Restorative Pet Care & Dog Training
When we humans do what's required of us to fulfill our pets’ needs (not only to survive but to thrive), we end up practicing such important life and leadership skills as patience, boundary-setting, follow-through, discipline, consistency, positive projection, forward-thinking, confidence, perseverance, creativity, manifestation, and clear, calm communication. At Heel 2 Heal, our job is to help you and your pets bring out the best in one another by practicing this type of mutually-beneficial care and need-fulfillment. It's UP TO THE HUMANS to start this health-and-wellness-ball-rolling, so allow us to guide you in becoming your best self as a pet parent! We offer one-on-one virtual coaching sessions, and also small, interactive Zoom courses for your and your pets to engage in together.
The
Course
Restorative
Pet Care
This is an 8-Week Class, during which you'll learn how best practices in PET CARE can amount to the same in SELF-CARE! Session topics include:
* Intro to Restorative Pet Care: During this initial session, we'll get to know each other (and each other's pets). We'll cover the course outline and learn core principles of restorative pet care and dog handling
* Silence, Movement & Sound: The art and science of effective human-canine conversation
* Practice Makes Progress: Science-based animal training as a vehicle for learning patience, humility, grace and gratitude
* Yours, Mine & Ours: Setting Boundaries and Cultivating Interdependence in Our Relationships with Pets (includes crate training and PLACE training; plus utilization of functional rewards, i.e. a dog's earned access to space on furniture, their meals, entry or exit through doorways, etc.)
* Rules, Rituals & Responsibilities: Productively managing our pets' time and guiding their behavior with structure and guidelines in the household
* Walk it Out: Confidence-building & self-empowerment on both ends of the leash
* Conditioning & Counter-Conditioning: Changing our perception and changing what is within our power to change; and helping our pets do the same
* Pawsitive Coping: Impulse Control and Safe Behavior Alternatives to reactivity (on both ends of the leash)
Pawsitive
Coping Skills
The
Course
This course is divided into two, 8-week cohorts; you're welcome to take one or both, or pick and choose individual sessions. During these classes, which feel more like small, intimate discussion groups but with specialized guidance and instruction to help both you and your pets heal from PTSD and/or substance abuse, we'll show you how to cope safely with triggers (to substance abuse or other addictive or compulsive behaviors, plus co-occurring disorders like PTSD, depression, and anxiety). ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT A REQUIREMENT, WE ADVISE TAKING THE RESTORATIVE PET CARE COURSE FIRST.
* Intro to "Seeking Safety": We utilize a customized adaptation of this curriculum for the PCS program. We will also go over the course outline and get to know each other.
* Additional Treatment Themes Include: PTSD: Taking Back Your Power; Asking for Help, Detaching From Emotional Pain (Grounding); Red & Green Flags; Taking Good Care of Yourself; Healing from Anger; Recovery Thinking; and Creating Meaning, etc.
Dog Handling & Behavior Modification
Pawsitive Foundations
AKC Title Prep & Testing
Addressing
Problem Behavior
Service Dog Tasks
Fundamental Tenets of Our Approach:
- Loving communication, need-fulfillment, energy management, and healthy (interdependent) relationship dynamics between dogs and their family/pack members, are fundamental to setting (dogs + people) up for success.
- Addressing our dogs' undesirable behavior requires a keen awareness of our own; and a willingness to change personal behavior patterns in order to manifest what we hope to see in our dogs'.
- Our approach is equal parts science-based and instinct-driven.
