{"id":10141,"date":"2023-10-16T09:54:40","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T14:54:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=10141"},"modified":"2023-10-16T09:54:40","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T14:54:40","slug":"uw-river-falls-students-begin-training-assistance-dogs","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/uw-river-falls-students-begin-training-assistance-dogs\/","title":{"rendered":"UW-River Falls students begin training assistance dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>
UW-River Falls student Grace Johnson shows Copper, a dog she will help train to be an assistance animal, her open hand after feeding him a treat after Copper and other dogs were dropped off at UWRF Sept. 14. Johnson is one of 21 students who will work with 10 assistance dogs on campus as part of the new Falcon FETCH (Fostering Education Through Campus Hosting) program. UWRF photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Program involves living with, caring for canines on campus<\/h2>\n
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The 21 University of Wisconsin-River Falls students gathered outside the Lydecker Living Learning Center on Sept. 14 come from different places and have diverse future plans. They had gathered because of one commonality: their affinity for dogs.<\/p>\n

In fact, these students like dogs so much that they\u2019re willing to live with the animals day and night for this academic year, part of a new program at UW-River Falls where students train their four-legged friends as assistance dogs that will later be paired with people who need them to help overcome disabilities or health issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as I heard this was available, I was going to do it,\u201d Grace Johnson, a junior from New Richmond majoring in animal science-companion animal management, said of participating in the Falcon FETCH (Fostering Education Through Campus Hosting) program that began at UWRF this semester. \u201cWhen it comes to dogs, I like everything about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Students like Johnson are participating in Falcon FETCH, a partnership between UW-River Falls and Can Do Canines, an assistance dog training organization based in New Hope, Minn. Chris Hergenrader, assistant professor of animal science who oversees Falcon FETCH, reached out to Can Do Canines about a year ago to see if creating an assistance dog training program on campus through them was possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe driving force was to continue to develop the companion animal program and offer students hands-on experience while participating with a partner who makes a huge difference in the community,\u201d Hergenrader said of starting the program.<\/p>\n

Students won\u2019t just be training dogs but will be learning from them as well. Student teams of two are paired with one dog which they will live with and care for on campus.<\/p>\n

Students will stay with their dogs in Stratton Hall, with much of the training taking place at the Lydecker Living Learning Center. The dogs will spend this semester or longer at UWRF, then undergo more training through Can Do Canines before they are paired with a person in need of assistance.<\/p>\n

Other universities, such as the University of Minnesota, partner dogs with students to provide service dog training, but few have incorporated that effort into a living and learning community with courses focused on service dog training as will be the case at UWRF, Hergenrader said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important that our students are able to have the opportunity to apply what they learn through opportunities such as this,\u201d he said. \u201cIt takes the students’ learning to an entirely different level.\u201d<\/p>\n

UW-River Falls started a separate service dog training program in 2016 called Assistance Dog Education Program and Training (ADEPT). That program was in conjunction with the Minnesota-based nonprofit Pawsitive Perspectives Assistance Dogs (PawPADs), but it is no longer affiliated with UWRF.<\/p>\n

Love of dogs<\/h3>\n

Students\u2019 love of dogs was evident as they were paired with the animals they will help train and care for. Bella Saxton-Jenson and Jessica Keller, sophomores who are animal science-companion animal management majors, played with Pretzel, a female 15-month-old black Labrador who they will care for and train.<\/p>\n

Saxton-Jenson, from Elk Mound, and Keller, from Waukesha, acknowledged that caring for Pretzel day and night will prove challenging at times. But knowing that Pretzel will one day help someone in need of assistance makes the commitment worth the work, they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven on our hard days, it\u2019s going to be worth it when you realize you\u2019re training a dog that is going to be helping people who really need it,\u201d Keller said.<\/p>\n

Nearby, sophomores Chesney Eschbach, of Decatur, Ill., majoring in animal science-companion animal management, and Erika Richtsmeier, of Lino Lakes, Minn., majoring in social work, worked with their two-year-old golden Labrador, Copper. Along with their love of dogs, they said they\u2019re motivated to be part of Falcon FETCH because of the opportunity to train dogs to help others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s amazing the ways that these dogs can help people,\u201d Richtsmeier said, \u201cand I want to be a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eschbach came to UW-River Falls specifically because of Falcon FETCH. Last year she attended junior college in Illinois and came across a story about the dog-training program set to begin at UWRF. She messaged Hergenrader, who told her there was just one spot open for the course this fall. Eschbach took it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just decided I want to be a part of this,\u201d she said. \u201cIt seems like the right fit for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just the assistance dogs who will benefit from Falcon FETCH, Saxton-Jenson said. Students like her who will work with the animals will gain from the experience, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDogs can really help with mental health,\u201d she said. \u201cWho can be upset or sad when you\u2019re around a dog? They care about you no matter what. Even on your down days, they give you a reason to keep going.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Doing a good thing\u2019<\/h3>\n

Emily Hedenland, lead program trainer for Can Do Canines, said students and others who train assistance dogs are motivated by a desire to help the people. Trained assistance dogs can help with a variety of tasks, ranging from helping function with mobility issues to monitoring low blood sugar levels.<\/p>\n

Students benefit from their companionship with the dogs they\u2019re training, Hedenland said, noting the animals \u201cseem to have some mental health benefits for students.\u201d Students also gain valuable experience that will help them land jobs in the animal science world, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis experience is really something that will set these students apart on a resume,\u201d Hedenland said.<\/p>\n

Johnson said she hopes to work one day as a dog trainer. While helping care for a dog in addition to attending classes could prove challenging, she said the way the program is organized will help students and their dogs succeed. She sees Falcon FETCH as \u201can amazing opportunity\u201d for her and other participants to gain valuable experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes me feel proud to be a part of this,\u201d Johnson said, \u201clike I\u2019m doing a good thing by helping other people succeed in life by training these dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Written by UW-River Falls<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwrf.edu\/News\/Students-begin-training-assistance-dogs.cfm<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Program involves living with, caring for canines on campus The 21 University of Wisconsin-River Falls students gathered outside the Lydecker Living Learning Center on Sept. 14 come from different places and have diverse future plans. They had gathered because of one commonality: their affinity for dogs. In fact, these students like dogs so much that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":10143,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[100],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-10141","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-river-falls"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/10141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10141"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=10141"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=10141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}