Level 1+2 Itinerary

Level 1 Logo
Level 2 Logo

At the Heart of Canine Aquatics
Combined Level One and Two

Important: this is a sample itinerary

A Training Program
Offered by Cindy Horsfall of La Paw Spa

Please also be aware that this itinerary is the intention of my class however, everything is subject to change as schedules come together; course content however will remain basically intact.

WEDNESDAY DAY 1

Arrive in Sequim, Washington and get yourself situated for the week. when we meet tonight, we’ll be going over some ideas for good places to shop, eat out and beaches to hang out on – so that you can create the week that is best for you.

Sequim Beach

Sequim is located between the majestic mountains and the salt water edges of our country; it’s a perfect location to ponder the bigger picture of your life. I urge you to take advantage, while you are here, of our vast horizons and allow yourself to let go all that concerns or thoughts that don’t serve you and open your heart and mind to the week to come.

7pm – We’ll meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim for our first night together

Cindy Horsfall
AppleMark

La Paw Spa
We’ll take a tour upon arrival of the pool, the set up, the building and the solutions that were found to create this spa setting. This is an opportunity for you to begin to plan your own pool space and start answering some of your personal questions about your set up at home.

I promise this to be an easy evening as some of you may be tired from the journey to class. We’ll talk briefly about water therapy, enjoy introductions, we’ll go over the itinerary for class and I will give you your notebooks so that you can begin to read up on this fascinating line of work and ponder just how it might fit into your perfect world.

We will also go over the maps of the area – favorite places to shop and eat so that you can make your plans on how you are going to take care of yourselves in class.

THURSDAY DAY 2

PACK: two sets of swim wear and a plastic bag to put it in after our day. A fleece cover-up if you have one for when you are wet but outside the pool. Wear comfy working layers. Easy on and off shoes. Bring your notebook!

9am – We’ll meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim

We will go over the course materials and outline. We will cover some basics about canine therapy and meet Stuffie – our demo dog. We will begin to explore the deeper definition of CANINE WATER THERAPY.

This morning we will go over a standard recipe for the work, clarify some of the massage holds and moves and then get into the pool together and practicing some footwork. You will need to learn to move with a lower center of gravity in the pool – so that you will feel more grounded and secure in the pool. We’ll get a chance to work with buoyancy, water movement and moving with intention.

This is an important first step in our journey to be the best we can be in the world of canine aquatics – as when we get that 240 lb. Bull Mastiff in our arms, we’ll need to have a grounded stance in order to be the stable ‘island’ that this dog (and his person) will need.

11:00 am – we’ll be joined by professors ANI and MAGOO

Ani and Magoo

Ani and Magoo are 2 wonderful teachers who will teach each one of you the basic positions of this work.

BREAK FOR LUNCH FROM 1230pm-230pm

2:30 pm – Meet back at LA PAW SPA

Koko

We will enjoy a selection of dogs this afternoon who will be teaching us how to use a pool this size, the steps and the benches – we’ll talk about massage techniques and holds. We have an easy line up so that you can all get used to applying the techniques we learned yesterday in water.

We will end this fun day with a short talk on orthopedics and injuries that we often see in our clients and begin to explore the various ways to support our clients via mobility aides and common protocols for water therapy.

Mobility Aids

We’ll be all wrapped up by 7:00 pm – have a wonderful evening.

FRIDAY – DAY 3

PACK: two sets of swim wear and a plastic bag to put it in after our day. A fleece cover-up if you have one for when you are wet but outside the pool. Wear comfy working layers. Easy on and off shoes.

9:00 am – We’ll meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim

9am – 12:30pm: We will begin to work with harder dogs and explore how different injuries look in water and some of the ways we handle our sessions.

BREAK FOR LUNCH FROM 12:30pm-2:30pm

2:30 pm – Meet back at LA PAW SPA

This afternoon we will enjoy a selection of harder dogs and also do some shared sessions with clients so that you can get a sense of putting this all together into a session.

Dogs in the pool

We’ll be all wrapped up by 7:00 pm – have a wonderful evening.

SATURDAY – DAY 4

10am – Meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim

Law SPa in Sequim

Arrive in your slippers and your pajamas.

10:00 AM – 1:00 PM – Enjoy a wonderful morning with our intuitive friend – Marie-Claire. She will spend a few hours with us and we’ll begin to explore an introduction to animal communication and intuition – a step toward becoming more sensitive to feeling and hearing the whole picture.

