Teach Dogs to Love Elizabethan Collars for Less Stress and Speedier Recovery!
After surgery, a pet is often sent home wearing an Elizabethan collar to prevent licking and chewing of the incision which could cause irritation, infection, and delayed healing.
Help Your Clients to Teach Their Dogs to Happily Wear Elizabethan Collars!
Unfortunately, many pets and their guardians’ first experience of an Elizabethan collar is often not positive, as simply putting the collar on the pet and expecting the pet to habituate to the collar can result in a problematic response, increasing stress levels for pet and owner. Studies show that increased fear, anxiety, and stress can lead to longer recuperation times, increased pain and potential non-compliance going forwards.
At DogNostics, we believe that all pet dog guardians should be provided with an Elizabethan collar prior to any surgery or intervention that will necessitate wearing such a collar by their pet. We also need to ensure that pet owners have the skills and knowledge needed to promote a happy emotional response to wearing of the collar.
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For this reason, we developed the Happier Healing Program to Teach Dogs to Love Elizabethan Collars for Less Stress and Speedier Recovery!
The Happier Healing Program for Pet Professionals is a Certification Program for all pet professionals including, but not limited to, dog trainers, behavior consultants, rescue shelters, veterinary practices, groomers, canine enrichment technicians … who wish to implement the Happier Healing Program into their practice; provide the program via private or group training classes, or display the Happier Healing badge and direct their clients to the Happier Healing for Pet Dog Guardians Program.
Your Program Content
The Happier Healing Program includes three comprehensive modules broken down into three individual lessons and one supplementary certification module.
MODULE ONE – Stress, Recuperation Rates, and Elizabethan Collars
In part one of The Happier Healing Certification Program for Pet Professionals, we delve into scientific, observational, and anecdotal evidence regarding the impact of stress on recovery rates and potential pain, as well as providing a solution to help make wearing of the Elizabethan collar less stressful for the dog, for pet guardians, for veterinarians, and for all pet care providers.
Module One is essential for all pet professionals!
The learning objectives of Module One include:
- Understand how fear, anxiety, and stress may directly or indirectly affect wound healing.
- Understand the benefits of appropriate exercise.
- Understand the potential negative impact of Elizabethan collars on animal welfare.
- Learn how non-compliance of Elizabethan collar wearing may lead to delayed recuperation rates.
- Understand the potential for delayed healing or increased pain which may be experienced by some dogs wearing Elizabethan collars, if they experience undue fear, anxiety or stress because of a problematic response to the cone.
- Learn what trainers, guardians, vets, and pet care providers can do to help take the fear, anxiety, and stress, out of the Elizabethan collar, setting the scene for a happier pet and the potential for a speedier recovery rate and even reduced pain!
MODULE TWO – Practical Tips
- How to correctly size an Elizabethan Collar
- How to construct an Elizabethan Collar
MODULE THREE – How to Teach Your Dog to Happily Wear an Elizabethan Collar
- Through fun training games and exercises, we introduce the dog to the collar, using respondent conditioning to elicit a positive emotional response.
- We then teach the operant behavior of going towards the collar and putting the collar on. Yes, our aim is that the dog will put his own collar on – or at least help with the process!
- Finally, we systematically increase the duration of wearing the collar while having fun playing lots of different games, while relaxing and while carrying out the pet’s usual everyday activities.
The program provides mental and physical enrichment, builds a better more trusting relationship between dog and guardian and, hopefully, between dog, guardian and veterinarian, as well as all others who participate in the dog’s care from vet techs to, canine enrichment technicians, pet care technicians, pet sitters, dog walkers.
The Happier Healing Program will not only help condition a positive emotional response to wearing the Elizabethan collar, it could also potentially lead to a decrease in stress, and therefore, improved recuperation rates and even less pain! As well as a general happier, healthier pet!
- We make use of Respondent Conditioning and where necessary, Counterconditioning and Desensitization.
- We progress to Operant Conditioning and lots of positive reinforcement by introducing fun exercises using training methods such as shaping, luring and capturing.
- Dogs will enjoy tricks, their favorite manners behaviors, fun scent games, interactive feeding toys and games.
- A full two-week schedule is provided.
- The schedule can be adapted to meet an individual dog’s needs.
- It is possible to work through the program in as little as a week (although we do not recommend it).
- The program can be extended to 4-6 weeks for those dogs who need to progress a little more slowly.
- Additional exercises are included for those wishing to extend the program.
- All exercises, activities, and games are fully explained and demonstrated.
- We use terms that everyone can understand, attempting when possible to avoid the use of scientific and training-specific nomenclature.
- For those pets who already have a problematic response to the wearing of an Elizabethan Collar, we highly recommend working with a Certified Happier Healing Professional, Pet Dog Trainer or Behavior Consultant. This can be done in person or virtually.
- Written and contributed to by qualified canine training and behavior specialists Louise Stapleton-Frappell and Niki Tudge
- All attendees gain a Happier Healing Program Attendance Certificate.
MODULE FOUR – Supplementary Module for Those Wishing To Certify
Module Four is a supplementary module for all those who wish to certify as a Happier Healing Professional.
- Complete a quiz to test the knowledge gained throughout the program
- Submit a skills video for assessment
- Certified Happier Healing Professional badge to display in your practice, on your website, on your business card…
- Certified Happier Healing Professional Certificate
- Right to display the initials DN-CHHP after your name
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Click the image below to view the program content!
