Karma Dog Training's "Conscious Kid” program aims to coach young children from the ages of 3 to 16 to train dogs basic skills and manners using a scientific-based positive reinforcement approach.

Many families adopt or bring a new dog into their family in hopes of gaining a new best friend for their children. And creating a positive bond between a child and a dog can lead to the most loyal companionship - creating a lifetime of rewards for the whole family.

Studies show that including your child when training your dog enables the child to learn leadership skills, responsibility and confidence. It also fosters excitement about learning and helps children (as well as the dogs they teach) learn the importance of consent, boundaries and rewards.

How does it work?

Karma Dog Training's "Conscious Kid” program consists of private one-on-one sessions conducted by one of our top professional head trainers who specializes in teaching dog behavior to children and preteens. As your child's Dog Guide, they are providing easy-to-follow guidance and support to help facilitate the best possible success between your child and their new best fur-friend!

The goal is for your child and puppy to both LOVE the learning process so much that at the end of 7 weeks, your child is awarded a Certificate of Completion as being their dog’s Top Handler/Trainer as your puppy successfully graduates the course!

This 7 week course is aimed directly towards children (with a supervised adult).

Topics covered during this program are:

• Dog Handling Safety (How to properly approach/greet dogs.)
• Dog Body Language (Understanding certain body signals of stress/fear/anxiety and how to address them safely/positively)
• Karma Dogs “7 Requests for Success” (Watch Me, Come, Stay, Down, Leave it, Go To Bed and Loose Leash Walking)
• How to partake in a dogs daily feeding and exercise routine (How to leash and walk your dog and how to safely administer food)
• Proper health care basics (Puppy imprinting, grooming, bathing and tooth brushing)
• Potty training basics (Learning your dogs potty cues and how to set up a proper puppy play pen or gated area)
• Puppy proofing (Securing and keeping safe your indoor and outdoor areas)
• What to do in an emergency (Approaching unknown dogs, dog greetings on leash, what to do if your dog escapes their leash, how to deal with approaching unleashed dogs and what to do if you find a stray dog)
• Emergency animal care (How to address certain ailments such as checking paws, ears and gums for foxtails, ticks, fleas, cuts etc., who to contact in an emergency, and how to handle small injuries)
• Wildlife safety (Safety precautions for smaller dogs, rules about not leaving dogs unsupervised/off leash outdoors ever, especially after dark!, how to handle wildlife, including coyote, mountain lions, snakes and spiders)

Many children upon completion of this "Conscious Kid” program feel a greater sense of connection with their dogs and both the child and dog often go on to further develop their training skills. Dogs may continue training towards becoming therapy or service animals and children may continue deepening their training knowledge, some becoming professional trainers in the future!