Pro-active Training for Veterinary Visits

You can prepare your dog for veterinary visits to make it a lot less stressful for both human and dog creating a win-win situation for both human and dog.

This training package is designed for dogs older than 4 months of age (as it is encouraged that puppies younger than this go through a group puppy class programme at a reputable puppy school) that does not have excessive fears towards body handling and a veterinary practice. If this is the case a more tailor-made behaviour modification programme will be applicable subject to different costing.

An intro session is first done, costed separately, depending on where you live in Pretoria, to determine whether the following training package will suit you and your dog or not, if not, a more tailor-made behaviour modification programme will be recommended.

The "Pro-active training for Veterinary Visits" training package includes the following: 1) Body handling (this will include amongst other things nail clipping), examining and restraint taken to an advanced level, 2) Preparing your dog to take pills easily and medication through mouth, 3) Preparing your dog to cope well with administering ear medication, 4) Preparing your dog to cope well with taking a rectal temperature, 5) Preparing your dog to cope well with listening to their heart through a stethoscope, 6) Preparing your dog to cope well with a X-ray procedure, taking a blood sample and taking their blood pressure, 7) Crate training, 8) Preparing your dog to cope well with typical smells of a veterinary practice, 9) Preparing your dog to cope well with a Elizabethan collar, 10) Two visits will be included at the veterinary practice of choice in Pretoria to guide how "happy visits" should be done regularly in future. If the particular veterinary practice is not open for this, a recommendation will be made to an alternative veterinary practice that does.

All of this is trained using only positive reinforcement training techniques and principles of systematic desensitisation.

The cost of this total training package is R1 000 and includes the following: 1) Sessions done at my venue in Lyttelton Manor, Pretoria, necessary to reach an advanced level at all 9 points mentioned above, however the training programme must be completed in 3 months 2) Certain equipment needed, a list will be provided of the equipment that is included and excluded, 3) Two visits at the veterinary practice in Pretoria for guidance on how continued "happy visits" should be done.

This training package is therefore mainly presented at my venue in Lyttelton Manor, Pretoria, therefore you need to come to me with your dog.