Virtual SD Foundations Classroom

 Announcing the new Virtual Service Dog Foundations Class

If you are a new Owner Trainer that is just starting out on your training journey with a young or new dog that you hope will become a Service Dog then this is the perfect class for you!

In partnership with Cindy Campbell Dog Training, we are pleased to now offer this virtual class that will include some work at your own pace classroom materials, small group Zoom meetings every 2 weeks, and 1-on-1 support from the trainers.  In this class we will be going over the basic laws that impact Service Dogs, tips for training Public Access, and the beginning skills all Service Dogs should be trained in no matter what tasks they will be trained to do in the future.

Small group Zoom sessions begin on August 4th!  If you are unable to participate in the Zoom session, it will be recorded and added to the classroom the day after the meeting.  Zoom sessions will take place every other Thursday night at 9PM Central/7PM Pacific.

The cost of this class is $100 for 12 weeks of support via small group and 1-on-1 chats with the trainer.  You will have access to the virtual classroom materials for 1 year after the start of the class.  Scholarships are available if needed so please include that request on your registration form.

Please fill out the registration from below and you will receive an email from one of the trainers with payment information and class details.

Thank you for filling out this registration form!  If you do not hear from us within 24 hrs, please email yooperpaws@gmail.com for assistance.

July Theme of the Month: Independence for us and our dogs!

 As everyone celebrates the 4th of July, called Independence Day if you live in the U.S.A, I want to spend the month focusing a bit more on Service Dogs and how they help give disabled people more independence then possible without a Service Dog.  I will also be writing on why we should teach our dogs to be independent and how we can train them to think for themselves in ways that make our daily lives easier.

Most people who will read this blog already know that Azul is my Service Dog.  But many do not know all the things he does for me and all the things that are possible for me because Azul is there to do his job.  I often speak openly about my disability which is caused by various autoimmune diseases and syndromes but I don't often discuss my daily struggles.  Like most people, I chose to focus on the positives in life so discussing my health that often fails me seems like more of a negative.  So in the posts where I am raw about the daily struggles I face, I'm not looking for sympathy but trying to further understanding of how autoimmune diseases impact not only my life but the lives of many of my family members and friends.

To focus more on the positive side of things, I'm also going to post about various trainings that I offer, both free and at a low cost to clients, so that if you are trying to train a pet or a Service Dog you can see that help is available.  This monthly blog theme is designed as one of my many free resources to help owners with dog training starting with the January theme: Planning for Success.  Yooper Paws also has a Facebook Page and YouTube Channel that offer free resources as well as several groups with specific goals or topics in mind.  On the paid side of things, I offer several virtual classes to help you understand the various life stages a dog goes through including the puppy & adolescent stages that are the hardest to survive as a dog owner.  My Service Dog Training & Support program is basically my mentoring program for those trying to train their own Service Dog and this is my biggest service offered!

Last but not least, this wouldn't be a theme of the month without free info about dog training!  So the majority of the posts this month will be about training our dogs to be the best they can be.  I often talk about teamwork with your dog which might seem like that goes against the idea of independence but I'll be showing you how working as a team can help your dog to be independent and capable of making daily choices that help make life easier for everyone in the house.

I hope your as excited about the July: Independence theme as I am!  

It's going to be a great month!

Just for fun, here is a video of playing Peek-A-Boo with Azul