Confidence Building Course - Creating the 'Whatever Dog'
Strongly reccomended for every dog and owner - regardless of age or course
What is the 'Whatever Dog'?
CBC's Aim:
- Preventing negative assosciations developing.
- Exposing dogs to new and sometimes spooky stimulus in a positive manner.
- Early identification of dogs with sensitivities.
- Building confidence through fun and activities.
Class Structure:
10 x 45mins classes, 4 dogs pre course.
Each week will focus on the core topics:
People: Recognizing how our dogs see, smell and hear differently and exposing our dogs to people who may look or move differently in a dog perception.
Substrates: Working with textures to expose your dogs to different surfaces and build confidence moving on and around them.
Tricks: Learning to move their bodies in sometimes foreign ways to build confidence that “I can do this” and increase spatial awareness.
Separation: Often we see dogs unable to settle when physically separated from their human, this component teaches owners how to help their dogs build independence and tolerance to separation and tethering.
Objects: Recognising our dogs may find objects visually challenging and helping them explore and build trust by interacting with a variety of objects.
Handling: Vet visits, grooming, bathing and administering medication can be difficult for dogs, this component is to help owner understand how to desensitise their dogs to handling.
Noises: Desensitisation too common human noises but possibly confusing noises for dogs.
Smells: Introduction to possibly unfamiliar smells they may encounter in future.
Prerequisites :
- Dogs must be conditioned to be a reward marker.
- Dogs must be calm and comfortable within 2m of other dogs.
- Dogs must be able to follow a lure or target.
- Owners must understand the phrases: “increase rate pay”, “increase distance”, “body block".
- Owners must agree to be force free.
Locations:
Calming Canine Course
Designed For:
- Worried dogs to build confidence and practice relaxing around new dogs, noises, movement and people.
- Over aroused dogs to learn to relax in the company of another dog and control their impulse to engage.
Open To:
It is open to dogs and owners who have completed a course of private training sessions with Sit Happens or our basic training course.
Due to the nature of this class we have a maximum of 2 dogs per class and request only two family members present at each class.
Class Structure:
10 x 30mins classes, 2 dogs per course.
Each week will focus on:
- Identifying and keeping dogs below threshold.
- Maintaining a regular calm heart rate to avoid reactivity/arousal.
- Rewarding and acknowledging calm and no reaction to an introduced stimulus.
- Calm entering and exiting the car to reduce over reaction and anticipation.
Prerequisites:
- Dogs must be conditioned to be a reward marker.
- Dogs must be calm and comfortable within 2-5m of other dogs.
- Owner must understand positive reinforcement training theory, reward marking and have practical experience in these techniques.
- Owners must understand the phrases: “increase rate pay”, “increase distance”, “body block".
Locations:
Happy Handling Course
Course Aim:
By helping our dogs, predict and feel good about handling and the associated environments, objects, noises, and movements we aim to help you, your dog and dogs care givers avoid induced stress, making their life of vet visits, grooming, and handling as safe and comfortable as possible.
The course is designed to repeat as many times as you like to help your dog accept and ‘feel good’ about:
- People approaching, leaning over, touching, picking up.
- Water, bathing and towel drying.
- Brushing, nail clipping, wiping wet paws and foot examination.
- Hair clipping around feet, ears, eyes, muzzle.
- Foot, eye, ear examinations.
- Assosciated object: stethoscope, vet table, brushes. towels, syringes. clippers, scales etc.
Class Structure:
5 x 30mins classes, 6 dogs per course, includes Lickimat Splash
Prerequisites :
By helping our dogs, predict and feel good about handling and the associated environments, objects, noises, and movements we aim to help you, your dog and dogs care givers avoid induced stress, making their life of vet visits, grooming, and handling as safe and comfortable as possible.
- Owner must understand positive reinforcement training theory, reward marking and have practical experience in these techniques.
- Owners must understand the phrases: “increase rate pay”, “increase distance”, “body block".
- Owners must agree to be force free.
- Dogs must be conditioned to be a reward marker.
- Dogs must be calm and comfortable within 2m of other dogs.
- Dogs must be able to follow a lure or target.
Locations:
Play Group
Our Play Groups:
Sit Happens Play Groups were designed to get the same group of dogs and owners together to train and practice calm and relaxed dog:dog socialisation.
As we know emotional responses are the most engraining, so these courses were designed to help your dog retain the emotional association that dogs make me feel safe. If our dogs feel safe this reduces the risk of fear aggression developing.
We highly recommend these classes for all dogs but in particular those dogs who are under 2 years, whose brains are still forming and need the constant feedback that ‘dogs are good and I am safe’. This applies for dogs who have suffered trauma or negative incidents and feel uncomfortable at the park.
Having the same group over a ten week period gives your dogs the time to feel safe and comfortable with familiar dogs. If they can do back-to-back courses and have 20 weeks of practice then that’s even better!
Prerequisites:
- A condition reward maker.
- Knowledge on how to lure a come and sit.
- Owner attendance.
Locations
Play Train
What is Play Train?
Sit Happens play train is allowing our Sit Happens trainers to help teach your dogs to feel safe and secure in the company of dogs through appropriate play and training with familiar dogs. This course is ideal of puppies and dogs under two years of age whose brains are still developing and the need the vital pracitce of feeling safe.
Course Aim:
- To allow your dogs to practice approprate socialisation through training in a safe and controlled environment.
- To expose your dog to the same dog/s for 10+ weeks for them to develop trusting and familiar canine 'friendships'.
- To avoid the unpredictability and overwhelmingness a dog park can be.
- Building confidence through calm, observation, fun activities and training.
Locations
Training Support Options
Small Group Support
Small group support is ideal for those who wish to practice the course content covered in your Basic Training Program. Having only 3 dogs in each session enables your dog to practice being successful as the environment is controlled and less distracting than normal life environments. The added bonus is you will be in the company of like-minded, committed owners using the same techniques.
Prerequisites:
- A condition reward maker and have a training history with Sit Happens.
Private Support
Our private support sessions are available to those Basic Training clients who wish to have some 1:1 time with our trainers or for those Behavioural Therapy clients who wish to practice their therapy techniques with the security of trainers present and advising you in a safe and controlled environment.
Class Structure:
Prerequisites:
- A condition reward maker and have a training history with Sit Happens.
Phone Support
A chat with our trainers can be helpful in supporting your training. Phone calls can be booked between 9am-2pm and are charged 15 minute increments.
Locations
Walk Train
What is walk train?
As part of our dedication to our dogs and their owner’s, Sit Happens offers a specialised walk train service. Each walk is tailored to the specific dogs needs and is ideal for those who have undertaken behavioural therapy or basic training groups with us.
Behavioural Therapy Clients can expect each walk is provided by one of our trainers who will practice and implement all the techniques taught in your sessions; loose lead walking, emergency techniques, body blocking, eye contact, desensitisation and counter conditioning in the presence of a stressor al in order to make your dogs walk as positive and stress free as possible.
Basic Training Clients can also expect each walk is provided by one of our trainers who will reinforce your training of loose lead walking, recall, sits and drops etc, training plans can be discussed with your trainer.
Class Structure:
45minute individual private walks
- Servicing the areas of Mornington, Mount Martha & Mount Eliza. (Travel distance restricted*)
- Booked between the hours of 9am-2pm.
