Santa Clara Dog Training Club

Our Therapy Dog Skills class prepares you and your dog with the skills needed to become a calm and compassionate therapy dog team. Therapy dog skills is not a service dog class but a class designed to teach you the tools for visitations with those that need comfort, affection or stress relief.  A therapy dog must be even tempered, enjoy interacting with people in all types of environments and have an unflappable disposition. 

The skills you can expect to work on include:

• Accepting petting from strangers, to stay calm around distractions, and walk in crowded areas of people and equipment
• Desensitization to mobility aids through positive, reward-based training exercises
• Learn to read your dog's body language and identify signs of discomfort in busy and unfamiliar spaces/situations.

Prerequisites: Dogs must be at least 6 months of age prior to the start of first class. Completion of at least one Intermediate Obedience class session or CGC title. 

Note:  This class doesn’t provide therapy dog certification. It is designed to help prepare teams for evaluations conducted by the therapy dog organization of your choice. 

What to bring to class: Flat, martingale, or slip collar, 6 foot leash, high value treats, treat pouch, and water.  No e-collars or retractable leashes.