pass the evaluation.   Bow Wow Therapy Dogs are friendly and eager to meet new people of all races, ages, sizes, nationalities, abilities, genders, and religions.

Dog Alliance Therapy Dog teams abide by professional guidelines to help ensure you and your constituents have a very positive experience with the Bow Wow Therapy and Reading Dogs.  

All volunteers and staff at the Dog Alliance who are older than 17 years of age have been background-checked.  Prior to July 2021, volunteers were checked through Intellicorp.  Since July 2021, volunteers are checked through Sterling Volunteers.  We use a level 3 criminal history search that includes:

• 50 State DOJ Sex Offender Search
• Terrorist Watch list Search
• Validated Nationwide Criminal Search
• Current County Residence Search
• 7 Year Address History County Search (Based on SSN#)
• Validated Arrest Direct Search
• Monthly Updating

In some instances, the therapy dog and handler who will be visiting your facility will be volunteers.  
Volunteers are covered by a $2,000,000 aggregate commercial general liability policy.  Each occurrence is limited to $1,000,000.  Volunteers are covered for up to $50,000 in medical expenses.  

Please note, the Dog Alliance's insurance does not cover situations when a volunteer is using the therapy dog at their workplace.  For example, a school librarian brings their dog to work.  In these situations, the volunteer will either provide their own policy or the employer will cover the therapy dog handler. 

Employees and contractors who are therapy dog handlers are covered by commercial and general liability insurance policies.  

Click here to view our current policy summary. Named insured insurance documents can be provided for a fee.   

Insurance documents are already on file for most school districts within 50 miles of Austin.  Please check with your Risk Management office to verify coverage.  

Per our Bow Wow Therapy Dog program policies, all therapy dogs must be bathed with 48 hours of visiting a client.  This helps to reduce the shedding at the time of the visit. 

We recommend obtaining signed permission slips from parents for school programs before assigning a dog to a child to improve their reading skills. Bow Wow Therapy dogs are taught not to approach a person until given permission. In addition, adults and children with allergies should not ask to pet the dog.  

While our handlers will need to know where they should take the dog to potty, we do not recommend having your therapy dog visit outside unless the event is outside and provisions have been made to keep the dog and handler comfortable.  

These dogs are all older than a year and have received extensive training. Therefore, a potty accident is highly unlikely.  Similarly, the dog has been bathed and brushed within 24 hours before the visit to reduce shedding.  

Dog Alliance Bow Wow Therapy teams are certified at three levels.

Predictable Level Teams - For dogs that are either just beginning their career as therapy dogs or dogs that might get a little too overwhelmed in a highly distracting environment.  These dogs do best with one-on-one interactions in a predictable environment. For example, predictable teams often read with children in a quiet setting and visit patients room by room in a nursing home or assisted living facility. 

Complex Level Teams - Bow Wow Therapy dogs with over 30 hours of experience may test for complex level certification.  These dogs are suitable in crowds of adults or children.  Complex dogs will do well in unfamiliar environments that may be unpredictable; this includes group events for youth, hospitals, booths, festivals, and visits that are one-time only.  About 20% of the Bow Wow Therapy teams achieve this level of certification. 

Complex Plus Level Teams - Additional training and testing are required for this level of therapy dogs.  These dogs can work side by side with other dogs in close proximity and work off-leash when required by the facility.  Complex level handlers either have a background in special education or social work or have taken additional courses with the Dog Alliance to qualify for this level. Unfortunately, only about 5% of the Bow Wow Therapy Dog teams achieve this special designation.  

Bow Wow Therapy teams visit nursing homes, hospitals, mental health hospitals, alcohol recovery centers, special education classrooms, schools, libraries, after-school programs, grand opening events, conferences, stress-relieving events at local employers, and more. 

Bow Wow Therapy Dog teams geographically serve Cedar Park, Round Rock, Liberty Hill, Austin, Bee Caves, and surrounding areas if handler/dog teams are available.  

Yes!  

The Dog Alliance Bow Wow Therapy dogs and their amazing handlers can provide youth and adult programs at our location in Cedar Park, Texas, or at your location that is within 30 miles of our Cedar Park location. 

Programs include:

• Storytime for children
• Educational program for preschool to fourth grade about petting dogs and being safe around new dogs
• Educational program about the science of training dogs
• Boy and girl scout pet badge programs
• Educational programs about service dogs for youth or adults

Don't hesitate to get in touch with us for more information. 

In addition to the skills required to pass the certification test at a predictable level, Reading Dogs and their handlers also attend yearly teaching children to read and trauma awareness workshops.

Many of our reading dog handlers are retired or active educators or counselors.  

Most school districts within a 50-mile radius of the Dog Alliance manage the Bow Wow Reading Dog program through a district-level initiative.  The cost per visit is set at the district level.  

There is a fee per hour for library visits.  The rate is based on travel time and frequency of visits.  

 To learn more, please contact us.  

To read all about the detailed steps of setting up the program at your school or library, including sample permission slips and data collection requirements, click here.  

The Dog Alliance is a 501 C (3) nonprofit.  Click here to view our determination letter.   Our EIN is 20-4797768.

Click here to view our W-9.  

To maintain our program's high standards and professionalism while paying fair wages and benefits to our staff, the Dog Alliance uses a cost-sharing model with our partners.  Please contact us to discuss this.  

Complete the onboarding questionnaire for schools and libraries

Complete the onboarding questionnaire for hospitals, nursing homes, events, employee stress-relieving events, courts, airports, rehabilitation centers, youth events, corporate speaking engagements, and more. 

To schedule a phone call with the Bow Wow Therapy Dog program manager, click here.

Send us an email.