Healing Paws: A special kind of listening.
Healing Paws classes are provided quarterly.
For information see below, and visit the Current Classes page
Christi Dudzik brings 30+ years of experience to teaching therapy team (handler-animal) classes, developing and supporting health care therapy team programs, working with individuals experiencing dog fear, and public speaking.
Therapy team classes are for volunteers wishing to visit in medical, educational, and other settings, and for health care professionals wishing to incorporate their animals into their work.
Christi develops and supports therapy team programs in medical facilities. These carefully customized visiting therapy team programs include best practices, infection control, risk management, and therapy team and staff education.
When working with individuals experiencing dog fear, the focus is on decreasing anxiety and increasing the overall feeling of safety when in the presence of dogs.
Christi enjoys speaking at the local and national level on therapy animal welfare, the integration of therapy handler-animal teams in a variety of settings, and the many benefits of Animal-Assisted Interactions. Clockwise: Paddy - Darby - Viggo
She also enjoys working with international groups interested in learning about and observing best practices of therapy work.
EMPLOYEE DOGS IN THE WORKPLACE
Healing Paws assists companies and organizations wanting to allow employees to bring their dogs with them to work. There are companies that take on this challenge in clear and intentional ways – which is Healing Paws’ approach. “Willy-nilly” is not recommended.
A structured approach for an employee dog plan must always place the highest priority on the dog’s welfare. It should also consider needs of all employees – those with allergies, dog fear or even different cultural backgrounds.
Gel.Pet.Gel. The next best thing to soap and water!
Therapy Animal Infection Prevention - The pin promotes infection prevention by serving as a visual cue, encouraging hand cleaning before and after interacting with therapy animals. To get your GEL.PET.GEL. pins, please click below!
Please be sure any hand sanitizer you use does NOT contain methanol. See the GEL.PET.GEL. page for more information as to the danger of methanol.
Handler-Animal Class Schedules
RELATIONSHIP DEVELOPMENT/THERAPY ANIMAL SKILLS CLASS
Winter 2025 Class Registration open - seating limited
6 class series, 1.5 hours/class
Dates: January 16, 23, 30, February 6, 13, 20, 2025 Deadline for Registration: Jan. 13, 5:00 pm
Time: 5:00-6:30 pm
ENHANCING THE THERAPY TEAM EXPERIENCE
Winter 2025 Registration open - seating limited
If you have been a Reading with Rover team for a minimum of 6 months
and are seeking the medical badge, you and your pup must attend both days of this training.
Teams from all therapy team organizations are welcome!
Day 1, February 22- Handler and animal - reading your animal, handling skills, boundary setting
Day 2, February 23 - Handler and animal - practicing visiting scenarios
Time: 10 am - noon, both days
CLASSES - Volunteers and Professionals
Classes focus on training volunteers and professionals to become therapy teams with their animals and to strengthen the overall relationship. These classes provide you, the handler, the opportunity to become a proactive and supportive teammate so that you and your animal are successful, both in your lives together, and in therapy work.
WORKSHOPS - Professionals
Workshops are offered for professionals wishing to incorporate their registered therapy animal into their practice. The specifics of intentionally working with (not "using") the therapy animal, in client or patient sessions, is the focus of these workshops. The handler learns to shift their mindset from simply “taking my pet to work for people to pat and feel better” to your pet becoming your “4-legged associate” when you are working together.
THERAPY SERVICES - Health Care Facilities, Individuals, Companies and Organizations allowing Employee Dogs
Services are provided to health care facilities, individuals, and to companies and organizations wanting to allow employee dogs at work. These Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) services are conducted by master-level, licensed mental health counselor working within the boundaries of their professional degree and with 3+ decades of experience working with therapy dogs in health care and educational settings..
The professional works with their registered therapy animal, focusing on the client, patient, or company’s specific needs.
Healing Paws assists facilities in developing and maintaining therapy animal programs, customized to meet the facility’s needs. Healing Paws also consults with established facility programs with the focus being to maintain program integrity.
INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING FEAR OF DOGS
Healing Paws works in private practice with individuals who have developed cynophobia (fear of dogs). We work with children, starting at age 10, to adults, to assist in overcoming their fear of dogs. We employ a systematic, educational, and exposure approach, customized to the needs of the individual. Sessions are in person or on Zoom, depending on the individual’s location.
We also provide groups for company and organization employees who are fearful of dogs and want to be less so.
ANIMAL ASSISTED INTERACTION (AAI) SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
At local and national health care and education conferences, Healing Paws educates participants on therapy team relationship development, therapy animal welfare, the importance of therapy team training, and the benefits of Animal Assisted Interactions (AAI). Healing Paws also works with international students interested in therapy team best practices for visiting and ways to incorporate therapy animals when working with others.