Training Wheels® Take a virtual ride!         View the APDT Article (Adobe pdf)         Urban Solutions

Training Wheels® is a national mobile outreach program which takes shelter services to the people instead of waiting for the people to come to the shelter. Training Wheels® is changing the face of sheltering in this country.

Training Wheels® brings shelter workers, dog trainers and volunteers into the community helping to keep people and pets in safe and rewarding relationships.

Instead of waiting for people to need the shelter, often at the end of the relationship with their pet, Training Wheels® takes the shelter out into the community to respond to the needs (be it educational, basic care, or financial) of the pet owners in a proactive and non-punitive way. Often people who most need help with their pets are least able to access and afford that help. Through the various Training Wheels® programs, pet owners are often able to keep their pets and avoid having to relinquish them.

HOW TRAINING WHEELS® WORKS:

• It brings the shelter directly to the community in a positive way

• Pet owners see the shelter as a resource for helping them keep their pets rather than as a last resort for surrendering their pets when all else fails

• It unites shelter personnel, dog trainers, and pet owners in a common goal

• It prevents overpopulation by making sterilization possible in neighborhoods in which spaying and neutering is not accessible

• It focuses on treating people and pets with respect and kindness by sharing advice and information in a compassionate way

• It works under the premise that it is the role of the shelter to help achieve a more humane community, and sometimes that means offering neighbors financial assistance during hard times or unexpected veterinary expenses

• It maintains, as its goal, assisting community members in any way to help them keep their pets and not reach the point where relinquishment becomes necessary

Through various humane education programs, Training Wheels® fosters humane communities and public safety by teaching safe and humane interactions between people and animals.

Training Wheels® has programs especially geared for both urban and rural communities.

For some examples of what a real Training Wheels® outing is like, please visit the following links

• Animal Sheltering Magazine

• Dog Fancy

Check out the details of the application process for becoming Training Wheels® certified.