Best therapy dogs
Calm, gentle, people-loving breeds suited to visiting hospitals, schools and care homes — ranked by temperament and tolerance. Therapy work is about comforting many people, which is different from a service dog or an emotional support animal.
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The ranked shortlist
Hand-picked by our editors using breed trait profiles — scores are out of 5.
1. Labrador Retriever
5/5The world's favourite family dog.
2. Golden Retriever
5/5Gentle, patient, forever a puppy.
3. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
5/5A silky-eared lapdog with a spaniel's heart — sweet, gentle, everyone's friend.
4. Standard Poodle
4/5Brilliant, and quietly low-shedding.
5. Bichon Frisé
4/5A cheerful powder-puff — low-shedding, people-loving and endlessly merry.
Therapy, service and support are not the same
A therapy dog visits people to comfort them, and needs above all a calm, gentle temperament, high tolerance of handling and noise, and reliable manners around strangers. It is worth being clear on the terms: a therapy dog provides comfort to many people and has no special public-access rights; a service dog is individually trained to do tasks for one disabled handler and does; an emotional support animal provides comfort to its owner but is not task-trained. Almost any friendly, well-trained dog of the right temperament can qualify as a therapy dog through a recognised programme — the breeds below simply tend to have the temperament in spades.