Cooperative care: Husbandry at Home

Engage Students

Enroll as early as possible, but no later than February 11, 2025. Early enrollment offers more learning time!

Excel Students

Enroll by February 4, 2025, to allow enough time to start training and submit videos for instructor feedback before the first real-time class on Wednesday, February 12, 2025. Please note that only 8 Excel spots are available.

LIVE stands for Learning that's Interactive and Virtually Engaged.

As a student in a KPA LIVE class, you will experience a unique learning environment where interactivity and engagement are key. You will have the opportunity to receive personal coaching or to observe as others are coached, witness training breakthroughs, ask questions directly, and benefit from the questions posed by other participants. This interactive and community-oriented class ensures that every participant always has the best "seat" in the house! 

KPA's LIVE class integrates three learning components: 

•  A week-by-week curriculum, meticulously crafted by each instructor, ensures that students know what to expect each week. 
• Real-time weekly classes conducted over Zoom, including real-time training, video review, student coaching, and Q&A. 
• An online platform hosting a class discussion forum where students can connect, share training videos, and access instructor feedback.

This combination of elements, along with KPA’s exceptional LIVE class instructors who excel in teaching real-time online classes, sets the LIVE learning experience apart. 

Some LIVE classes also include the opportunity to earn KPA's SkillCheck designation via an assessment of a skill or protocol.

Engage Students: $199

Excel Students: $399

KPA CTP Professional Members: Check the Resource Center for special rates!

This LIVE class includes:

• Four real-time LIVE classes conducted over Zoom.
• Access to an on-demand curriculum, including video lectures and weekly exercises.
• A class discussion forum where you can share videos, ask questions, receive feedback, and interact with fellow students. All students can view the instructor’s feedback on Excel-level students' videos and the responses to Excel students’ questions.

All students receive access to the complete week-by-week curriculum approximately two weeks before the discussion board opens. The weekly real-time classes are recorded in case you miss or want to review a class. The discussion board opens on February 5, 2025. You will have access to the course curriculum and class recordings for one year.

Engage and Excel experiences include:

• Weekly live virtual classes.
• Integrated step-by-step curriculum and recorded lectures.
• Hands-on training exercises.
• Access to the class discussion forum, where you can view the instructor’s comments and responses to questions, share your training progress videos, and/or cheer on your classmates.

Excel experience:

• Limited to 8 (maximum) students actively coached by the instructor throughout the course.

This class is designed for trainer/dog teams that are well-versed in positive reinforcement training, have clean mechanics, and are fluent in the use of markers and reinforcement.

This class assumes that your dog solicits tactile (being touched) for comfort and attention and knows some basic behaviors, such as lying down, sitting, and recalling. This class is also for dogs that have some fun movement behaviors that they enjoy doing, including tricks like spin, bow, jump, fetch, etc.

The skills taught in this class provide you and your dog a baseline for beneficial behaviors that will improve quality of life and enhance safety around veterinary and husbandry tasks as you generalize and build fluency. 

If you are an experienced positive reinforcement trainer who meets the above criteria and has time for the training and attendance of the Live Zoom classes each week, either the Excel or Engage experience will work for you. If you are less experienced or unfamiliar with Cooperative Care procedures or cannot afford the time commitment, the Engage experience would be an excellent fit for you and your dog.

Important note: This class is not designed to replace or interfere with an already-established veterinary care plan. While the skills you learn in this class may be approximated into or made to support an established care plan, it is not within the timeline or the scope of this class to address time-sensitive care needs. This class is not suited for dogs with a history of biting people or for dogs with a pre-sedation protocol. A professional certified trainer, Laura is neither licensed nor qualified to discuss pharmacology or veterinary treatment plans.

Choose the experience that's right for you!

• Engage Experience: Ideal for trainers with less experience or less time for weekly exercises with their dogs.
• Excel Experience: Suitable for trainers with some training fundamentals and time for weekly training sessions. Note the specific criteria for this class (see FAQ: Is This Class Right for Me?).

For the Excel experience, active participation is critical to both your experience and that of other students. Please keep up with the lessons, work closely with your instructor, record and post videos of your training progress, ask questions, and come prepared to participate in the weekly LIVE classes over Zoom.

For all students, enrollment includes one year of access to the course curriculum and class recordings. Each real-time LIVE format class will be recorded and available for self-study after each class.

Engage Experience:

• Includes four real-time Zoom classes where you observe the LIVE virtual class and participate in the Q&A.
• Access to the weekly step-by-step curriculum with engaging lectures and hands-on training exercises.
• Access to the class discussion forum to share your video submissions, view other students' videos, and benefit from the instructor’s written feedback on Excel students' videos and questions.

Excel Experience:

• Limited to a maximum of 8 actively coached participants.
• Includes access to the integrated step-by-step weekly curriculum with lectures, instructional videos, and assigned training exercises.
• Special opportunities for real-time coaching during the LIVE virtual class, feedback on practice videos, and answers to your questions on the class forum between sessions.

