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CLICK ON KUNZE'S PICTURE TO SEE THE BROCHURE**
2010 Class Dates January 23 April 17 July 17 October 9 YOU MUST BE REGISTERED TO ATTEND ANY CLASSES
SIZE OF CLASSES ARE LIMITED
Click on the image above if you want the document " So You Think Your Dog Can Be a Delta Dog." |
Team Training Course Do you and your companion animal want to visit people in need? Want to become a registered Pet Partner®? The Pet Partners® program is a service of the Delta Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving human health through service and therapy animals. Through Pet Partners®, Delta Society trains volunteers, healthcare professionals, veterinarians, and a nationwide network of licensed instructors and animal evaluators to train and screen animals and handlers for volunteer service. Pet Partners® are person-animal teams who have been specially trained and evaluated to work in visiting animal programs.
Steps to becoming a Pet Partner are :* Take a Delta certified training course offered by Angel Paws or other certified instructors*Take and Pass the evaluation given by licensed Delta Evaluators*Send in your completed registration packet to Delta* Delta will review your paperwork and if everything is in order you will be assigned a Delta number indicating you have been registered. BEFORE TAKING THE CLASS READ THE INFORMATION BELOW -- SO YOU THINK YOUR DOG CAN BE A DELTA DOG --
We get this all the time. The conversation goes like this— Dog Owner --- “My dog Fido loves people and everyone says that he would make a great therapy dog.” Angel Paws -- “Do you ever take your dog out”
Dog Owner -- “No – but every person who comes to the house loves Fido”
Or “Yes- I take him for walks “ Or “ Yes – to Petsmart. I also take Fido with me to pick my child up from school. Fido stays in the car and wags his tail“ Every situation described means that Fido stays in HIS COMFORT ZONE. Therapy dogs must be comfortable in a variety of situations - smells, noises, and people. Many dogs once out of their comfort zone are not happy, may fear bite or bark. Therapy dogs must be comfortable with many different people touching them, making strange noises and faces. Therapy dogs do need to be able to follow commands from the owner such as sit ,stay, down and the all important—leave it.
Before taking a class to prepare for animal assisted therapy work we make several suggestions.
First take your dog out into public – away from his comfort zone. Suggestions are:
How does your dog do? How does Fido like the smells, sounds, and people? Does Fido’s tail tuck under him, does he quiver, does he nip or fear bite? If he is doing any of these he might be able to become comfortable but it takes a long time and a lot of work.
When walking around these places have Fido walk along side of you. Weave in and out of the carts, or squeeze through tight places. How does Fido do? Is he scared of the carts, or close quarters? If he is not comfortable you may have some work ahead of you.
If Fido is used to traveling with a buddy leave the buddy at home. How does Fido NOW deal with the public without his friend there.
If Fido sees another dog how does he act? Does his tail wag or do his eyes squint – telling the other dog “Come Closer and I will get you”? Does he want to play and if you tell him “no” does he still pull and jump around or can you control him? Again how his reaction is and how you handle that reaction will tell you if you should go further.
If Fido does not seems to be affected by the above situations we suggest taking an obedience course or make sure your dog will do basic commands.
Once you feel you and Fido are ready to begin we suggest taking a course where you will have an instructor and other students so you will get good idea what is required to pass and evaluation. You can do it using the Delta Home training manual but you will not have the ability to ask many questions and learn from others experiences.
After taking the class we suggest going to all of the above places and practice the requirements so you will feel comfortable taking your evaluation.
Many people say all I want is someone to pet my dog. Just petting your dog is not animal assisted therapy nor animal assisted activities. AAT/AAA includes a variety of people, places, and actions. You as a handler may be put into a situation that maybe the cross roads for the person you are interacting with. You may be the person that helps a child stay in school or try harder to read a book. The time with your dog may keep a person from going back to an abusive situation or calm them from having to deal with a difficult decision. As a Pet Partner team you may be a part of someone’s physical therapy after a stoke or amputation, or be that one thing that keeps an elderly person from becoming depressed.
Being able to be a Pet Partner team is great fun and can be exciting, tiring, and can give you a sense of accomplishment. It can be a long journey to get to that point but once there you will never regret going down that path.
* To become a member of Angel Paws you MUST have a Delta number and be Delta registered. If you do and want to become a part of Angel Paws please click on the APPLICATION BUTTON to the left* Past Pet Partner Classes
Class of October 2006
Class of JULY 2006
Class of APRIL 2006
Class of JANUARY 2006
Class of OCTOBER 2005
Please contact Angel Paws with any web issues
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