Matie CLaire Dog

The fastest way to happiness and peace is the absolute acceptance of WHO YOU ARE right in this moment. The nature of humanness is divinity. This is evident in many of the daily “miracles” of our existence: our body, the seasons, the supreme organization of the universe. We know this in our cells, our bones. There is a deep resonance to the truth that we are all connected, that divinity expresses Itself as us, exactly as we are in this moment; right now, and now, and now. – Marie Claire

There may be things that come up for you in class – obstacles or questions in your personal life that you feel you need addressed. Although sharing these things in class may be appropriate, we will need to be careful not to let these things interfere. If you feel things need to be addressed, Marie Claire has offered her services to you (for a fee) – she can meet with you on an emergency basis if needed and will also be available via the telephone. She will also be there for you – if needed – after you get home she is a gifted facilitator for change and a wonderful life coach.

Marie Claire is available for private sessions and can be reached at: 360.681.4411

ENDING AT 1pm (ish).. Enjoy your day off .

Sunday – DAY 5

I will have directions for you all (each of you bring a couple of towels, a snuggley robe, easy on/off shoes, a big water bottle to drink and a bunch of snacks). Plan on about a 75 minute drive (one way) to the watsu pool on Bainbridge Island. Please car pool and be drive carefully.

Plan to be at the pool after lunch at 1pm for a great class with TOM COBIAN.

THE PRINCIPLES OF WATSU from 1:00pm – 7:00pm.

WATSU has been pivitol to my understanding of the power of water and I am excited to share this with you. This will be an exploration of water movement and how this work feels to your own body. We will cover foot work, proper body mechanics and buoyancy. Focus will be on increasing our stability in water and lowering our center of gravity. We will practice floating each other and explore the various ways to move in water while carrying weight in our arms. This will be a profound part of our time together and you will begin to embrace the full picture of water therapy.

After this class ends around 7pm – you will enjoy a break where you can eat the picnic dinner you brought with you (or order a pizza!) – after which, you will each get a chance to re-enter the pool and receive a short introductory WATSU session (about half hour each) noting first hand how movement in water is translated and felt in your own body. After you have received a WATSU, you will understand more fully the power of water the next time you get that pup in your arms.

ENDING AT 900pm (ish) – Drive carefully home.

MONDAY AND TUESDAY – Days 6 and 7

Monday you have the whole day off and Tuesday morning you will have off as well (until 1:00 pm.). I urge you to take this time to think about your unique gifts to this world and to this work – and how you see your contribution in this world. Seek the wild coast lines and gaze out at the vast horizons as you embrace this bigger picture – the Peninsula is a perfect place for this kind of soul search…

We have explored the bigger picture of canine water therapy, by now you can see that while it includes tennis balls and happy Labradors, it is also much much more than this.

You have met with Marie-Claire and tapped into your intuitive knowing self and you have also explored the more profound aspects of water first hand with Tom Cobian.

Putting this all together – – before we move into level two – – please take these 2 days to imagine what your life would look like in a perfect world; what gifts are yours to share and how do you see your practice in this wonderful world of alternative health care.

TUESDAY – DAY 7

1 PM – meet back up at La Paw Spa for a fun afternoon with Cindy Ericksen for a fun class in anatomy, massage and working therapy notes – just a brief introduction of these subjects. You will be all wrapped up by 5PM so you have time to enjoy an early evening out and rest up before our final three intensive days to follow.

WEDNESDAY – DAY 8

PACK: ONE sets of swim wear and a plastic bag to put it in after our day. A fleece cover-up if you have one for when you are wet but outside the pool. Wear comfy working layers. Easy on and off shoes. Bring your notebook.

9:00 am – We’ll meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim

Welcome back to the second part of our class together!

We will be seeing more difficult dogs during these next 3 days together and will begin to talk about treatment work and diagnostic skills. You will be doing your own private sessions, including the paperwork and file maintenance. A large part of Level Two Training is building your intuition skills. When we receive a dog for water therapy, there are many options to consider when thinking of a treatment plan or how to handle the session. Does this dog need swimming? Massage? Is this case more about the person on deck? Do they just need us to listen and help hold the space? This is when we need to often toss out the recipe and instead flow with the facts as they present themselves so this class will begin to ignite your intuition.

koko

Additionally – and along the same lines as intuition, we will begin to explore YOUR unique gifts to the work. The key with heart centered work like this is to do what resonates with your soul – to market what you do best and to create a business where your service is congruent with your true self. You will be most successful if you honestly assess your own unique gifts to the work and then create a service and a business in line with this higher calling. This is where you will be the happiest and most effective. So take this time to seek out the vast horizons and fresh air that the Olympic Peninsula is famous for and explore deeply within yourself – what makes you tick – what do you love. What kind of dogs do you want to come and see you? What kind of people do you envision supporting you? This is your life and before you can create it – you first need to identify what it is you want.

