I had heard from Paws & Effect from a client of mine, Max Garcia. He had explained to me about their work with service dogs, therapy dogs, and companion dogs. I was interested in their programs after I received my golden retriever puppy, and having him become a therapy dog. I reached out to Max with questions, and he directed me to Ashley Anderson with all of my questions.
In the fall of 2019, I signed up my golden retriever puppy for their puppy obedience class. I really enjoyed that the first session was solely with the owners, and not with the puppies. Ashley was completely transparent about what they would be teaching the puppies, and also implored that we continue the training between classes.
The puppy class was a blast! There were three other puppies in the class along with my golden retriever. Our class started with the basics, and Ashley took meticulous time with each owner and puppy to teach them. Ashley was very patient with each puppy, and gave thoughtful advice to the owners for them to apply them at home. Nearing the end of the classes, each puppy improved from the first session. There was even a short break for the puppies to play, and socialize with each other.
I had also continued taking a few classes from Paws & Effect. We signed up for Adult Manners II, and a nosework course. Ashley was our main trainer for these classes. If Ashley was going to be absent for the class, she would have a replacement to teach the course. If class needed to be canceled, Ashley was very prompt on notifying the participants. Very professional on her end.
The advanced classes were very challenging, but both myself and my dog learned so much. During one of the courses, I was going to be out of town, and I notified Ashley of my potential absence. She directed me to the syllabus, and said if I had any questions about the class I missed, to contact her. Luckily, I was able to make the class because I learn better with visual presentation.
Myself and my golden retriever have learned so much from the courses taken at Paws & Effect. Even though it has been over a year since our last course, we still implement and train what Paws & Effect has taught us. Due to Covid-19, we haven’t been able to certify my golden retriever as a therapy dog. However, Ashley always keeps me up to date with potential examination dates for certification.
The trainers at Paws & Effect truly care for each dog that walks into the door. Whether it be a service dog in training, therapy dog in training, or a companion dog, they build a relationship with each dog to get to know their personality and what they struggle with the most. They are throughout, and welcoming when we had behavioral questions about our dogs, and other inquiries.
I truly support the efforts of Paws & Effect and they do for service dogs in their care. The trainers have experience in dog behavior, communication, and general health. They truly care about dogs, and even more so, dogs in their programs. They are very professional, friendly, and transparent about their policies and syllabus. We still continue to implement the training techniques taught to us by the trainers, and hoping that when the virus is the thing of the past, I can certify my golden retriever as a therapy dog. That way, we can both help the community with what we learned!
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- EIN 20-5122966
- (515) 822-5285
- P.O. Box 41442 Des Moines IA 50311 USA
- www.paws-effect.org
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Nonprofit Overview
Causes: Animal Protection & Welfare, Animals
Mission: To raise, train and place dogs with disabled veterans and children. The majority of our recipients include children with autism and combat veterans with ptsd, tbi and mobility issues.
Target demographics: children and adults suffering from neurological disorders and veterans diagnosed with PTSD/TBI
Programs: • We raise, train and place service dogs for a variety of special health-care needs. • We provide registered Pet Partners, Instructors and Evaluators for animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapy. More than 60 volunteer Pet Partner teams work with children and adults at facilities throughout Iowa. Three such programs are: o Literacy programs featuring Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ), in partnership with the Des Moines Performing Arts Family Series events, schools and libraries across the state, and at Beaverdale Books. o Abilities Through Agility at ChildServe, a pediatric long-term care facility where children with special health-care needs take a trained dog through an agility course, thereby fostering their speech, occupational and physical therapy. o Visiting individuals who are hospitalized, in rehabilitative therapy, and in hospice. • We run dog-agility trials and are registered with NADAC (North American Dog Agility Council, Inc.)