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Animal Assisted Therapy, Education, and Activities Classes to return!!!

The Three Dogs Training Animal Assisted Therapy, Education, and Activities class returns October 30, 2021.

In the last twenty-two years I have taught at least one AATEA class each year except for 2020. I think we all know what happened in 2020…

When we visit people with our dogs we get to experience:
  • Seeing someone light up with joy when your dog comes to visit them
  • Seeing your dog bring – voice to the voiceless, awareness to those who sometimes lose their focus in this world, or give someone a moment not thinking about their pain
  • Watching a child relax as they read out loud to the dog who won’t judge them.
    • And finding that years later that the now-college-student still cherishes the bookmark she made of her picture reading with your dog.
Boo made them all smile at Maryknoll
Many years ago I wrote this and it stands the test of time:

It is a rare thing in humans to be able to look at the face of a person whose life has so obviously been harsh or has taken a turn in that direction without visible pity and anguish. And it is a rare thing for the person being looked upon to not see the discomfort in the face of the onlooker.

However, it is the dog, the cat, and the rest of our companion animals who do not see what has been, but who look only at the possibility of and need for joy that exists in all of us. For the animals, it’s not about pity, anguish, or guilt. It is about their exceptional and majestic gift of being able to tease out the joy in all things even where there seems to be none left. And it is this that allows them to often go where no person can go to do therapeutic work.

ljedwards 2001
Boo visiting another sister at Maryknoll
If you feel it is time to share the joy of your dog with others, the Three Dogs Training AATEA class will teach you the following:
  • Skills you will need to navigate your visits
  • Skills to support and advocate for the safety of your dog
  • And some little tricks to make the most of the visits for everyone

Since 2000, Animal Assisted Intervention has been a huge part of my life. I have done thousands of visits with three of my own therapy dogs, taught hundreds of teams (maybe more) to go out into the world and bring joy, learning, and therapy with their dogs. I have consulted on campus therapy dog programs for two residential special needs schools. And even my best-selling book “A Dog Named Boo” was re-released this July to get us all back in the animal assisted intervention frame of mind.

All the way back to the beginning, Dante 2000

I am very happy to be returning to my niche.

For more information.

To enroll

Class location

Back to Dog School

Three Dogs Training class enrollment.

Management does not guarantee your dog will be able to read!

Just like for our kids…

It’s time for our pandemic-pups to go back to school, too.

Fall session starts September 11th, 2021.

  • Basic – 9:00 am
  • Distract O Doggie – 10:10 am
  • Intermediate – 11:20 am
After all, life can’t be all donuts and toys…
Classes are inside. Covid restrictions may apply if needed.

Any classes postponed due to weather or Covid will be made up.

For more information:

click here or contact Lisa@threedogstraining.com

Boo is Back!!!

A Dog Named Boo How One Dog and One Woman Rescued Each Other and the Lives They Transformed Along the Way is back.

Originally published by Harlequin non-fiction in 2012, Hanover Square Press (a subsidiary of Harlequin) has released Boo with a new cover and expanded epilogue.

A Dog Named Boo, 2012
A Dog Named Boo, 2021

Boo made it to the London Times Bestsellers list in 2012 and hopefully our little best selling dog will make it into your hears in 2021.

Everyone who got a dog during the pandemic knows how our dogs support and heal us. Boo’s story is all that and more.

His website will be posting excerpts and has some fun baby-dog and silly pictures of Boo.

Baby Boo wrestling the gigantic Dante… click here for more…

Summer School (for dogs) Starts July 10th

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Three Dogs Training does not guarantee your dog will be able to read!

Summer session starts July 10th.

  • Basic – 9:00 am
  • Distract O Doggie – 10:10 am
  • Intermediate – 11:20 am

For more scheduling and enrollment information click here.

Classes are located in Mahopac, New York.

Questions contact Lisa@threedogstraining.com

Remote dog Training is Good

Is remote here to “Stay”

We adapted during the pandemic, and some of those adaptations turned out to be a good thing, like remote dog training.

“How is that good?” you might ask.

There are certain situations where my being in-person for an initial session would interfere with the process…

For example a dog who is afraid of strangers or aggressive with new people would not be well served by my walking into their home. In these cases, my presence only causes your dog more stress (and probably you, too).

If your dog spends the majority of an in-person session barking at me, it limits what we can do. However if we meet remotely first, I can craft management strategies and training techniques for you to begin working on so that when I do arrive in-person for the follow-up session, you and your dog will be less stressed, ready to work and I will be able to see how the process is progressing.

For all behavioral issues, the use of videos on zoom allows us to watch together as I identify and show you your dog’s body language. This is indescribably enlightening and usually very difficult to see in real life.

I can also watch how you work with your dog without my presence getting in the way.

It doesn’t matter if your dog wants to eat me or play with me, my presence changes their behavior dramatically.

Many of my clients started with a remote session and happily continued that way. Some have done a blended series of sessions, starting with remote and following up with in-person and remote as needed.

During the pandemic, separation anxiety issues floated to the top of the list of behavioral issues for a lot of households.

I have worked fully remotely with some separation anxiety clients, and some have done the blended approach which allows us to check in frequently for very short sessions that are not practical in-person.

Some of the most fun I’ve ever had with clients is remotely walking them through a skill they thought they couldn’t teach their dog. By the end, we are all cheering and laughing because it’s like playing remote twister. And the dog not knowing what just happened is still thrilled by the treats and laughter.

Some more logistical reasons remote is good:
  • As a working mother of a child with special needs, remote sessions allow me to meet with more clients, offering easier scheduling than in-person.
  • Because I don’t have to travel for remote sessions, the cost of a remote session is less than in-person.
  • No matter where you live, we can set up remote sessions. I’ve been able to work with clients from Paris, to Chicagoland, Connecticut, Texas, California, and even Australia.
  • And because there are so many pandemic dogs and families who need help, remote sessions help us all manage the larger demand.

And if you are looking for a Subject Matter Expert on kids and dogs and/or special needs kids and dogs, you may need to reach beyond local trainers. I can now offer that speciality to anyone anywhere.