Working Canine Club's Foundations Course
Â
The
Foundations Course
Working Canine Club's
Three-Pronged Approach
If you're wanting to train an assistance puppy either for yourself or another you're going to need support along the way. That's why Working Canine Club created a three-pronged approach to help individuals train highly skilled and successful assistance dogs.
​
To be successful, an assistance dog not only needs to know how to perform commands, but they also need the conditioning to manage the stressors of working long hours and being out in public.
​
Not only are we wanting you to have the best dog ever, we know it's important to you to understand the why behind the training you do. By having a solid working in why your dog is doing what they're doing, you'll be able to problem-solve hurdles throughout the training process.
​
Background/Theory
These lessons will help you understand how to encourage or discourage behaviors in a variety of ways, depending on the context. Certain types of praise will work better at home vs a crowded area, and certain dogs respond more to
some types than others (eg. the one who gets overly excited about treats or the one who couldn't care less).
The video lessons will also discuss naming commands and setting expectations for outings- something that should be done from the beginning.
Goal: To give you the resources to work with your dog in any setting and have a variety of tools to train with.
Background/Theory Videos
TYPES OF PRAISE
VERBAL PRAISE
PHYSICAL PRAISE
TREATS AS PRAISE
05
06
07
08
TOYS AS PRAISE
TYPES OF CORRECTIONS
VERBAL CORRECTIONS
PHYSICAL CORRECTIONS
INDIRECT CORRECTIONS
SETTING EXPECTATIONS FOR OUTINGS
NAMING COMMANDS FOR YOUR DOG
01
02
03
04
09
10
11
Conditioning Behavior
These videos will help you cultivate your dog's way of being in different scenarios. In other words, maybe in the vast fenced field, your dog learns that running wild and free is fitting, but in the library, it is expected that they hang out calmly. This is similar to the way that we have been socialized as humans- for better or worse, our cities are structured in a particular way, and in certain places, we are required to follow standards set by others.
​
Behaviors that some people may find acceptable such as a dog peeing on the floor at home, is something that could get you kicked out of a grocery store or fail a dog on their public access test. This is where conditioning behaviors are really helpful and are arguably even more important than teaching the commands.
Goal: To teach your dog to associate a place or activity with a specific type of behavior.
Videos on Conditioning Behavior
MARKING COMMANDS
FEEDING YOUR DOG
POTTY TRAINING
EYE CONTACT
WALKING ON A LOOSE LEASH
CRATE TRAINING
Commands
Finally, we have the videos about how you can teach specific commands. These are most useful to train your dog to perform tasks that are required or desired of them. A service dog, for example, may need to open doors or turn on lights for their handler. Though outside the scope of the Foundations Course, learning the foundational commands will allow your dog to go on to learn more specific commands that relate to your needs. (This is what defines a service dog- being able to perform tasks to assist their individual through daily life.)
​
Goal: Teach the foundational commands to allow your dog to navigate public spaces and to allow the introduction of specialized commands.
Command Videos
YOUR DOG'S NAME
HEEL TO BED
PEEING & POOPING
CRADLING YOUR DOG
SIT, DOWN, STAND
ROLL
