From a Breeder’s Perspective
As breeders of Golden Retrievers—many of whom go on to become therapy dogs or service dogs—we’re often asked, “What’s the difference between the two?” It’s a great question, especially because both roles involve exceptional dogs helping humans in meaningful ways. However, the distinction between therapy and service work is important, especially when selecting and training a puppy for one path or the other.
Let’s break it down from our point of view as breeders committed to producing sound, social, intelligent companions.
🦮 What Is a Service Dog?
A service dog is a highly trained, task-oriented working dog that helps a person with a disability. These dogs are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which gives them legal public access rights to accompany their handler anywhere the public is allowed—airplanes, restaurants, stores, etc.
Examples of tasks a service dog may be trained to do:
- Guide a visually impaired person
- Alert to an oncoming seizure or low blood sugar
- Retrieve dropped items or open doors
- Provide deep pressure therapy for PTSD
Service dogs are not pets, and their role is to mitigate a disability through specific, consistent task work. Because of this, the training process is extensive and often takes 1–2 years. Not all dogs—no matter how well-bred—are suited for this work. It requires a unique combination of intelligence, resilience, calmness, and trainability.
🐾 What Is a Therapy Dog?
A therapy dog, on the other hand, is a dog that provides emotional support and comfort to others—typically in settings like hospitals, nursing homes, schools, or during crisis response. Therapy dogs are not granted public access rights like service dogs, but they can be certified through organizations such as Alliance of Therapy Dogs to work in approved environments.
These dogs work with their handlers as a volunteer team and must:
- Be friendly and confident with all types of people
- Stay calm in unpredictable environments
- Enjoy being touched, hugged, and handled by strangers
- Have basic obedience and a gentle demeanor
Many of our own dogs are registered therapy dogs, and we’ve found that Golden Retrievers—especially those from our English lines—tend to have the intuitive, people-loving nature that makes them excellent candidates.
💡 Key Differences at a Glance:
| Feature | Service Dog | Therapy Dog |
| Primary Role | Assists one individual with a disability | Provides comfort to others in group settings |
| Training | Task-specific, extensive | Basic obedience, social exposure |
| Legal Access | Full public access (ADA protected) | No public access without permission |
| Handler’s Role | Receives help from dog | Works with dog to help others |
| Emotional Support | Secondary to task work | Primary role |
🐕 From Our Breeding Program to Service & Therapy Work
We’re incredibly proud that many of our puppies go on to become therapy and service dogs. We breed with temperament in mind—looking for calm, confident, eager-to-please puppies that can grow into emotionally attuned adults. While we can’t guarantee a puppy will become a certified working dog, we do our best to set the foundation.
Golden Retrievers, especially those from well-bred English lines, are often strong candidates for:
- Therapy work in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes
- PTSD support and psychiatric service tasks
- Emotional support roles in family and educational settings
Some lines may have slightly calmer temperaments, but individual personality, early socialization, and consistent training are what truly shape a working dog.
💬 Final Thoughts
Whether you’re interested in a puppy for therapy visits or service work, it’s important to understand the role you’re hoping the dog will fill—and to work closely with a breeder who prioritizes temperament, health, and social exposure from day one.
We’re honored to be part of that journey and are always happy to help families determine if a Golden Retriever from our program might be a good fit for a future working role.
If you’re interested in learning more about therapy dog certification, we recommend starting with Alliance of Therapy Dogs.