“This is an excellent program. It provides so many important details and is very clear, while still remaining interesting! The mixture of learning methods is superb, and I highly recommend this thorough and informative program.”
Risë VanFleet, PhD, CDBC
Author, The Human Half of Dog Training and Animal Assisted Play Therapy™
International Institute for Animal Assisted Play Therapy
The Need
As awareness of benefit of animal interactions on health has grown, the demand for service dogs has skyrocketed. Program wait-lists are so long that many people choose to select and train their own dog. Pet dog trainers are interested in the field but lack the expertise and knowledge to help.
A Complex Challenge
There is a lot to think about when it comes to service dogs: disability challenges, legal issues, public access, safety and the dog’s needs. On the other hand, people training their own dogs for service work are some of the most committed clients you will ever find! Additionally you get to train a dog complex, high level skills that make a real difference in a person’s life.
“This is what the dog training community has been waiting for. Finally, a comprehensive, high-quality program to teach trainers how to train service dogs!”
Service Dog Trainers Need to Know
How to work with people with disabilities, be familiar with laws regarding service dogs, how to collaborate with healthcare professionals in addition to having high level dog training skills and knowledge of the “ins and outs” of public access training.
The Solution
Cooperative Paws Service Dog Coaching™ is a certificate program for professional pet dog trainers interested in helping people with disabilities to train their own service dogs. Veronica Sanchez M.Ed. CABC, CPDT-KA, an expert in service dog training, developed the program with feedback and input from other leaders in the dog training industry. Cooperative Paws SDC™ gives trainers the tools they need to get started in this growing field.
Practical, Do-Able Coursework
This online learning program gives you the information and skills you need in a format that is easy to fit into your schedule. You can complete lessons at times that are convenient for you. The short video lectures, written articles, hands-on projects with individualized feedback from Veronica keeps the process interesting. Each lesson includes a section where you can ask questions so expert help is always at your fingertips.
“I really enjoyed the course. The projects were super awesome and caused me to consider things that I never would have.”
Business Tools You Can Use
No one likes paperwork! You will receive forms, letters and handouts to make incorporating service dog training into your business easier. Everything from a client contract addendum and medical release form created in consultation with an attorney to public access assessment checklists are included.
Additional Perks
Successful graduates earn a certificate and can use the SDC™ credential and logo to market new skills and knowledge.
Unexpected Bonus
Our certificate in service dog coaching can give trainers a unique advertising advantage with pet owners too. Many pet dog training clients have told me that they specifically hired me because they wanted their pet puppy to “be as well trained as a service dog.” Questions, email [email protected].
“Your course is really comprehensive and I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
“The best person to teach disabled people how to properly select and train their own service dogs would be a disabled person who knows the importance of this from personal experience.
The best person to teach trainers how to train service dogs for the disabled would possess the ability to help trainers breach the gap between standard training skills and those essential for the training of well-behaved service animals.
And the best person to advise healthcare professionals regarding the full range of human, canine, and environmental concerns that must be considered before recommending the addition of a service animal to a patient’s or client’s household would be someone familiar with the costs and benefits of every such human-service animal interaction.
Add the excellent teaching and communications skills needed for one-on-one service dog training, on-line service dog training courses for trainers, and private consultations with medical and mental health professionals, and I can think of no one more qualified to provide these services than Veronica Sanchez at Cooperative Paws.”
Myrna Milani, DVM
Integrating animal health, behavior, and the human-animal bond