The Purpose

To provide the knowledge and understanding of how animals learn, animal behavior, and how fear can lead to aggression. Through our educational courses, individuals and facilities will develop the skills necessary to transform how animals in their care are handled and in turn create a low stress work environment.

Establish safety and trust with your patients.

A low stress working environment starts from the top down. As a veterinarian you are modeling the skills necessary to protect your staff and create a stress free experience for the animals in your care.

Showing that you are Low Stress Handling® Silver Certified sets a tone of caring and understanding for the veterinary technicians and staff in your clinic or hospital. The certification shows your clients that you are serious about their animal’s well-being, while establishing a sense of trust and confidence in the pet as well. Making sure your facility is equipped with the knowledge and skills can make all the difference in retaining customers.

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Low Stress Handling® covers every circumstance you need it to

The Low Stress Handling® training techniques can be used both inside and outside your home. Learning how to reward and reinforce behaviors correctly will improve the communication between you and your dog.

Seeing the Low Stress Handling® Silver Certified logo in a facility means that you can trust the veterinary professionals inside to create a pleasant and low stress environment for your pet. These veterinary professionals are so dedicated to your animal’s care, that in addition to their schooling, they went through a twenty hour training in order to learn the proper handling techniques and awareness of body language. You know when you see that logo, that your pet will be treated like you’d want them to be treated.

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Prepare the animals in your care for success.

Knowing proper walking techniques, training tools, and counterconditioning can help you, the shelter worker, prepare the animals in your care for adoption.

Being a Low Stress Handling® Silver Certified shelter sets you apart from the others. The knowledge and skills you demonstrate with the animals in your care prepares them for a happier, healthier, and well adjusted home.

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Build a better connection between animals and their owners.

As a pet professional, you educate pet owners on proper timing and training techniques to help build the bridge between animals and humans.

Being Low Stress Handling® Silver Certified means that you have the skills to make the most impact. Some of the topics covered are how to reduce fear and anxiety, effective counterconditioning techniques, and practical learning techniques.

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Building a foundation for a better career.

Starting your career with the best information under your belt prepares you for a successful future in a clinic, hospital, or other veterinary facility.

Knowing what body language to look out for, and when to use specific holds, can make all the difference in your first stressful experience. Our twenty RACE certified continuing education credits will impress any potential employers.

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Sophia Yin's Ten Principles of Handling

The fundamentals of Low Stress Handling®

Principle 1

Start with a comfortable environment.

Principle 2

Keep the animal from pacing, moving nervously or excitedly, squirming, or suddenly trying to escape.

Principle 3

Support the animal well by having your hands, arms and body positioned appropriately. The pet should not feel as if he will fall or is off balance.

Principle 4

Be aware that physically positioning animals or asking them to perform behaviors when they are nervous, scared or confused can cause them to resist handling. Thus, when they act confused or scared, it's important to move deliberately and slowly to avoid a reflex resistance or escape behavior.

Principle 5

Know how to place your hands and body to control movement in any direction.

Principle 6

Wait until the pet is relaxed before starting a procedure.

Principle 7

Use the minimum restraint needed for the individual.

Principle 8

Avoid prolonged (more than 2 seconds) or repeated fighting or struggling.

Principle 9

Use distractions and rewards when appropriate.

Principle 10

Adjust your handling based on the animal and his response to restraint and learn to adjust your sample-taking technique.

Enroll in the Low Stress Handling® Silver Certification Course

This RACE, IAABC and CCPDT approved certification will improve the quality of care in your facility, decrease bites, and create a Low Stress work environment. This 20 hour course, with no recertification requirements, costs $343. Group discounts are available if enrolling multiple learners.

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Browse Individual Courses

Don't have the time to take the 20 hour Low Stress Handling® Silver Certification course? We offer RACE certified individual courses too.

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Are you part of Facility (Hospital/Clinic/Practice/Shelter) or Pet Care Business Certification?

Learn more about Facility Certification

Testimonials

From the Pens of Past Students

I’m very happy I decided to take this Low Stress Handling® Silver Certification program. I learned so much about handling animals and gained confidence in my ability to interact with animals in a positive way.

Cheyenne Knight, University of Saskatchewan,

Western College of Veterinary Medicine

Excellent quality learning made readily available to anyone with access to the internet. This allows a much wider reach to folks who otherwise may be geographically isolated. The video quality was great, the format thoughtfully laid out to maximize learning. Seeing the student’s common mistakes helped cement the learning (and hopefully minimize the likelihood of making those same errors). Dr. Yin has a lovely manner on video.

Karen Ward, DVM, Director of Shelter Medicine,

Toronto Humane Society

Everyone who works in a veterinary hospital or shelter should be exposed to this training.

Laurie Lobdell, Director & BAS, CVT, Parkland College,

Veterinary Technology Program

This program is amazing! Dr. Yin truly is a master at her craft and has such an easy way of explaining the skills so everyone can be successful. I’ve been involved in training and behavior for ten years and learn so many more techniques for explaining skills and analogies to use to help clients truly understand.

Meagan Montmeny, ABCDT, CPDT-KA, Behavior & Training Department Manager,

SPCA Tampa Bay

I liked the videos that would explain the technique and have subtitles that summarize each technique after Dr. Yin would talk about it. The best part of the program was learning the concept behind the techniques then implementing these concepts in each demonstration.

Taylor Chan, University of California at Davis,

College of Veterinary Medicine

This course gave me the confidence in performing low-stress handling techniques and the ability to explain why they work better.

Amy S.,

LSHC-S 10/26/2019