CPT Debuts Two New Programs

June 1, 2004

Comprehensive Pet Therapy, Inc., (CPT) Atlanta’s most respected pet training company, is announcing the debut of two new programs: 1) An off-leash puppy program and 2) An innovative canine aggression-reduction program.

The Off Leash Puppy Program is a novel group class exclusive to puppies 8 through 18 weeks of age. The puppies will learn socialization skills with people and dogs, bite inhibition, attention to their owners amidst distractions, and imprint obedience. The class will be taught one hundred percent positively with no force, no punishment, and no leashes. The class consists of two one-hour meetings over consecutive weeks and costs $50 per two-week session. Customers are encouraged to re-enroll their dogs until their pet exceeds the 18-week maximum age limit.

According to the Center for Disease Control, dogs bite approximately 4.7 million people annually in the USA. 800,000 of the bites required medical attention of which 334,000 prompted a visit to a hospital emergency room. The Insurance Information Institute estimates that dog bites cost society over $1 billon each year. Homeowner claims arising from dog bite injuries exceed $310 million annually. Almost one in three homeowner insurance claims involves a dog bite incident.

CPT designed the Off Leash Puppy Program to prevent puppies from developing into aggressive adult dogs. Early socialization, bite inhibition training, and proper owner management skills can dramatically reduce the frequency and extent of injuries Americans suffer at the mouths of dogs. CPT’s Off Leash Puppy Program will develop model canine citizens who are safer and happier as a result of outstanding foundation training. Similarly, the program will create happier owners who derive greater joy from their pets.

CPT’s Growl Class is an improved approach to canine aggression-reduction training. Many dogs demonstrating aggression toward people or fellow species members can be rehabilitated. Canine behavioral research has found that cognitive techniques emphasizing the processes of counterconditioning and desensitization are often very effective in reducing the frequency and severity of aggressive episodes, if not extinguishing irrational aggression altogether. Moreover, the counterconditioning methodologies, which are very similar to how human mental health professionals incorporate behavior modification to treat phobic or anxious patients, are far more effective than the older force methods traditionally used in the pet training industry.

The Growl Class begins with private training on dominance revision and counterconditioning preparatory exercises. The owners and dogs then meet in a group class with other students sharing an aggression problem. The unique controlled group situation presents willing human and canine volunteers to provide the student dog ample beneficial exposures while presenting a supervised and safe environment. Consequently, the Growl Class enables CPT to more rapidly and more effectively reduce canine aggressive behavior.

Prior to the Growl Class Program, aggression reduction students were often frustrated by their inability to locate volunteers necessary to complete homework exercises. Liability issues as well as difficulty in convincing third party people to participate in drills that posed potential risk frequently frustrated owners and precluded them from providing their dog repetitions imperative in advancing the desensitization process, especially when distances between the dog and volunteer gradually became closer. The Growl Class enables CPT to provide properly trained and prepared volunteers and to diligently supervise customer progress. At proximal distances, to provide safety during contact-stage exercises, class dogs will wear a special muzzle that allows the delivery of food treats while concurrently preventing biting. Now, CPT can safely, successfully, and economically assist owners through all stages of the aggression reduction process. The Growl Class will function for both aggression to humans and aggression to dogs. CPT will divide student dogs into separate groups based on the origin and type of aggression.

Since its inception in 1992, CPT has trained the dogs of over 30,000 Atlanta area customers. CPT offers group classes at six locations, in-home private lessons throughout the Atlanta metro area, and a unique board training program at 8 locations where customer dogs reside at a trainer’s home as opposed to a kennel. CPT Head Trainers have placed in national competitions, won regional titles, achieved over 150 first place competition finishes, handled dogs in movies, and appeared as behavioral experts on television news shows.

For more information, please contact Mark Spivak by phone (770-396-6433).