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Our Cooperative Care training program is specifically designed to help your dog overcome anxiety at the vet or groomer.
If you don't see a skill on the list, just ask us!
Our Cooperative Care training program is specifically designed to help your dog overcome anxiety at the vet or groomer.
Example grooming skills we can work on:
- Scissors / clippers near his body or face
- Nail clipping or grinding
- Having the dryer blowing on him
- Brushing
- Touching parts of his body such as face, tail, or feet
- Being on the grooming table
- Being in a grooming enclosure
- Being in the lobby and/or grooming room
- Riding in the car to the groomer
- And more
Example veterinary skills we can work on:
- Full body exam / touching different parts of the body such as ears, feet, tail, etc.
- Stepping on a scale
- Receiving an injection (we use fake needles)
- Being on the exam table
- Being in an enclosure / cage bank
- Interacting with staff, including who have on a lab coat or X-ray vest
- Being in the lobby and/or exam room
- Riding in the car to the vet
- And more
If you don't see a skill on the list, just ask us!
Success Story
Grooming Anxiety Success Story (2:32)
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How Does Cooperative Care Training Work?
Cooperative Care training teaches your dog to not be as stressed about receiving care or handling, such as at the groomer, veterinarian, or even at home.These situations can be highly stressful for dogs, and they often require physical restraint and the risk of being bitten.
In Cooperative Care training, we give your dog autonomy, consent, and a sense of control over the situation. We then go through a process of desensitizing him to objects and movements that are inducing stress, using science-based training techniques and exercises.
The goal is that he learns that these environments or actions are no big deal, and he can handle them with relative ease. For example, he can be taught to hold out his paw to receive nail clipping.
This creates a much safer environment for you, the veterinary staff, the grooming staff, and even your dog. It will improve your relationship with your dog, and can even help with other fear-based behaviors such as leash reactivity.
Mock Exam / Grooming Room
We have a mock exam / grooming room in our training facility where we work on these skills. It is in a quiet environment, away from the hustle and bustle of an actual vet practice or grooming room.The room includes state-of-the-art equipment that your dog would likely experience in the real world.
Customizable Program
The program can be customized to work on the skills your dog needs. For example, you choose the grooming and veterinary skills you want to focus on. We can mix and match as you desire, and we can phase in skills over time.
Happy Visits
Your Cooperative Care program includes a number of Happy Visits, where you drop your dog off for 20-30 minute sessions with the trainer. You can stay in our lobby, or take a walk around the neighborhood and come back. The trainer will work with your dog according to your goals. It is possible to come here for multiple Happy Visits per week. The repetition from coming for Happy Visits will help your dog build the skills much faster.
Sessions
The program also includes a number of sessions with, where our trainer will give you home exercises and discuss how to keep working with your dog at home. All lessons take place at our training facility.
TrainTrack Online Portal
The program includes accessing TrainTrack™, our online portal. This includes viewing the exercises and handouts, keeping logs, and even uploading videos of your dog to your trainer in between sessions.
Price
The price depends on the number of sessions and Happy Visits. Every case depends on how many skills you want to build.An example program might be six sessions and three Happy Visits. In this instance, the total cost would be $1,050.
How Do I Get Started?
The first step is to meet with our trainer for consultation, where we can identify your goals and create a proposal. The price for this is $50. You would bring your dog to the consultation, discuss your goals, and likely start working on at least one exercise.You can request your consultation by clicking here and choosing "Training", then "Vet and Grooming Anxiety Training."