Oh I'm not saying that you shouldn't socialize your dog. That is absolutely important, but not just for the purpose of therapy dog work, rather for the purpose of having a stable and well-balanced dog.
I hear so often that people say they "want to get a puppy so they can have a therapy dog" or speak of training a young dog to be a therapy dog. THAT is what I have aversion to. Regardless of the training and socializing that you do, regardless of your abilities as a trainer, some dogs just will not be well suited for a therapy dog job. So instead of training for the purpose of having a therapy dog, I recommend to people that they train to make their individual dog as well balanced and stable and solid as that individual dog can be. At the end of that (though there never really is an end to that sort of training) you will either have a dog that is naturally suited for a therapy dog, or one that is not. Training specifically for the purpose of having a therapy dog can often mask issues stemming from low confidence or an unbalanced dog, so on the surface they may appear a wonderful candidate and pass the test without issues, but "in the field" they may melt down when real stress is applied.
So in my opinion, the best way to "make" a good therapy dog is to completely forget about the idea of therapy dog work for the first 2 years of the dog's life, at least. Instead, focus on making them confident, stable, and accomplished in other areas. Allow them to be active and crazy in agility or flyball. Require that they be precise and focused in something like obedience or rally-o. Stretch their abilities beyond the norm by dabbling in things like tracking, swimming, dock diving, back-packing, etc. Then when they are matured emotionally, you will be able to take the therapy dog test without any specific training. Just walk into the test and do it.
I've never done any training for therapy dog work. And many of the best therapy dogs I have met are the same way. They were never trained for therapy dog work, rather they were trained for obedience, agility, flyball, rally-o, herding, etc. etc. etc. After a couple years of that, they were sufficiently prepared to ace the test, and are able to cope with the stresses of actual visitations without batting an eye.
I hear so often that people say they "want to get a puppy so they can have a therapy dog" or speak of training a young dog to be a therapy dog. THAT is what I have aversion to. Regardless of the training and socializing that you do, regardless of your abilities as a trainer, some dogs just will not be well suited for a therapy dog job. So instead of training for the purpose of having a therapy dog, I recommend to people that they train to make their individual dog as well balanced and stable and solid as that individual dog can be. At the end of that (though there never really is an end to that sort of training) you will either have a dog that is naturally suited for a therapy dog, or one that is not. Training specifically for the purpose of having a therapy dog can often mask issues stemming from low confidence or an unbalanced dog, so on the surface they may appear a wonderful candidate and pass the test without issues, but "in the field" they may melt down when real stress is applied.
So in my opinion, the best way to "make" a good therapy dog is to completely forget about the idea of therapy dog work for the first 2 years of the dog's life, at least. Instead, focus on making them confident, stable, and accomplished in other areas. Allow them to be active and crazy in agility or flyball. Require that they be precise and focused in something like obedience or rally-o. Stretch their abilities beyond the norm by dabbling in things like tracking, swimming, dock diving, back-packing, etc. Then when they are matured emotionally, you will be able to take the therapy dog test without any specific training. Just walk into the test and do it.
I've never done any training for therapy dog work. And many of the best therapy dogs I have met are the same way. They were never trained for therapy dog work, rather they were trained for obedience, agility, flyball, rally-o, herding, etc. etc. etc. After a couple years of that, they were sufficiently prepared to ace the test, and are able to cope with the stresses of actual visitations without batting an eye.