Dog behavior and handling workshops

The spring workshop offerings at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary have been announced. Our fall 2019 workshop schedule will be finalized and posted in the coming months. Stay tuned!

Dogs: We love 'em. But sometimes the things they do leave us scratching our heads and wishing for an easier way to communicate with them. Understanding and addressing dog behavior can be a challenge, but it doesn't have to be.

Dog training workshops from Best Friends

Our dog behavior, training and handling classes provide you with the knowledge and skill required to teach desirable dog  behaviors (and manage the less-than-desirable ones), while building a positive, trusting relationship with our tail-wagging friends.

Here are some of the common concepts and terms covered in our workshops:

• Clicker training: Using a clicker to mark behaviors we like
• Positive reinforcement: Rewarding dogs to reinforce good behaviors
• Negative punishment: Removing things that reinforce bad behaviors
• Classical and operant conditioning: Applying what we know about how dogs learn
• Counter-conditioning: Helping dogs develop positive associations with scary things
• Desensitization: Helping dogs gradually develop different responses to things
• Capturing and shaping behavior: Using your new skills to help dogs learn

2019 Spring and Summer Workshop Schedule

Using Your Foundation to Develop Dog Handling Skills (intermediate)

April 8-11

$400

Prerequisite workshop: Foundation Skills for Working with Dogs

This is the second workshop of a three-part workshop series. In these classes, you'll learn to apply the foundational knowledge from your previous workshop by working with dogs with specific behavioral challenges and dogs from specific age groups. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a dog behavior assessment and help introduce dogs to one another.

Fine-tuning Your Dog Handling Skills with Common Behavior Challenges (advanced)

May 29 - June 1

$400

Prerequisite workshop: Using Your Foundation to Develop Dog Handling Skills

This is the final workshop of our three-part workshop series in which you will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on training in a small group setting. You will select a project dog with specific behavioral challenges and work one-on-one with the dog during each class with the help of a Best Friends trainer.

To register for a workshop or to request more information, please email workshops@bestfriends.org or call 435-644-2001, ext. 4317.

We look forward to having you join us at the Sanctuary.

Workshop refund policy

If you've registered for a workshop but are unable to attend, cancellation is available under the following guidelines. If you cancel 46 days or more before your workshop, we'll give you a full refund, minus a $25 cancellation fee. If you cancel 22-45 days prior to your workshop, you'll receive a 50 percent refund. All cancellations made 21 days or less before a workshop are not eligible for a refund.

To modify or cancel a registration, click on the link in your confirmation email that says, "Click here to view event summary." Enter your confirmation number as requested then click on the "My registration" tab and modify or cancel as needed.

To change a workshop date, you must cancel your current registration and re-register for the date desired. Please note that the refund policy will apply.