After catching back up with each other, we’ll be joined this morning by Laurence

10:00am-1:00pm – THE TAO OF LISTENING with Laurence Cole

Laurence has been a listening and communications coach for years and will be sharing with us a class that you will put to use every day. Being an active listener can be the key to your successful business. We’ll be doing listening skits tomorrow and also get a chance to practice these skills during this week.

I have seen very talented therapists fail in their business because of a lack of listening skills. A common mistake is that we’re so eager to help – and so we listen with our answers running or eagerly jump in with solutions to our client’s problems before they are ready to hear them.

We are striving to be the best we can be and to create an atmosphere so that healing can truly occur. We will be improving our techniques with dogs this week but the other half of the picture is that person who is on the other end of the leash – and they need to also feel inspired, renewed and motivated to continue to do their part in helping the canine friend.

BREAK FOR LUNCH FROM 1:00-2:30pm

2:30 pm – Meet back at LA PAW SPA

sheepish

Moving into harder and harder dogs today, learning new techniques and going deeper into the work. Today we’ll also do some shared first time clients and begin to explore the challenges of the first time dog and the first time person.

Eek

EEK!

We’ll be all wrapped up by 7:00 pm – have a wonderful evening.

THURSDAY – DAY 9

9:00 am – We’ll meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim

This morning, you will be partnering up with one of your colleagues as you provide a first time session. There will be 2 dogs in the water from the same family so that all 4 students can work together in 2 pairs. We will have 3 of these sessions in this morning session. There will be a file provided on each dog so that you can be prepared. Together you can practice educating your clients and providing a safe session to their dog.

BREAK FOR LUNCH FROM 12:30 – 2:30pm

2:30 pm – Meet back at LA PAW SPA

It is time for your first round of PRIVATE SESSIONS!

The LA PAW SPA facility is perfect for this experience as you will be meeting your client in the front room – offering them a drink and going over their file. When its time and the prior client (and student) is out of the pool – you will bring your client up to the pool and continue into your water work. When you feel your session is complete, you will move down into the transition drying room and complete your experience.

Once you are through, there will be ample time to do your client files which we’ll review later.

We’ll Enjoy 4 private sessions this afternoon and be all wrapped up by 7:00pm – have a wonderful evening and read up on your dogs for tomorrow

FRIDAY – DAY 10

9:00 am – We’ll meet up at LA PAW SPA in Sequim

We will have 2 sets of private session work for you to do today – you will have been given your files for your client the night prior. You will have read up and you will know a lot about your new clients today. This morning we’ll have 4 privates again – 45 minutes each session so they are a bit shorter than yesterday. Here is another chance to practice again the steps of a first time session. (you’ll thank me later).

BREAK FOR LUNCH FROM 12:30 – 2:30pm

2:30 pm – Meet back at LA PAW SPA –

This will be our last afternoon together and we’ll have our last 4 private sessions.

Our water work will end at 630pm. Be sure to fill out your S.O.A.P. Notes on your dogs and bring your files to dinner – – – –

630pm DINNER AT THE SPA!

We’ll enjoy a final meal together and each get a chance to share our plans from this point – the gifts and strengths we’ve each discovered in ourselves and what we each envision our businesses to look like. We have explored many aspects of ourselves and this work together – so we’ll wrap up this evening with a short speech from each of you. Stand up and share your vision of how you will bring your work forth to the world. We’ll let this evening flow, covering answers any dangling questions and enjoying our final time together.

As a graduate of Level Two, You will be able to enjoy this LOGO in your advertising.

GRADUATES OF LA PAW SPA’s
ACADEMY OF CANINE AQUATICS – LEVEL TWO

Heart 2 Heart - Level 2

Please also remember that I am committed to you and your adventures in this line of service. please don’t hesitate to email me with questions as you venture down your own unique path.

It has been an honor to work with you.