Pre-habilitation for Puppies:
Preserving Function / Preventing Injury
Purpose: To prevent the need for rehabilitation by recognizing the negative impact that excessive or inappropriate exercise can have on growing puppies and to also consider that early onset injuries may be the precursor to a lifetime of degenerative conditions!
Prerequisites: None
Course Information:
This course will focus on puppies from eight weeks up to eighteen months of age. We begin with structural evaluation of your dog as it relates to function – in other words we are evaluating for purpose, not for fancy. This will reveal your puppy’s areas of weakness (i.e.: straight shoulders, high neck set, no dewclaws, cow-hocked, sloping croup, etc). Each session will be dedicated to a different region of the dog as we discuss the different stages of development, including growth plate closure and use this information to guide us as we develop a more conscious approach to puppy development instead of destruction!
Course Length: Live: This course meets once weekly for 90 minutes and runs for 8 weeks. OnDemand: Eight (8) 90 minute sessions.
* Certificate awarded after successful completion.
Course Cost (Register above):
Certification (Live or OnDemand): $307
Audit (NO certificate) (Live or OnDemand): $210
What a student can expect to learn from this Course:
- Enlightened appreciation of the puppy
- How to evaluate structure in relation to function & potential injury
- Understanding of basic how activity impacts the body
- Importance of maintaining balance/proprioception during growth spurts to achieve optimal wellness
- Skills that will enhance abilities to raise and train each dog better than the last
Instructor: Racine Hyatt is certified in Canine massage, graduating from the first class of the 2003 program at Treetops. She then went on to complete studies in Canine Rehabilitation Institute in the USA, receiving instruction in Anatomy & Physiology, Bio-mechanics, Program Design and Rehabilitation Techniques and Canine Sports Medicine. She seizes every opportunity to attend workshops and seminars believing the key to being able to help so many different dogs successfully has been her continuing education which puts as many 'tools in the box as possible' since there is rarely one right answer! 
Racine has been training dogs in various disciplines since 1972 when she began showing the family Newfies in conformation. She would discover her life's purpose and the world of rehabilitation in 1992 when she was blessed with her first canine life-partner, Meisha, who required several surgeries to repair the damage from the acutely abusive situation from which she had been removed. Although Meisha's after-care was complicated (the variety of practitioners who helped her would introduce Racine to complimentary health care) everyone involved knew the real struggle would be in restoring the confidence this Boxer should have. Someone suggested dog sports would be an excellent way to help "Moo", but didn't say which one - so Racine and Meisha signed up for everything (and so began Racine's education in the benefits of cross-training) including Schutzhund (Racine and Meisha did their last demo for a small training club when Moo was 9yrs old!). Racine attributes the (then rudimentary) skills she was taught in massage, T-touch and acupressure for maintaining Meisha's health and in large part why she never experienced a single injury (Racine discovers the benefits of physical conditioning!).
Today, Racine's practice in rehabilitation exposes her to (what she believes) is a ridiculous number of dogs recovering from the same few injuries - pets and athletes alike! As we enjoy more active lifestyles, so do our dogs; and yet few people apply the same basic 'rules of fitness' to the dogs as for themselves. A large part of her programs at DOGWORKS is education - and as word spread, Racine began doing more conditioning/preventative counseling than injury recovery!
Racine shares her life with Boxers, German Shepherds and an extraordinarily patient husband! When not training or competing in Schutzhund, Racine's dogs take turns demonstrating at seminars the benefits of conditioning and the body's ability to heal when given the right support!
She believes it is never too late to start and that an educated handler will go on to raise and train each dog better than the last - certainly the dogs deserve this!
Student Information
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