Defence Families Program

Happy Paws Happy Hearts (HPHH) is excited to offer the Defence Families Program in partnership with RSL Queensland, to families of current and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members.

Families joining this unique 10-week group program will learn animal training skills while working with the shelter animals at the RSPCA.

Along the way, families build strategies for better communication and cohesion and engage with other participants and the broader community.

 

Who is the program for?

This program is available to families of currently serving or ex-serving Australian Defence Forces members (minimum of one day of service).

Families may attend with or without the serving or ex-serving family member in attendance based on availability and family needs.

 

What can you expect to learn from Defence Families Program?

  1. Basic Principles

    • Understanding animal body language, stress and arousal management, and the importance of building a relationship before building a behaviour

    • Creating positive associations and using reward markers

  2. Training Tools of Shaping/Capturing and Lure & Reward

    • How to teach an animal to read your mind by shaping and capturing

    • Using lure and reward training to teach sit, down, and stand

  3. Creating Calm

    • Using Shaping, Capturing, and Lure & Reward training to create calm spaces with mat and crate training

    • Empowering agency through the touch and chin rest behaviours

  4. Calm, Close, and Focus On Me

    • Changing on-leash associations to mean be calm, be close, and focus on me

    • Self-regulation with ‘zoom’ and ‘chill’

  5. The Journey of A Thousand Walks Begins With One Step

    • One step leash skills game

  6. Putting It Together

    • Using what we have learned to build on family chosen behaviour challenge

Working in partnership with Happy Paws Happy Hearts to offer the Defence Families Program