On March 2nd, the Department of Animal Science got to hold it's very first dog agility class in the Hansen arena. Sixteen dog/handler teams from the local community will be training for 6 weeks, assisted by animal science undergraduate students. Cheryl Morris is working with 24 undergraduate students who signed up for an Independent Study to learn about various dog training activities including agility training, service dog training and behavior modification.
Currently, 4 of the students are fostering service dogs in training, in collaboration with Retrieving Freedom. Three students are fostering shelter dogs from the Midlands Humane Society in Council Bluffs, needing behavior modification. We will have 3 more shelter dogs fostered in the next 2 weeks. The students that are not fostering dogs serve as assistants during the dog training classes.
2022 Iowa State Service Dog Team