You will learn how to collaborate with your dog(s) for their health and well-being in veterinary and husbandry scenarios. 

To begin, you will learn to distribute your eggs across many baskets. Laura will launch you and your dog on building consent and cooperation from many common positions used in a lifetime of veterinary and husbandry tasks. From nail trims to injection prep, the class offers tools, techniques, and behaviors related to many aspects of animal care. You will learn how to start working all this into something your entire care team can collaborate on with you and your dog.

For more details, see the description of each week's curriculum above.

• Karen Pryor Academy (KPA)
  • CEUs Excel: 13-20
  • CEUs Engage: 12-15
• The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT)
  • CEUs Excel: 7-14 (1.5-3 Skills CEUs)
  • CEUs Engage: 5-10 (0 Skills CEUs)
• The International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC):
  • CEUs Excel: 13-20
  • CEUs Engage: 12-15

Please note that the range of CEUs awarded by each organization is provided as a guide. The finalized CEU credits will be communicated to all enrolled students.

The four-unit, seven-week class includes three major components: the online curriculum (video lectures and weekly exercises), the online discussion forum, and the weekly virtual LIVE class.

• Online Discussion Forum: Opens on February 5, 2025, enabling Excel students to begin submitting videos of their initial training for review and feedback from the instructor.
• Live Classes: Conducted online via Zoom on Wednesdays for two hours, starting at 3:00 PM Pacific/6:00 PM Eastern Time on the following dates: February 12, 2025; February 26, 2025; March 12, 2025; and March 26, 2025.
  • Ice-Breaker: There will be an optional Zoom session on February 5, 2025, at 3:00 PM PT / 6:00 PM ET. During this session, everyone will be able to meet Excel team attendees and the instructor and get information on making the most of your LIVE Class platform, discussion board, and Zoom sessions.

If you are unable to attend a virtual class, don't worry; the LIVE classes will be recorded and made available approximately 24-48 hours after the class.

*Please note that it may take up to 48 hours for Excel students to receive access to the student portal after registration.

To participate in the class, you'll need the following:

All Students:

• A computer or device with high-speed Internet access.

Excel Students (those seeking personalized feedback):

• A camera or phone to record training videos, along with a stable setup like a tripod or gimbal.
• A camera for video conferencing during the LIVE class sessions.
• The ability to clip videos to a maximum length of five minutes, preferably in one-minute increments.
• A private YouTube or Vimeo channel to share video links (videos cannot be hosted within the discussion platform).
• A clicker or distinct sound to mark good behavior.
• Training treats your dog enjoys (dogs and cats LOVE our On Cue! Training Treats in any flavor).
• Consistent access to a dog that knows basic sit, lie down, and recall behaviors, as well as fun moving behaviors that the dog enjoys performing, is required for Excel students and recommended for all students. 
• Any tools or props necessary for building fluency in their chosen care behavior (e.g., nail trimming would require a file/dremel/scratchboard; ear drops may require gauze and a veterinary-approved solution). A handout with considerations will be provided upon enrollment.

Consistent access to a dog is required for Excel students and recommended for all students.

To guide you, on a weekly basis, you should plan to:

• Attend the LIVE classes that meet over Zoom on Wednesdays at 3:00 PM PT/6:00 PM ET. Each meeting will be approximately two hours long.
• Before the LIVE class, watch the weekly skills video, each roughly an hour long.
• Practice training the weekly behaviors.
  • Excel students should spend at least an hour and a half, spread out over several days, practicing the weekly behaviors.
  • Optional: Build in time for videography. Excel students can submit videos of their practice sessions to the instructor for written feedback via the class forum. Limit: Up to five minutes of video in total per unit, with a maximum of four submissions. Each video submission should be two minute(s) or less. The video submission must be shared by 3:00 PM PT/6:00 PM ET on the Monday before the LIVE class meeting.

Engage Students: Plan on spending as much time training as Excel students to get the most out of the class, although this is not a requirement. Follow and contribute to the discussion forum at your leisure.

The semi-weekly LIVE classes are recorded and will be available in the student portal approximately 24-48 hours after the class. Excel-level students must attend the weekly LIVE class to receive real-time coaching.

The LIVE classes meet over Zoom on Wednesdays for two hours, starting at 3:00 PM PT/6:00 PM ET on the following dates: February 12, 2025; February 26, 2025; March 12, 2025; and March 26, 2025.

Once you have registered, your class fee is non-refundable.

The full curriculum is available to you upon registration. All classes and the curriculum are recorded and available for a year.

If you wish to be an Excel student, remember that spots are limited to 8 students. Please be sure that you are able to participate before you register. We are not responsible for Internet-connection or other issues that interrupt your training.

Yes. The LIVE Class is closed-captioned-enabled and will be recorded with closed captioning. The weekly video lectures in the curriculum are closed-captioned.