Please Review all the Prep School
Information Below before registering
THERAPY DOG PREP SCHOOL
CLICK for the list of open Prep School terms.
If you’re interested in attending one of our Prep School terms, believe it or not our four 2025 terms are already full. However, the 2026 Prep School term registrations are open.
When you register for an available 2025-2026 term, we won’t charge you the fee until two months prior to the term start date. We’ll consider 2025-2026 registrants who meet ALL the following requirements to be on our Waitlist to fill 2025 cancellations:
- Complete a group obedience class
- Pass AKC’s Canine Good Citizen test
- Licensed with the County of San Diego
- Your dog will be at least 18 months old by the first Prep School class you attend
Available spaces will be filled in order of date registered. Be sure to click the Waitlist box when you register (located under your phone number). Thank you for your understanding—we hope you can join us!
PLEASE NOTE: This is a PREP SCHOOL ONLY—Pawsitive Teams does NOT include certification as part of the school.
We run our very popular, fun Therapy Dog Prep School four times a year. Each of the four sessions is made up of a series of six classes that includes activities to prepare both you and your dog for involvement as a therapy dog team. You also have the option of registering without a dog if you’d like to audit. Our Prep School is not designed to certify teams but rather to give both handler and dog the tools to become an effective therapy team and to be better prepared for tests conducted by the various programs. We spend time in each class to help you identify the best therapy program for your needs and interests, then we guide you through the process.
THE BASICS
WHEN: Classes are held on Tuesday nights from 7:00-8:30 p.m. for six consecutive weeks.
WHERE: Classes are held at our Training Center in the Miramar Area (7031 Carroll Road, San Diego, CA 92121) except for the 5th class which will be an off-site outing to either an assisted living facility or a children’s residential facility.
FOR YOUR ADVANCED PLANNING—REQUIRED VACCINES
All dogs attending Prep School must receive the vaccines listed below. Proof of vaccination must be submitted no more than thirty days prior to the first class.
Rabies
DHPP (Distemper/Hepatitis/Parainfluenza/Parvo)
Bordetella
Influenza Combo & Leptospirosis (strongly encouraged)
What does our Therapy Dog Prep School include?
- Instruction and practice with successful therapy dog commands and behaviors
- Discussion and practice of techniques for effective interaction between therapy dog and clients
- Discussion and practice in developing better observation skills to identify signs of stress in dogs
- Assistance in helping students identify the most appropriate therapy dog programs
- Role-playing opportunities with a variety of typical therapy dog settings
- An off-site outing to either an assisted living facility or a children’s residential facility during the 5th class to practice tools taught in the course
- Classes may be video taped.
- Students are given an opportunity to study videos at home for discussion in class.
DETAILS ABOUT
OUR PREP SCHOOL
Tuesday nights from 7:00-8:30 p.m. for six consecutive weekly meetings. Classes are held at our Training Center in the Miramar area except for the 5th class which will be an off-site outing to either an assisted living facility or a children’s residential facility.
In order to attend Week 5, participants must attend Week 4. If you cannot attend Week 4, or other classes in the term, please contact your instructor to make arrangements to complete Prep School during a future term.
Our Training Center in the Miramar area between I-805 and I-15, one mile north of Miramar Road.
Session size is limited so early registration is recommended. All registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Payment is required two months before the first class.
| Full Session Fee beginning 2025 (one dog per handler) | $270 |
| Audit a Session beginning 2025 (without a dog) | $100 |
OUR REFUND POLICY:
- A FULL REFUND will be issued if a dog or their handler is ill and cannot attend no matter when they drop.
- A FULL REFUND will be issued up to 14 days prior to the first class meeting.
- A 50% REFUND will be issued between 13 and 7 days before class.
- NO REFUND will be issued within 7 days of the first class meeting or if you start class and decide to drop for reasons other than medical/veterinary.
Dogs must be at least 18 months of age at start of the first class meeting. We have found in the past that the less mature dogs aren’t able to settle well during lectures.
As of January 2025, all dogs are required to complete at least one previous group training class such as Basic Obedience AND have passed the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test. Puppy socialization classes do not count towards this basic obedience requirement. It’s very important to the success of you and your dog as a team that your dog is well socialized and well behaved in our indoor group Prep School setting.
Students will be required to submit the following dog vaccine records during the registration process:
REQUIRED VACCINES
Rabies
DHPP (Distemper/Hepatitis/Parainfluenza/Parvo)
Bordetella
VACCINES STRONGLY ENCOURAGED
Influenza Combo
Leptospirosis
All fees will be used to subsidize the mission of Pawsitive Teams. Instructors are experienced therapy dog handlers and volunteer their time with Pawsitive Teams to teach in our Prep School.
Some students prefer to attend the session without a dog as there are a lot of benefits to observing other students without having to handle a dog.
During the online registration process, you’ll be able to indicate if you would like to be placed on the wait list for an earlier session. Space in each Prep School session is reserved on first-come-first-served basis, based on registration completion.
Completion of this session will not include certification as a therapy dog. This is a Prep School designed to get you ready for certification and to give you additional information about the various programs in the San Diego area that do certify for therapy dog volunteering.