Specialized & Online Courses
NOSE-WORK
This four (4) day course covers the use of nose work, scent work, trailing and air scent work for the purposes of canine rehabilitation. These methods are taught with dogs that may or may not have a predilection for utilizing their olfactory capabilities. The course covers olfactory capabilities, usage, theory of scent, purpose of using canine noses and brain aspects for rehabilitation of behaviors. The course covers methods, exercises, field applications, and relevant human input as a handler for guidance. These methods can be used as beginning steps for more serious scent work lines. Attendees may bring their own dogs.
Instructor: Nelson Hodges
IACP CEUs: 32 hours
Cost: $650
Location: Globally
FEARFUL/FERAL DOG COURSE
This two (2) day course, with an additional online class, will cover the means, methods and understandings of rehabilitating severe case, fearful/feral dogs while working with the shelter dogs as our students. We will cover how to apply the RBBM methodology to fearful/feral dogs by starting on building a trusting relationship. This course will focus on the root causes of behavioral issues and address those through techniques, trust building and proper communication with fearful dogs. Discussing how dogs think and how they see the world is vital to understanding the problems of fearful/feral dogs. This course will help attendees understand and plan a pathway to rehabilitate each dog for its own unique issues. We will cover how to recognize causes, plan lessons and work sessions, work with the dog in the moment, proper response levels and communications, transference to the foster, shelter staff/volunteer, and how to reach and inspire them to carry out the long-term plans for themselves and the dog. This course is held at a rural shelter in Las Vegas, New Mexico that has a large population of fearful/feral dogs. This is a “hands on” class utilizing the shelter dog population as the demonstration dogs. Julie Hart will be the in-person instructor for this course, supplemented with an two(2) hour online session with Nelson Hodges.
There is an optional third day for attendees that wish to stay to practice what we learned during the workshop with hands-on opportunities. We will continue to work with the dogs that participated in the course during this day. The optional third day is limited to five attendees for an additional cost of $75 that will be donated to the Friends of San Miguel County Animals non-profit.
Julie has many years of experience rehabilitating fearful and feral dogs for adoption and for her clients. She works with the dogs in foster homes the Las Vegas shelter extensively, successfully preparing them for pet dog life. Julie is a certified dog trainer through IACP and a certified relationship-based trainer with CHRI. She will include over-arching concepts as well as details about how to live with and help fearful and feral dogs.
Instructor: Julie Hart, CRBT, IACP-CDT, Nelson Hodges
IACP CEUs: 16 hours
Cost: $400
Location: Las Vegas, New Mexico
OR….Register to watch the online compilation of three (3) Fearful/Feral Dog workshops recordings and interviews with Nelson Hodges discussing the challenges, actions and results of working with fearful/feral dogs.
LOST DOG RECOVERY
This four(4) day course goes into depth on planning, mapping, field operations, team creation and organization, technology use, equipment use, basic medical/veterinary applications and triage, weather conditions, urban vs. rural conditions, team sizes, and human and canine psychological aspects. The class goes into depth on the way dogs think and move in the environment, how to track and plot, as well as capture techniques. The course will also cover outside resources and how to leverage those sources to maintain an active network to assist in recovering lost dogs.
Instructor: Nelson Hodges
IACP CEUs: 32 hours-in process
Cost: $800
Location: CHRI Center, Blue Ridge, TX
PUPPY DEVELOPMENT
This CHRI course(3 days) teaches students about the brain, skeletal and body developments and capabilities of canines over a period of 2 years of coverage. The brain, how and when it develops, physically, from gestation through a 2 year period of time, on a week to week basis, is covered in depth. The development of the body and its capabilities is also covered during that time period, and when both brain and body align, and when and how they do not align. dog sizes, neutering, sexual vs. mental maturity, and fear imprinting are covered.
In addition, we cover Historical aspects, age and behavior appropriate aspects including exercise needs and activities appropriateness and requirements, and development teaching, social and cognitive abilities and fulfillments. We also discuss nutritional needs for development and deficiencies.
Instructor: Nelson Hodges
IACP CEUs: 20 hours
Cost: $600
Location: CHRI Center, Blue Ridge, TX, OR ONLINE
WORKING WITH AND AFFECTING AGGRESSIVE DOGS **ONLINE**(previously recorded)
Areas of coverage in this class will be defining an aggressive dog, what that means from a behavior standpoint, recognizing what you are working with and analyzing a base point and a path forward with that dog. We will discuss what makes a dog aggressive, how that affects the dog, how it experiences stimuli, human input, and cooperative efforts. We will look at the neurobiology (at an introductory level) of the brain a dog so you better understand each dog. This will allow you to change paths and methods in order to allow the dog to change.
Each dog has a unique path to behavior modification/recovery. Understanding the various means and methods we can use to affect the dog is the goal. We will cover ways to keep you safe while working with the dog, understanding when you and the dog are both ready to trust each other. Discussions of what stimuli that can cause a regression, as well as when, why, and how to approach those issues. We will also cover when you should work with that dog, when to pass it on to someone else, and when to pass on it, period.
This course is offered to anyone that has completed CHRI RBBM I Concepts
This on-line course will consist of three(3), 2 to 3 hour sessions, sequentially, over three(3) days. Start time is 6:00 pm until 8:00 or 9:00 pm (Central Time Zone) for each class day.
There will be a follow-up course on case studies later this year. You must have completed this course, fully, to continue the case study course. Additional registration will be required for the follow-up course.
Total active class time is expected to be 8 to 9 hours.
Instructor: Nelson Hodges
IACP CEUs: 9 hours
Cost: $300
Location: ONLINE
CANINE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM & NUTRITION(previously recorded 6.18.22)
This course is approximately 3.5 hours in recorded length, with more than an hour of Q&A time at the end including questions from the class attendees. The presentation incorporates slides for information and examples.
We cover what a predator is, what level of predator, predatory specializations, and dog being a predator having to eat meat, and also other foods at different times of life stages and activity levels.
The digestive system of a dog is important for you to understand, in depth, as well as how the digestive system works. What do dogs need more than just to survive, but to thrive? We detail foods, supplements, various protein sources, how much of each by volume and percentages. There are also distinctions of breeds in dogs, disparities in the age of the dog, and variances in what dogs need during times of illnesses, maladies and seasonally. Explained are all sources of foods that are appropriate for dogs and why. We examine purposes in sources of nutrition and, what and why they should or should not be used in various situations. Good, neutral, bad and toxic substances are necessary to understand, as well as biological protein values. It is vital to understand nutritional values depending upon processes, preservatives, fresh, raw, freshly cooked, frozen and reconstituted.
Minerals, supplements, fiber usage, viscosity understanding and microbiome health are critical in understanding for all dogs of all breeds and ages.
Instructor: Nelson Hodges
IACP CEUs: 20 hours
Cost: $150
Location: ONLINE recording only
Courses under construction—
Proactive Defensive Living & Survival
Crisis Response & Emergency Medical Skills
Puppy Development (on-line)