Two-day Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI)
Dog Training Weekend

Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) Dog Training Weekend

This is an intensive two-day theory and practical course that is ideal for those considering a career in the Animal Assisted Intervention field.

Animal-Assisted Intervention (AAI) is a type of therapy that involves animals as a form of treatment. The goal of AAI is to improve a patient's social, emotional, or cognitive functioning.

Frequently, dogs are used for this type of work. 

Are you wanting to use your own dog as a therapy dog?  Are you wanting to know how to train your dog for this kind of work or how to assess their suitability?

This course will help you identify whether a dog is a suitable candidate or whether he finds it too stressful.  The course also covers the type of training needed.  It is not just a case of a good level of "obedience" training - we do not use lots of cues to ask the dog for behaviours.  Instead, the dog will offer this behaviour because it feels really good to do that behaviour.

There will also be a practical opportunity to learn how to train dogs for working in Animal Assisted Intervention.

Animal Jobs Direct offer an intensive, two-day course that is perfect for anybody considering a career in the animal assisted intervention (AAI) field.

Course numbers are limited to a maximum of five participants to enable the highest standards of delivery and learning effectiveness. Our careers advisers will be more than happy to discuss this course with you to make sure it is the right learning opportunity to suit your needs.

About AAI

AAI is used as a way of providing therapy with animals for people in social care or rehabilitation settings. There is a good deal of interest from health care professionals in the ways in which AAI can be utilised and the client groups and local conditions that elicit the best responses to AAI. Research shows that stroking pets can be very relaxing for patients in stressful situations and cause reductions in blood pressure levels. Pets also help promote social interactions and reduce anxiety levels. The goals of AAI are to produce improvements to the social, cognitive or emotional functioning of patients, and it's usually the case that dogs are the pets that are most suited to work of this nature.

Reasons to opt for AAI

AAI offers many advantages in a range of inpatient situations and some of the benefits include:

- Physical improvements where patients having problems with physical movements are encouraged to work with a dog to enhance their motor skills. This could include something like grooming and brushing the dog's coat, which could be an enjoyable and motivational experience for the patient, to assist them in reaching their therapeutic goals.

- Social, as dogs can help patients settle into new surroundings and act to facilitate conversations.

- Psychological benefits of including animals in treatment plans for mental health issues can help increase levels of self-confidence and self-esteem. Dogs can also help enhance mood levels in stressful situations, like hospitals, and are very useful for helping people deal with grief or loss.

Therapists considering AAI will find it allows them to offer alternative treatment approaches which can often complement the existing models of treatment.

AAI dog training weekend from Animal Jobs Direct

Our animal assisted intervention weekends take place in Lincolnshire and  Watford and provide intensive theory and practical sessions that are ideal for anybody considering a career in this field. 

It is not possible to bring your own dog to the course; however, you will learn the type of dog training techniques required to teach your dog how to work in AAI, and also find out ways to identify whether your dog would be a suitable candidate for this type of work. 

Some dogs will find this type of work too stressful, and our training provides everything needed to identify the right types of dogs to work in AAI. It's not the case that high levels of obedience training are required for AAI work and handlers do not offer cues to the dogs to behave in any specific manner. 

Don't hesitate to get in touch with us to learn more about our next Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) Dog Training weekend - this practical training now forms part of the Level 3 Diploma in Animal Assisted Intervention.

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