Log on to the official TDI website at www.tdi-dog.org and click on “TESTING REQUIREMENTS” in the blue box on the right side of the page.  This will take you through the 15 exercises that you and your dog must pass to be certified. You and your dog will be tested as a team!!! You will be tested by a Certified TDI Evaluator who had to prove knowledge in canine behavior and experience in Therapy Dog work to be certified to test handler/dog teams. Testing in the Sioux Falls area is approximately every quarter.  Send us an email from this site to get details on upcoming testing sessions!

Some of the exercises:

1. “Say Hello” – the ability of the handler to present their dog to a patient so the dog can be easily petted and touched.
2. Basic Obedience – sit, down, stay, come, heel on a lose leash – the ability of the dog to show “good manners” in any facility you are visiting.
3. Meet and greet – the ability of your dog to get along with other dogs since many visits are with a group of other TDIs
4. Friendly Temperament – you dog is willing to have strangers pet and handle them.