Learn How to Help Service Dogs Succeed in Public Access
Training a service dog to work in public access is the most challenging aspect of service dog work. Learn how to introduce service dogs in training to public access work systematically and set them up for success. You will also explore the behavioral characteristics and foundational training needed for public access work as well as strategies to assess a service dog in training’s readiness to work in places pets are not permitted. This course covers ways to identify and respond to stress in service dog candidates as well as techniques to build dogs’ confidence. Discover strategies to help teams work effectively in challenging public environments.
“The course was comprehensive and captivating – hard to stop once you started, much like not being able to put a good book down! I find the combination of videos, writing and relevant links extremely beneficial for the learning process and they help build a library of resources to keep on hand for future reference. This course is not only informative, but a natural addition to the courses Veronica already has available. I highly recommend this course to any trainers who are or intend on doing public access work.”
Amanda Hayward Certificate IV, SDC
PETS Education Training and Support, Swan Bay, NSW, AustraliaWho this Course is For
This course is designed for professional dog trainers who have skills in using clicker training and foundational knowledge in service dogs. However, the content is also helpful for owner-trainers, service dog program volunteers and others interested in service dog training.
“Veronica does a fabulous job of laying out information and organizing it in a logical manner…I think this is a great course!”
Barbara Galbraith, KPA-CTP, SDC
Pawsitive Barb, Charlottesville, VAWhat You Will Learn
You will examine the process of beginning training a service dog candidate for public access. Video presentations include a combination of public access work demonstrations in a variety of settings as well as discussions of training strategies.
- Introduction to public access work
- Laws
- Expectations for the dog’s behavior
- Behavioral characteristics for public access
- Desired traits
- Socialization and foundation skills
- Socializing a service dog candidate puppy
- Basic training skills needed
- Training public access default behaviors
- Readiness for public access
- Assessing a service dog candidate’s readiness to begin public access training
- Selecting locations to begin public access training
- Using rehearsal to prepare service dog candidates
- Addressing stress in public access
- Identifying indications of stress
- Responding to stress
- Strategies to build confidence
- Successful public access training
- Ways to structure first field trips
- Increase complexity and difficulty of public access practice
- Address challenging environments and situations
- Public access work assessment
- Benefits and limitations of different types of assessments
“So informative and yet easy to follow!”
Christin Benoit CPDT-KA, SDC
Comfy Critters Pet Services, Michigan, USAHow You Will Learn
You will watch video presentations, training demonstrations and read course materials. While this course can be completed in a few afternoons, you will have access to it for a full 90 days.
The Details
- Course length: Approximately 4 hours. Students have access to the course for 90 days.
- CEUs
- CPDT – 4 (CPDT-KA and CBCC)
- KPA – 4
- IAABC – 3.5
- Tuition: $185 USD
“I loved the variety of dogs and real life examples in the included videos of both good and not ideal behavior to watch for. You can’t go wrong with learning from Cooperative Paws!”