Mental health and education professionals are thoroughly trained to work with human clients, and volunteers sometimes receive a brief orientation to the client population they’ll work with. To practice ethically and humanely, however, both professionals who integrate dogs into their practice also need equivalent information about their canine partners and experience working with dogs. The canine-assisted intervention specialist (CAIS) certificate provides the knowledge and experience you need to ensure a therapy dog’s welfare and well-being in professional settings.
You’ll examine your own preferences and biases about dogs as the program delves deeply into topics such as canine behavior, selection, training and health and wellness. You'll also have the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working with multiple dogs in partnership with a canine organization of your choice, in your own community. At the end of the program, you’ll have a deeper understanding of the needs of your canine partners, you will have practiced training dogs for specific skills helpful in animal-assisted interventions, and you’ll have increased knowledge of the ethics and standards involved in working effectively and humanely with dogs in animal-assisted interventions.
Want to learn more about the canine-assisted interventions certificate?
Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist Information Session
Attend this virtual information session to learn details, expectations, and outcomes of the Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist Certificate program. You will also get to meet the program instructors and ask questions during the Q&A at the end.
The canine-assisted intervention specialist certificate program provides comprehensive education, training and practical experience with canines so you can ethically incorporate dogs into your professional treatment strategies. We emphasize three areas of competence in working with canines:
Ethics
Ethical practice of animal-assisted interventions requires careful consideration of all choices made regarding our canine partners. We focus on options and best practice related to canine welfare, including sourcing and selection, duration of work, training methods, retirement considerations, advocacy and more.
Knowledge
This program emphasizes knowledge related to dogs, including the theoretical foundation of canine learning, meanings of canine behavior, understanding various training methods, training plan development, and canine health and wellness needs.
Skill
Delivering animal-assisted interventions in an ethical and sustainable way requires skill working with dogs. We focus on skills that include training plan implementation, ability to match training methods with dogs, demonstration of two of the four quadrants of training in practice, and accurate interpretation of dog behavior.
21
The certificate earns 21 continuing education units documented on a University of Denver transcript.
15
Enrollment is capped at 15 students per cohort for a high quality learning environment.
5
In just two years, there have been five countries on three continents represented in this certificate.
A Program for Working Professionals
Designed for professionals—educators, program directors, volunteer coordinators and more — who are already using canines in their careers, the CAIS certificate provides the canine-specific education, knowledge and skill needed to conduct humane and ethical practice. The program also is beneficial for volunteers with experience in animal-assisted interventions. Although CAIS applies canine information to animal-assisted interventions, it does not include education on intervention planning, the history of the human-animal bond, or other administrative aspects of a well-rounded animal-assisted intervention practice.
The Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist certificate emphasizes practitioner competence and reflects the American Counseling Association’s Animal-Assisted Therapy in Counseling Competencies.
Program Format
More than 20 canine and animal-assisted intervention professionals from throughout the U.S. contributed to the curriculum. This competency-based certificate includes three online courses and one weekend laboratory on the University of Denver campus. You’ll progress through the courses in sequence with a peer cohort—just 13 students. You may complete coursework at your pace within specified due dates. The fieldwork with canines component will require you to work in the community, away from the computer. As you move through the program, your instructors will offer guidance, individualized weekly feedback and participate in online discussion forums. To obtain this competency-based certificate, you must demonstrate the competencies needed to ensure a therapy dog’s welfare and well-being.
The program begins with a weekend experiential laboratory in Denver. The focus is to begin or refine observation skills with canines and humans. Your preferences and biases (both positive and negative) about canines will be challenged and explored for their application to client/student work. This laboratory provides supervised hands-on skill-building and immediate supportive and instructive feedback.
Three courses are delivered online through Canvas. Coursework is rigorous and includes video documentation of live work with dogs, community-based observations, interviews, readings, lectures, quizzes and online discussions. You’ll present your final three-part project to your cohort in the third course; the group will provide peer review of each project, and your instructor will provide in-depth feedback.
Fieldwork includes observation, training, interviews, taking video of oneself working with dogs, and written documentation of work, which will provide you with practical and realistic experience with dogs of varying ages, types and abilities. You’ll be required to observe and work with multiple different dogs each week outside of an animal-assisted intervention setting. (You must have an official arrangement with a shelter organization or canine program in your community.)
“The best part about my experience was getting to learn from some of the most well-respected and accomplished minds in this field.”
Lauren Kruger, Alumni, Graduate, Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist Certificate
Read More
Upcoming Program Dates
2021 Cohort 1
2021 Cohort 2
Experiential Workshop (virtual)
Jan. 21 – 22, 2021
August 5 – 6, 2021
Canines 1 Course (online)
Jan. 30 – March 20, 2021
Aug. 16 – Oct. 4, 2021
Canines 2 Course (online)
April 10 – May 29, 2021
Oct. 25 – Dec. 20, 2021
Canines 3 Culmination Project (online)
June 12 – July 3, 2021
Jan. 17 – Feb. 7, 2022
Application Information
Cohorts are filled on a first come, first serve basis. Due to high interest, it is recommended to submit your application early.
The Canine-Assisted Intervention Specialist 2021 Cohort 1 is full.
Educators and human physical and mental health professionals receive thorough education about working with their human clients. In order to practice ethically and humanely, professionals who integrate canines into their practice need equivalent information about their canine partners and experiential practice with canines. The intent of the Canines 1 course is to expose participants to a foundation of knowledge and experience with canines. Such knowledge and experience is necessary to develop the competencies needed to adequately assure a therapy dog’s welfare and well-being. Further, this course exposes human health and education professionals to resources for continuing education regarding canines.
IHAC 0128
Canines 2 Course
About this Course
The intent of the Canines 2 course is to build on the knowledge and experience gained in Canines 1 and continue to expose participants to a foundation of knowledge and experience with canines. Such knowledge and experience is necessary to develop the competencies needed to adequately assure a therapy dog’s welfare and well-being. Further, this course exposes human health and education professionals to resources for continuing education regarding canines.
IHAC 0138
Canines 3 Culmination Project
About this Course
Learners finalize their certificate online and in real-time online with other cohort members by presenting their three-part certificate culmination projects to the cohort. Individual cohort members provide peer review of each project.
Learners prepare for their presentation by organizing video and documentation. Each learner posts his/her projects on-line, and each learner will complete peer-review documentation on all other cohort members’ projects. Learners are assigned one week to demonstrate their competencies to their colleagues by making a live on-line presentation to colleagues that addresses one part of their certificate culmination project. Each learner’s live presentation is limited to a maximum of 30 minutes (so four learners present each week).