If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed trying to choose the “right” diet for your therapy dog, you’re not alone.
There’s no shortage of opinions on what dogs should eat. Raw diets, freeze-dried options, home-prepared meals: each comes with strong advocates and compelling claims.
But when your dog is part of your professional work, feeding decisions can have a greater impact. They can directly affect the health and safety of the people you serve.
For people partnering with therapy dogs or facility dogs in their professional work, understanding zoonotic risk is part of responsible, ethical practice.
What Is Zoonosis and Why Does it Matter?
Zoonotic diseases are infections that can be transmitted between animals and humans.
In everyday pet ownership, the risk of zoonotic disease is generally low and manageable. But in animal-assisted interventions (AAI), the context changes. Therapy animals interact closely with a wide range of individuals, including those who may be more vulnerable to infection. In many cases, you may not know who is at a higher risk.
That uncertainty is what makes prevention essential.
Safe, effective AAI depends on minimizing risk wherever possible. This includes decisions that may not seem immediately connected to safety, like your therapy dog’s diet.
When Care Decisions Extend Beyond Your Dog
Every dog owner makes feeding choices from a place of care. You want your dog to be healthy, energized, and thriving.
At the same time, therapy animal work introduces a broader responsibility.
Your decisions affect the safety of the people you visit, the environments you enter, and the credibility of AAI as a professional field. As the field continues to grow, having strong safety practices is essential to protecting both people and animals and supporting positive outcomes across settings.
Feeding choices are part of that responsibility.
What the Research Tells Us about Raw Diets
Research on pet food safety has identified important differences between raw and cooked diets.
In a recent webinar featuring Dr. Laura Goodman of Cornell University, findings highlighted key concerns:
- In one study, 42% of raw pet food samples showed bacterial growth, while cooked products showed none
- Freeze-dried food is not cooked and can still carry bacteria
- Pathogens identified included Salmonella, E. coli, and Klebsiella
- Some of these pathogens are associated with serious illness in humans
- Antimicrobial resistance was also identified, meaning infections may be harder to treat
These findings matter in therapy settings because exposure pathways are different.
Therapy dogs fed raw diets may not show signs of illness, but they can still carry and shed bacteria. In places where they might be in close contact with others, this creates a risk that is often invisible to handlers and participants.
A Common Question: “What If I Only Feed Raw Sometimes?”
This is one of the most common question professionals ask.
It’s reasonable to assume that limiting raw feeding to non-working periods might reduce risk. However, research shows that dogs can continue to shed harmful bacteria for days or even weeks after exposure. There is no clearly defined point at which the risk disappears.
This means that for raw diets, timing-based approaches do not eliminate the risk of possibly transmitting illnesses. For professionals working in schools, healthcare settings, or counseling environments, this distinction is important.
What This Means for Your Work with Therapy Dogs
In AAI, feeding decisions are not only personal. They are part of professional standards.
Avoiding raw diets is widely considered best practice for therapy dogs because it reduces the likelihood of pathogen exposure and transmissions. This supports safer interactions, protects the people you serve, and reinforces trust with administrators, partners, and clients.
For professionals like educators, counselors, and healthcare providers, these decisions directly influence how therapy animal work is perceived and supported within their organizations.
Practical Steps to Reduce Zoonotic Risk
Reducing zoonotic risk comes down to consistent, thorough practices. Even small changes can make a meaningful difference in maintaining safe environments.
- Treat freeze-dried products as raw meat when handling
- Practice thorough hand hygiene before and after handling
- Clean food and water bowls regularly
- Prevent cross-contamination in food preparation areas
- Read labels carefully for all food and treats
- Report suspected foodborne illness to the FDA
These practices help create a safer experience not only for the people you serve, but for your dog as well.
Why This Matters for Your Professional Role
If you’re bringing a therapy dog into a classroom, counseling session, or healthcare setting, you’re already thinking about how your work can have a meaningful impact.
You’ve considered how to support emotional well-being, build connection, and enhance engagement. Safety is part of that work.
Understanding zoonotic risk allows you to make informed decisions, communicate clearly with colleagues and administrators, and align your work with established standards. It also strengthens your credibility as a professional in a field that continues to grow and evolve.
Build Confidence in Your Practice
If you want a clearer understanding of how to manage zoonotic risk in real-world settings, structured education can help you move forward with confidence.
AAAIP’s Zoonotic Disease Prevention course is designed for professionals who want practical, applicable guidance. You’ll learn how to assess risk, apply prevention strategies, and communicate effectively about safety in your setting. The course also provides a certificate of completion to support your professional portfolio.
Explore this and our other courses to strengthen your professional practice.
Final Thoughts
Every decision you make as a therapy dog handler contributes to the experience of the people you serve.
Feeding your dog may feel like a personal choice. In practice, it’s part of a broader commitment to safety, professionalism, and care.
That commitment is what allows AAI to continue growing with integrity, trust, and impact.
If you want to show your commitment to best practices in AAI, get certified as an Animal-Assisted Intervention Specialist.