therapy dog class

Do good with your dog

You love your dog, we love your dog, let others love your dog. Join the Canine Inspired Change Therapy Dog team. Metro Dogs and CIC are partnering together to offer a streamlined training class that will give you and your dog the skills to become a successful therapy dog team.

Canine Inspired Change partners with schools and organizations to facilitate therapy dog sessions with vulnerable youth and adults to overcome trauma, social struggles and isolation by sparking meaningful connections with dogs, volunteers and each other.

CIC’s innovative and successful program focuses on social-emotional learning to give students the tools to better self-regulate and build confidence in the classroom and in life. Through customizable sessions, they partner with schools and organizations in the Twin Cities to offer programs that connects with students of all ages.

Prerequisites

Therapy Dog work is hard work for dogs! To ensure your dog is suited for the task, there are a few requirements in place before you may register for the specialized CIC and Metro Dogs therapy course.

Your dog must:

Previously or currently attending daycare at Metro Dogs
Be friendly with strangers and children
Enjoy touch interaction from people
Have the basic foundation skills such as sit, lay down, stay, come, and leash walking
Be neutral around other dogs while on leash
Warm up quickly to new and unfamiliar environments
Be current on canine parvovirus, distemper, canine hepatitis, rabies, and bordetella vaccines

If your dog checks most but not all of these boxes, please reach out to us to discuss available options to get your dog up to speed.

Class dates & investment

Metro Dogs & CIC Therapy Dog class will run for 8 weeks at CIC headquarters in St Paul. Each class will be 1 hour in length. The final class will be the evaluation and graduation day.

Class cost is $250.

Next class session will begin October 1st at 11:30am.