Dog Walking Class for Volunteers

On the second Saturday of every month, CDHS holds a volunteer dog walker's class designed to introduce our volunteers to the proper way of handling and walking the shelter dogs.  This one-hour session is free and is required for any volunteer who wants to walk dogs at CDHS or at CDHS events.

Owner of Positive Motivational Obedience, Betsy Hamkens, originated the class at CDHS and continues to be a volunteer trainer, along with Colleen Garland and Marj Smith.  They introduce the volunteers to things like the proper way to get a dog in and out of his kennel, the correct way to take a dog in and out of the building and past other dogs and walkers, how to use positive praise, what commands to use and what tone of voice to speak in, the proper types of leashes and collars to use on the dogs, winter and summer safety, and age requirements for volunteers.

"The class is very helpful in making sure that our volunteers and our dogs are safe," said Garland.  "Many people comment that they feel more comfortable and confident handling the dogs after they go through the session."

Besides safety, another reason that everyone needs to attend the class is to make sure that the dogs are given commands and handled in a consistent manner, no matter who is walking them.  "It's pretty important that we are all on the same page," Garland said.  "Our goal is to be consistent with commands and treatment of the dogs.  This makes things less confusing for the dogs and they learn more quickly how to behave.  And, hopefully, their good behavior makes them a more adoptable animal."

Dog walker's classes are scheduled for the second Saturday of each month at 1:30 p.m. in the lobby of the CDHS dog building.  If you walk dogs at the shelter or would like to volunteer to do so, we encourage you to contact us and sign up for this informative session.