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Assistance Dog Training Minor

Prepares Students to Use Animal-Assisted Interventions in a Variety of Settings
  • 319

    Students Certified As A Paws4People Service Dog Public Access Trainer

  • #1

    In Producing Good Doggos

Program Overview

Lend a Helping Paw

Students gain a sense of pride knowing they have trained a dog to help someone who needs assistance. Dogs transform the lives of their clients/owners: they build confidence and self-esteem, deepen connections, decrease isolation, gain mobility, reduce stress and anxiety and increase feelings of self-worth.

Assistance dogs help individuals navigate physical, emotional, neurological and psychiatric disabilities

Want to Work with Assistance Dogs?

Trainers use animal assisted interventions in a variety of settings, such as schools, hospitals and long-term facilities.
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Learn To

Understand the various roles, responsibilities, and laws related to assistance dogs and animal- assisted interventions

Apply animal behavior theories to training assistance dogs

Train an assistance dog, place an assistance dog with a client, and teach recipients to handle their assistance dogs

Use an animal to work with individuals or groups in a healthcare facility or school

Assistance dog training minors have careers in:

Plan, direct, and coordinate recreation-based treatment programs for people with disabilities, injuries, or illnesses. (Source)

Evaluating dogs' dispositions and temperaments, providing regular progress updates to clients, and teaching clients how to reinforce good behavior. (Source)

Help individuals, groups, and families prevent and cope with problems in their everyday lives. (Source)

Diagnose mental health conditions and provide treatment.

Play a critical role in the healthcare industry, working on the front lines to ensure patients receive the individualized, quality care that they need. (Source)

A golden retriever with a service dog vest high fives a student in a wheelchair.

Assistance Dog Training Core Courses

Table lists sample courses for the assistance dog training minor
RTH 286 Assistance Dog Training I
RTH 287 Assistance Dog Training II
RTH 378 Advanced Assistance Dog Training I
RTH 379 Advanced Assistance Dog Training II
RTH 290 Facility Dog Training
+1 3 Credit Hour Elective
See The Full Curriculum

How Can I Minor in Assistance Dog Training?

 Students are accepted after successfully completing RTH 378 Advanced Assistance Dog Training I.

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School of Health & Applied Human Sciences

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