Stress in Service Dogs – When to Say When – Identifying Stress Responses in Service Dogs, Indications for Early Retirement of Working Dogs or Dropping Young Dogs from Candidacy to Become Service Dogs. Join us in this webinar where we take a hard look at stress in service dogs.
Description:
Deciding that a service dog candidate is not going to make it into the canine work force, or that a seasoned working dog is suffering from cumulative stress or body aches are among the most challenging issues service dog trainers and partners must face for the team’s well-being.
“But I don’t want to be a nurse.” “I can’t do this anymore. It is just too stressful a job.” “My knees really hurt. I think it is time I retire after all I am old enough.” These statements are ones I have heard people say all the time. Humans are able to pick the job we want to do. We can change jobs if we decide that our original choice wasn’t the right one and we all look forward to the day we get to retire. Yet in the service dog world making these same decisions for the service dog candidate or the working service dog seems to be so much more difficult.
In this lecture we will explore the behaviors that dog’s exhibit that should be the keys to help trainers and handlers know “when to say when” a service dog needs to career change or retire.
Speaker: Jeanne Hampl, R.N. (and Barbara Handelman, M.Ed., LCMHC, CDBC, Moderator)
Access to the recording is for 32 days.
Participants will become familiar with the following:
- Stress in service dogs, fear, and reactivity all may be situation specific reactions to conditions in the working environment, but they may also be cumulative responses for a dog who is in the wrong job, tired, in pain, or partnered with the wrong person.
- Signs of stress and fear show up in the dogs’ body language, posture, and attitude. We will discuss many of these signs so that the participant can recognize them.
- A change in a dog’s attitude, whether it be fearfulness or aggression may signal that the dog is having physical problems.
- Always have a veterinarian fully evaluate the dog before deciding to treat changes with behavioral interventions.
- Understand a range of career change options.
- Rehoming, or retiring a working dog to pet status in his own home.
Cost: $25.00 USD
CEU’s Available:
2 IAABC CEU’s
2 CCPDT CEU’s
KPA 1.5 CEU’s