Class Goals: Your dog learns the 4 desired positions to walk and settle with a manual wheelchair in open areas, ramps, parking lots/parkades and in tight spaces like bathrooms and elevators. She also learns where to position herself when getting in and out of the vehicle. We use platforms, targeting, capturing, shaping and chaining to teach the dog new skills. Suitable for small to large dogs.
Whether you are an owner-trainer or professional trainer working with a client or training their dog for them, you will learn how to:
- Properly fit and equip a wheelchair,
- Simple muscle-building exercises to prepare your upper body to prevent injury when using a manual wheelchair,
- How to maneuver a wheelchair including safely loading and unloading it from a vehicle.
- Discover international standards for public wheelchair accessibility
- Create 3 DIY food delivery systems for people with limited hand, arm or shoulder movement using common materials.
- Learn 5 ways to teach a dog to find 4 positions near the wheelchair.
- Find out a great technique to enjoyably increase the LLW distance using a “stations” approach.
This class can be adapted for electric wheelchairs and scooters but be prepared to use your creativity or ask for help in SDTI’s Wheelchair Facebook Group only for students.
9 lectures and 25 practical lessons (each with a checklist of objectives) are included to keep you on track. There are over 230 video clips to watch!
Prerequisites:
At least a basic understanding of Foundations Concepts involved in learning.
Materials:
- Access to a wheelchair you can practice with both on your own (for about 2 months) and to train with the dog. (Trainers can borrow or rent a manual chair from a medical service such as Red cross, a Pharmacy, mobility store or buy one second hand from a thrift store, garage sale, or internet Marketplace.)
- An office chair that rotates and is on wheels may be helpful depending on your mobility level.
- Platform or pivot
- Remote treat delivery system (optional but may be needed for handlers with limited hand, arm or shoulder mobility.) We do provide 3 DIY options but some people may want to have a more permanent solution.
Completion Certificate & Continuing Education Units:
Once you have marked all parts of the Wheelchair Leash Walking program complete and completed the quiz (located at the end of Module 2) with an 80% or more passing score, your completion certificate will display on this page (the Wheelchair Leash Walking home page).
Dog trainers can present the certificate to their professional organization for 2.0 hours CEU consideration. Has been accepted by PPAB.