(Formerly known as Animal Assisted Therapy)
The Three Dogs Training AAI class is for anyone wishing to be involved with their dog in any kind of Animal Assisted Intervention program or just be a super good canine ambassador at home and in the community.
The Three Dogs Training Advanced class has been folded into the AAI class because of so many similarities in the two classes.
This is a 6 week long class meets for an hour-and-a-quarter each week. For upcoming class dates please see the class schedule page. The tuition for this class is $240.
I have been involved in teaching and facilitating Animal Assisted Interventions since 2000.
I am a Pet Partner certified Instructor, Certified Evaluator for twenty-three years and have been a Registered Pet Partner with three of my dogs (see my best-selling book A Dog Named Boo for more on my dog’s visiting antics).
In the last twenty-three years, I have taught hundreds of teams how to work with their dogs to bring joy, learning, and therapy to schools, libraries, hospitals, nursing homes, and more.
I prepare teams for visiting by teaching the handling skills necessary to prepare teams for the variety of experiences their dogs will encounter while I prepare the humans to support and facilitate the connection their dog makes with their clients.
The Essence of the Human-Animal Bond:
“It is a rare thing in humans to be able to look at the face of a person whose life has so obviously been harsh, or has taken a turn in that direction, without visible pity and anguish. And it is a rare thing for the person being looked upon to not see the discomfort in the face of the onlooker. However, it is the dog, the cat, and the rest of our companion animals who do not see what has been, but who look only at the possibility of and need for joy that exists in all of us. For the animals, it’s not about pity, anguish, or guilt, it is about their rare and majestic gift of being able to tease out the joy in all things even where there seems to be none left. And it is in this that allows them too often go where no person can go to do therapeutic work.”
LJ Edwards
I have worked with two different residential special needs schools to establish best practices and training for their campus therapy dogs and set up dozens of facility programs throughout the Hudson Valley and engaged in hundreds of visits with my three visiting dogs.
This course will cover
- General advanced skills
- Specific advanced skills necessary for interacting and working around various medical equipment, strange objects and toys
- How to support your dogs in out-of-the-ordinary spaces, and new environments
- We will explore best practices for
- Handling dogs in various distracting situations,
- How best to handle the stress your dog will face while doing this work,
- How to best interact with the various interpersonal situations visiting will bring
- For example what to do when your dog won’t visit with someone, or what to do if there is an incident.
If you are ready for more advanced skills and handling knowledge or you are ready to begin you Animal Assisted Intervention journey, this is the class for you.
The tuition for the Animal-Assisted Intervention & Advanced (AAI&A) class is $250.
If you are not sure, contact me.
Or email me directly, lisa@threedogstraining.com
Here are a couple student comments:
“What a fabulous instructor and class! We are eager to continue!! Thank you – even the hour long commute on my only day off was worth every minute!”
AP
“Mrs. Edwards is very professional and has always delivered the material on a level the entire class could understand. Mrs. Edwards incorporates humor as well as stories and metaphors to further drive home her point or lessons. She is an outstanding instructor.”
DL
The handling skills that I learned with my dog, Sophie, in Lisa Edwards’ AAT class gave us a wonderful foundation for the visiting… In the area where we live, there are classes for obedience, rally, agility and tracking, but none that teach the skills specific to therapy work, so we commuted from upstate NY to Mahopac for Lisa’s class. There’s no doubt in my mind that I would do it again without hesitation.
Jean and Sophie, Ithaca, NY
Everyone participates – with the same goal – to help the other humans and pets understand and enjoy each other a little better.
After just two classes with both of my dogs in the same class, the change was obvious to me and to all who visited our home. The dogs’ demeanors changed drastically for the better – toward guests and toward each other. And the best part – no more pulling on leashes and no more need for the Gentle Leader.
Lisa’s knowledge and intuitiveness of dog behavior was readily apparent from the first class and from the respect she gets from the outset from the owners of and from the dogs. More importantly, Lisa makes the class fun for all, and heaven knows, we humans sometimes have to chill.
Cobber, Donald, and Dodger
Garrison, NY
“Orville and I had been to other trainers without success. No other trainer was able to figure out how to get Orville to understand the requirements for being a therapy dog were different from his former experience as a show dog. After failing twice I was beginning to think that this might not be for us but as Lisa predicted Orville is perfect for the job.
There is a boy in the local Children’s Hospital, who is waiting for a heart to be transplanted and he loves Orville…Yesterday while on a visit, two Pediatric Cardiologists came in to examine the little boy and informed him that he was going to have a procedure done either Tuesday or Wednesday. The little boy replied, “Tuesday won’t work because Orville will be here.”
Michael Galuskin
West Nyack, NY
For more information see class schedule.