Target Audience:  Handlers and dogs who want to explore the notion of becoming a S.T.A.R. team. Participation does NOT commit you to going any further in our program but it does give you “first dibs” on the limited number of spots in the full Test Prep Series.

NEW SIGN-UP PROCEDURE:  We’d like to meet with you online to chat first! Easy peasy – just send an email introducing yourself to recruiting@theLittleDogLaughed.org to kick things off.

After we’ve had a chance to meet you and to answer your questions, we’ll schedule a “Try-It-Out” session so we can meet your dog and watch you work together.

• What will you do at the Try-It-Out? Activities usually include but are not limited to:
  1. Training a simple new behavior using the clicker:  You will select one of our props and using JUST a clicker teach your dog to touch it with its nose/paw.
  2. Changing handlers – each dog/handler will teach one of their dog’s current cues to another person (senior handlers). OK to use verbal cues, even better if you also have hand signals
  3. Mini‐Rally course – can you keep your dog’s attention for a short simple obedience rally course? We will demo, then you will select which rally signs you want to try and we will set up your course.
  4. Q & A time, going both directions – we may have questions for YOU.
• When/Where:
  Pre-arranged Saturdays, 10 – 11:00 am  at Pup-A-Razzi 16300 SW Hart Rd, Beaverton
  Pre-arranged Thursdays, 7 – 8:00 pm  at Sellwood Community House 1436 SE Spokane St, Portland
• Cost:  Free

Target Audience:  Handlers and dogs who want to brush up on their skills and domain knowledge before taking the S.T.A.R. Team Basic Qualification Test.

Note: This series is not required before taking the test — experienced therapy teams are free to challenge the test.

• What: a series of  1-hour classes + the Basic Qualification Test + program-specific workshops.
  Enrollment limited – priority given to those who have already indicated interest in becoming a S.T.A.R. team by taking the Try-It-Out workshop.
• 2023 Instructor:  Lorenzo J-W Fox
• When: Fridays evenings
• Where: Synergy Behavior Solutions at 2127 NW York St, Portland, OR 97210
• Cost:  $225.  Thanks to fundraising efforts on the part of current S.T.A.R. Teams, a limited number of need-based scholarships are available. This $225 fee – the only fee  S.T.A.R. Team handlers will ever be charged – covers:
  • test-prep classes described below
  • 3 text books: “Kids and Dogs: A Professional’s Guide to Helping Families” (Colleen Pelar, CPDT) and “Click! for Joy” (Melissa Alexander), and “Don’t Shoot the Dog” (Karen Pryor)
  • The Basic Qualification Test (described below)
    and ONCE THE TEST IS PASSED, an additional 5 program-specific classes
  • The basic equipment and prop “starter kit” provided all Apprentice S.T.A.R. Teams (description in STAR TEAM LEVELS below).

• How to Register:  Let us know you are interested and we’ll email you the application.
  
• Test-Prep Series Content:  Will depend on the current skill level of the applicants. Includes but is not be limited to:
  • Reviewing and refreshing positive training concepts that apply to our work (when and how to use a clicker vs. alternate methods)
  • Determining each applicant dog’s strengths/interests
  • Game components   Handlers and dogs  
  • Working with Children – ONLINE
  • Working with Children  – Handlers and dogs 
    Includes applied practice with the assistance of young volunteers   

Target Audience:  Dog/Handler teams who have completed the test prep series and/or dog/handler teams with at least two years experience as a therapy team who wish to challenge the test.

• What:   1+ hour practical test of basic skills needed by a S.T.A.R. team, part written,  part active role-playing with adults and children. Teams that pass the basic qualification test are eligible to prepare for field work with 5 more program-specific classes (see below) to become APPRENTICE S.T.A.R. TEAMS
• When:  TBD.  Applicants will be scheduled one at a time. Written tests will also be due at this time.
• Where: TBD.
• Cost:  Free for those who took the test prep series, $35 for challengers who can prove they have at least two years active therapy team experience with another organization.
• Content: The test will be loosely based on on existing Canine Good Citizen (CGC)  tests plus other therapy organization tests, with an additional focus on working off-leash, working with children, and being comfortable using a clicker to train. The test will include, for instance, a demonstration of the team’s ability to:
  • teach the dog a brand new, simple “target” behavior with an unfamiliar object
  • politely greet and interact with a child/children for 10 minutes.

Target Audience:  dog/handler teams that have passed the basic qualification test AND for volunteers who are interested in participating as a non-handler.

Thanks to a technology grant from an anonymous donor, we  now have the ability to move those classes that do not involve dogs on-line. This will allow us to cover more information in a significantly shorter time and save the need for a cross-town communte for the classes that require hands-on participation.

• What:  a five-workshop series covering material specific to the S.T.A.R. program; required to become a S.T.A.R. team
• Where:   TBD SW Portland site; on-line for handlers-only classes;
• Cost:  free for those that took the test-prep series and passed the test, $100 for anyone else (need-based scholarships are available)
• Content: To include but not be limited to (order may vary):
  • Lessons Learned Part 1 –  handlers only – online
    Sensory abilities of dogs and how this informs your training choices. Reading/interpreting what a dog is saying with their bodies.
  • Building Games  – handlers and dogs
    How to explain behavior chains to a child and why you want to. Where do you go from here.  A short session of “PVC is your friend” – we will supply all necessary bits needed to create a highly-portable prop (e.g., a jump, a soccer goal, a basketball stanchion, etc.) that you will incorporate into your game.
  • The Effects of Trauma on Children and other selected topics – handlers only – online (work at your own pace)
    Available through the  Oregon Coalition Against Domestic & Sexual Violence (sponsor: Raphael House of Portland)
  • Working with Children – Keep Calm and Carry On – handlers and dogs
    Rehearsing what to do when things go wrong.
    Presented by Linda Keast and the Girl Scouts
  • Lessons Learned Part 2 –  handlers only – online
    How to choose activities that support specific behavioral goals. “How you say it matters”.  Presented by Linda Keast