Classes

COOPERATIVE CARE FOR DOGS - Foundations 

There are no currently scheduled sessions of Cooperative Care Class for Dogs.

 

This course is designed for dog guardians who are hoping to help their dog form positive associations with veterinary or grooming care needs. In this course we will use positive reinforcement, counter conditioning and desensitization to help your dog learn that their routine care can feel like a safe (and maybe even enjoyable!) experience. This course is four weeks in length and will cover:

  • Helpful start button behaviors for cooperative care such as stationing on a mat or a grooming station 
  • Introducing veterinary, grooming or care tools such as medication bottles, nail clippers, harnesses, cones, or muzzles in a positive way 
  • Useful foundation skills for cooperative care such as chin rests and following a target
  • Beginning body handling conditioning exercises designed to help dogs form positive associations with the type of handling associated with examination at a vet clinic, grooming, ear care, nail care, and more! 
  • Body language reading instruction to help you appropriately set the pace of your training to set your dog up for success on their cooperative care journey 

Class sizes will be limited to a maximum of four, handler-dog teams.

 Please fill out the following Group Class Intake Form when registering for a class. 

 

 

COOPERATIVE CARE FOR DOGS - Advanced

This course will be offered based on student demand. 

This is the second course in a two-part series designed for dog guardians who are hoping to help their dog form positive associations with veterinary or grooming care needs. In this course we will use positive reinforcement, counter conditioning and desensitization to help you learn how to teach your dog that their routine care can be a safe and even enjoyable experience. This course is three weeks in length and will cover:

  • Leveraging the start button behaviors developed in Part One of this course with real-life care and husbandry task preparation. Students may wish to focus on a particular care task such as ear maintenance, nail clipping or filing, grooming, vaccination or body examination 
  • Combining the use of grooming and medical tools / props with body handling
  • Advanced muzzle conditioning techniques 
  • Cooperative nail filing 
  • Generalizing cooperative care skills to new people including a visit from a Vet Tech 
  • Planning tips for future veterinary or grooming visits 

Class sizes will be limited to a maximum of four, handler-dog teams. Dogs attending this course must be people and dog social and be able to calmly settle in a group class environment. If a dog is unable to adjust to the classroom environment, a credit for the value of the group class will be transferrable to the price of a private initial consultation.