Become A K9PT!
Canine Personal Trainer
This course is perfect for those looking to start working with dogs, maybe as a dog enthusiast looking for a complete change of career, as this course will guide you through everything. However, it's also great for many canine professionals such as pet dog trainers, sports dog trainers, hydrotherapists, massage therapists etc. As more and more people now look for Canine Conditioning services close to them, you could be the very first in your area!
Limited number of enrolments available!
Let's talk a little bit about the course...
We have developed our Canine Fitness Instructor course to provide tuition for people wishing to become K9PT’s! This course will teach you how to use land-based conditioning to reduce the risk of injury and improve the overall health and well-being of dogs. There are so many benefits to conditioning, helping our sporting and working dogs is obvious, but did you know conditioning can be a great help for reactive dogs too? The course is designed for a variety of learners, whether you are already a canine professional looking to expand your services or a dog enthusiast looking for a change of career. You may even just like to complete this course to be able to condition your own dogs more confidently!
This course is not suitable for rehabilitation.
A canine conditioning gym concept can be a great addition to a training club, day care centre, dog behaviour centre, boarding establishment, hydrotherapy centre, physiotherapy service, massage therapist etc. The canine industry has expanded over the last few years and more of the population are finding the massive physical and mental benefits of owning a dog, and this includes the activities you can enjoy with your dog, which are continually growing. Dog owners are also understanding that canine fitness is essential to participate in activities like agility, flyball, obedience, field trials and cani-cross, to name a few. With conditioning we can help to improve performance and reduce the risk of injury in these sports.
The K9PT course gives you the skills that are required to teach clients how to condition their dogs for a variety of sports and pet activities. This incorporates establishing the individual needs of the athlete or pet dog and providing a specific training program to improve fitness using a variety of exercises and specialist FitPAWS balance equipment safely.
The K9PT course is written and approved by a specialist Veterinary Physiotherapist, Charlotte Jarman, who is one of the industry leaders in the rehabilitation and sports conditioning sectors. The course will be presented and coached by our own K9PT, PDT and small animal hydrotherapist Hannah Johnson.
Modules
Anatomy and Physiology
Understand how the canine body systems function, this is essential to understand how to improve canine fitness.
Tissue Response to Exercise
This module covers how muscles respond and function during exercise whilst understanding the difference between muscle fibres and their recruitment in relation to conditioning.
Canine Assessment and Gait Analysis
Learn how to analyse the way a dog moves identifying particular gait patterns and abnormal postures. This is essential knowledge to identify the individual conditioning needs of each dog. In this module you will learn how to assess each dog, using static and dynamic tests. It is essential to know how to create a program based on the dogs starting ability, tailoring the program to accommodate any weaknesses.
Demands of Canine Sports and Activities
Understand the demands of individual sports to be able to identify how to condition canine athletes. Sports require strength training, but the demands of the sport determine whether they are training for sprint, endurance or control.
Behaviour and Training Methods for Conditioning
Learn the aspects of canine behaviour that are relevant when working with a variety of dogs as a K9PT. Understand how and why correct training methods are essential to effectively teach handlers to successfully complete the conditioning exercises with good form.
Principals of Canine Conditioning
Understand the theory of conditioning to be able to safely create individual training programs. This also includes how to warm up and cool down.
Groundwork Exercises
Under the direction of a K9PT, learn how to apply the land-based exercises and understand how they physically and mentally affect the dog. Understand how different life stages, abilities, strengths and weaknesses of the dog dictate the exercises we choose.
Practical Application of Conditioning Equipment Under the direction of a K9PT learn how to safely use FitPAWS conditioning equipment and correctly implement the use in an advanced fitness program.
For the full curriculum please scroll to the bottom of this section
The course is a combination of theory and practical modules. The theory can be completed by working through a series of online modules to gain theoretical understanding before completing exams. The theory in this course is primarily text based, self study learning. There will be a live lecture to support some modules, as well as access to view and partake in our group sessions offered on the Canine Fitness App. Then a series of online practical assessments will commence to ensure you can put everything into practice. These assessments will be videos, that you will need to take and provide to us, and you will need to have a dog to work with to complete these. You have up to 3 years to complete this course, and you will need to complete and pass all theory modules and exams before being able to attend practical sessions as part of the modules and the practical assessments.
Throughout the 3 years you will have access to our Facebook group for K9PT's and 3 years free access to the Canine Fitness App along with the App's own Facebook group too.
Pass Requirements
- All online exams must be passed with an 80% pass rate for each module (You can re-take exams).
- Practical assessment must be provided online in the form of videos. You will contact us for your random list of 12 exercises, then you will have 6 weeks to teach and then submit the videos of you performing the exercises for assessment.
- When the exams and practical assessment are passed you will then start your 9 week cause study to be submitted for assessment.
What You Get Upon Completion
On completion of the course you will be able to competently run Canine Fitness sessions for your clients. You may continue to stay in our Facebook Group for K9PT’s to ask for support when needed. You can choose to opt in and be listed in your area as a K9PT on our website if you wish for no fee so when people look for a professional on our website they will be able to find you!
We can also offer extra support and guidance in setting up your own business.
If you have any further questions on the course please email [email protected]
This course is non-refundable.
K9 PT Curriculum
- Proprioception
- Understanding a Muscle Contraction
- Muscle Fibers
- Live Teaching Session (52:21)
- Cellular Metabolism
- Conditioning and Training of Skeletal Muscle
- General Adaptation Syndrome
- Limb Movement and Ventilation
- Reversibility
- Origins & Insertion of Muscles
- Live Teaching (52:21)
- Tissue Response To Exercise Test
- Conditioning Needs
- The 5 Elements Of Canine Conditioning
- Canine Sports
- Training For Strength & Stamina
- Training Variables
- Conditioning Equipment & Form
- Exercise Difficulty
- Program Outcomes
- Puppies and Juvenile Dogs
- Conditioning Equipment Summary
- Warm Up & Cool Down
- Principles Of Conditioning Test
- Live Teaching - Working With New Clients (34:39)
- Conditioning Equipment
- Balance Pad
- Balance Disc
- Fitbone
- Rocker Board & Wobble Board
- Donut
- Peanut & Flexi-paws Cloud
- Klimb
- Proprioception Equipment & Cavaletti
- Obstacle Course
- Bank Of Exercises
- Book Your Practical Exercises Assessment
- Live Teaching - Assessing 1 (61:59)
- Live Teaching - Assessing 2 (57:59)
- Live Teaching - Assessing 3 (57:40)
- Live Teaching - Assessing 4 (72:28)