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K9 MEDIC First Aid Basics

Course Overview

Audience

All Working K9 Handlers
This course covers the essentials every new handler needs to know and also serves as an important update/upgrade for experienced K9 Handlers. We've taught this course to 1000s of Working K9 Handlers and received positive feedback from every level of Handler.

Time Requirements

Required:
Approx 4 Hrs of Structured Learning

Recommended:
+ Discussions/Exercises

Technical Requirements

Required:
✅ PC or Mac Computer
✅ Speakers / Headphones

Recommended:
✅ Phone/Zoom for Round Table​

Learning Formats

Required:
✅ Video Training
✅ Interactive User Interface
✅ Interactive Moderated Forum

Recommended:
✅ Assigned Exercises with K9
✅ Live Round Table Discussions​

Certificate

All students who complete the required modules will receive a K9 MEDIC® Handler First Aid Basics Certificate

Ongoing Resources

As a K9 MEDIC Online Academy Student, you will have 12 months access to our student resource library with reference articles, downloadable forms, discussion groups, and other free tools.

Curriculum

Anatomy

Just enough to give you a good sense of what's underneath your hands when you are doing assessments. It's short and easy… we promise!

Handling and Restraints

How to NOT make things worse for you or your K9. We'll cover some good (and bad ways) to approach an injured K9, the principles of medical restraint, and the importance of Muzzle Safe? Muzzle Check.™

Assessments ("Dog Eyes/Dog Speak")

How to read your dog as well physiologically as you can already do from a scent and behavior perspective. And how to vitals assessments to prevent injuries and build relations. We'll make these tools "Field and Fido Friendly™", so they will actually serve you in the field. By the end of this unit you will understand what your dog's eXertion Curve look like, and how to help keep them in the safe zone.

Airway Hazards

When rewards become perilous: We'll cover #PlayItSSSSafe, the 4 SSSSSides of Safety to prevent airway hazards and also teach you a cool technique XXT™ eXternal eXtraction Technique, to remove the most perilous hazard of all…. A ball.

Bloat/GDV:

You've probably heard of Bloat/GDV, in this section you'll see an example, discuss what causes it, what might be done to prevent it, along with how to respond. And we'll make sure to unravel some of the many myths associated with this topic along the way.

Beating the Heat:

Performance,  Prevention, and Saving Lives: Since this is the leading cause of preventable death in Working K9s, we will be do a deep dive into understanding what happens, how to develop strategies to support the performance of your partner while protecting them from potential injuries (including hydration and work/rest cycles). Remember that eXertion Curve we mentioned in Dog/Eyes above, we'll be applying it here to give you a deeper awareness of how your partner is doing throughout their entire work cycle.