What is Fostering Collaborative Care?

Procedures that foster collaborative care aim to provide an environment where we help the pet be involved in their care and husbandry procedures.

We teach important skills using positive reinforcement and apply concepts such as

• Giving pets a choice.
• Enabling our pets to have a voice,
• Using approaches to reduce anxiety, stress, and fear.
• Working to improve the emotional, environmental, and physical well-being…

…. that is where the magic begins to happen.

Whether it be your pet or a client’s pet; a dog, a cat, or a bunny; in your home, during transport, at the veterinary clinic, or in your pet care business, There are so many uses for teaching this set of skills, and they are essential to building collaboration so pets can happily cooperate in their own care.

So let’s get started and give our pets choice and a voice while improving manageability through happy compliance during husbandry and veterinary care procedures.

The Fostering Collaborate Care presentations are delivered in two parts. The program provides you with the skillset and knowledge needed to help pet owners look after their pets’ emotional and physical well-being.

The 7 Key Skills

These skills help build confidence, maintain a high rate of reinforcement and provide a way for the pet partner to effectively move the pet around during a hands-on exam, empowering the pet to let us know when they are ready to participate and or continue with the collaboration.

1. Shake Hands – A cute trick for saying hi that is also incompatible to jumping up – Indispensable for paw exams and nail trims
2. Default Behavior – For meet & greets and whenever the pet is unsure of what to do
3. Hand Target – A nose-to-hand touch for use in husbandry procedures, to build confidence, & to effortlessly move and position pets
4. Sustained Chin (to hand or object) Target and Sustained (nose to) Hand Target for use in pet care procedures & to effortlessly move and position pets, keeping them in position for the required duration
5. Paws Up – Two front paws up on object – Fantastic behavior for grooming and examinations; getting in and out of vehicles…
6. In Your Crate – A crate should be a pet’s safe place to be; a place they willingly go to and happily relax in – Essential for transport; stays away from home; vet visits; when unable to actively supervise the pet
7. On Your Mat – Imagine a dog who immediately runs to their mat when the doorbell rings and a cat who comfortably settles on a mat while at the vet’s.

Learning Objectives

1. Improve a pet’s manageability through happy collaboration during husbandry procedures.
2. Learn how to teach cooperative behaviors that will help pets experience less stress during pet care procedures, whether in the home, during transport, or at the vet’s, groomer’s, pet sitter’s, or elsewhere.
3. Support the increase of the human-animal bond and levels of trust shared
4. Build a positive emotional response to collaborative care

There are two ways to become a Colaborative Care Partner 

1. Register for the full program above, and you will be provided with a 100% discount code at the end of the program to register for this certification.
2. Registration for the Fostering Collaborative Care Program is not, however, obligatory. If you possess the necessary skills and knowledge, you can register for this certification independently of the program. You will then have to

• Take an online multiple-choice test comprised of twenty questions
• Submit four thirty-second videos for review
• Receive your Collaborative Care Partner certificate and logo!