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Pet behavior issues are the leading cause of euthanasia and abandonment of cats and dogs in this country. All parties involved in working with behavior concerns: patients, clients and veterinarians, benefit from providing behavior services in the practice. Patients’ quality and length of life increase, clients benefit physically as well as psychologically and veterinarians benefit by knowing that they are providing a valuable service. Veterinarians can spend up to 20% of their practice time dealing with behavior related issues. Unresolved behavior problems can cause them to lose up to 15% of their client base annually.
As veterinary practice staff members we can provide several preventative services to our clients. One of those services, the subject of this 2 week course, is puppy/kitten socialization classes. This isn’t just “puppy playtime”, even though we all want to have some fun! These classes provide a proactive approach to preventing behavior concerns in clients’ pets.
By “teaching” clients in a constructive and controlled environment how they can help their pets learn what is appropriate and what isn’t, we can help them avoid common mistakes and frustration that lead to behavior related surrenders and euthanasias. We will explore not just socialization techniques, but also other topics to include such as preparing for obedience training, desensitization exercises, topic training, and much, much more. The positive effect of these classes will be to strengthen the human-animal bond, which in turn will increase client confidence, as well as increasing revenue for the practice.
This course will provide an overview on how to develop and provide puppy/kitten socialization classes within your practice. The overview will provide answers to several key questions such as:
“Why should I offer classes in my practice?”,
“Who should be involved in these services and how should they be structured?”,
“How do I set up these classes within my practice?”, and
“What resources can I provide to clients to help them with their new pets?”
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After completion of this course, the student should be able to:
- convey the need for early socialization classes for puppies and kittens to their practice owner and/or manager
- consider what the needs of their clients are as they pertain to puppy and kitten socialization classes
- develop programs suitable for their practice which may include either starting classes themselves, or hiring an instructor
- have access to reading resources and examples to help them obtain their goal of starting these classes
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This course will provide the student with the tools necessary to develop a program for their practice. Developing Puppy and Kitten Kindergarten contains examples of numerous forms for registration, ideas for agendas, overview of methods for socialization training, and more.
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... Actually I thought the course was great. I had anticipated a course where we read info and were then tested on it. The fact that we had to research and find our own info was a very good way to get me thinking on my own. This will be an important tool when we start our classes.
... The course got me really thinking about exactly how I function best and what I want to provide my clients and clinic.
... The assignments were particularly helpful. I am very impressed. The examples and forms were very informative. I feel much more confident with starting a class of my own.
... I've done a lot of reading & attended a few seminars about puppy classes & have never heard the idea of incorporating obedience, behavior & temperment training into each class so I was very happy to learn that! I will definitely be able to improve my existing classes.
... I loved the section on the kitten kingergarten because it is a fairly new concept and one I was not even aware of before.
... I think that actually having to do an outline of a kindergarten class, and all the other assignments were great. It gets you going and shows that "you" really can do this!!! The addition reading list and resources were great. I was surprised how much the instructor was involved, and it felt like you really had to keep working!!! I really thought that the course was great!!!
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| VetMedTeam courses are asynchronous - they do not contain real time components. Students log in while a course is in session at times convenient to personal schedules. |
Upon fulfillment of all requirements, the student will receive a VetMedTeam, RACE documenting, certificate of completion. Students must:
- attain a score of 80% or higher on each of the course examinations
- complete the required posts to the discussion boards
- complete the course exit survey
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| Developing Puppy and Kitten Kindergarten is a 2 week course that is appropriate for any member of the veterinary staff interested in creating a socialization program for puppies and kittens. |
| *Approved for 8 RACE credits for technicians. |
| Maria C. Kuhns |
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| Maria Kuhns has been specializing in small animal behavior for most of her career. She is the owner and operator of Companion Pet Behavior Counselors and Trainers LLC. She has developed and implemented behavior programs for several veterinary hospitals. She also lectures on various subjects to the public as well as Veterinary Hospital Staff through national organizations such as the AVMA. She provides behavior consultations, puppy and dog behavior/training courses as well as hospital staff in- services. She is active in community awareness of the human-animal bond through local Veterinary Hospitals, Animal Shelters, and community organizations, by providing free pet selection, dog bite prevention and respect for animal lectures to local school and youth organizations. She works with animal shelters in assessing and addressing their animal's health and behavior needs. She develops and implements behavior protocols to rehabilitate and meet their needs at the shelter. She is also in charge of many educational programs for the shelter and is developing a volunteer program to compliment the programs implemented by shelter staff. She has been a member and vice president of the Veterinary Technician Animal Behavior Society managing their website and online discussion board. She is also a member in good standing of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, the National Association of Veterinary Technicians in America, Veterinary Technician Association of Pennsylvania and resides in PA with her husband, 2 children, 5 of her own dogs and usually a foster dog or two. |
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| In addition, you many use your MERIAL® Rewards Visa® Prepaid Card to pay for courses. If you are not enrolled in the MERIAL Rewards program, ask your Merial Sales Representative or call 1-800-307-7000. If you do not have enough points and wish to supplement your payment with another card, please write to CE@VetMedTeam.com. |
* Course meets the requirements for indicated hours of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB's RACE approval; however, participants should be aware that some boards have limitations on the number of hours accepted in certain categories and/or restrictions on certain methods of delivery of continuing education. (AAVSB means American Association of Veterinary State Boards)
++ This course has been submitted (but not yet approved) for the indicated hours of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize AAVSB's RACE approval; however, participants should be aware that some boards have limitations on the number of hours accepted in certain categories and/or restrictions on certain methods of delivery of continuing education. Contact CE@VetMedTeam.com for further information.
More information regarding RACE may be found at www.aavsb.org. In addition you can obtain the contact information for your state to determine if they accept RACE online credits. Online courses are a great way to help meet continuing education goals!
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