When A Program Goes To The Dogs

Dr. Ken Huey ,PhD, the CEO and founder of Change Academy Lake of the Ozarks (CALO) spoke with Lon Woodbury today on Parent Choices for Struggling Teens, on how the use of Golden Retrievers as canine therapy dogs at their program are creating an impact on teens struggling with a history of severe trauma and attachment disorder.

"These animals have a phenomenal way of breaking down the barriers with these kids. We use Golden Retrievers for their puppy like disposition, their calming demeanor, plus they are highly trainable. Once the dogs are trained both physically and emotionally, they can then be integrated into the student's room, where the student fosters the animal, tending to its daily needs and continue training and working with them. The dogs help the student by building a relationship with them in baby steps, healing the damage in areas of empathy and relationship formation. The use of the dogs is called "transferable attachment" and the daily caretaking creates a safe repetitive change that re-wires the brain and helps these teens change from the inside out- 'the heart first and the behavior second'."

The puppies and rescue dogs- all Golden Retrievers, are just part of the integral work that is done. The residential staff and the living environment of the lake that is closely situated to the campus, all works together and is all geared towards relationship building. Teamwork, trust and experiential exercises and adventures: canoeing, boating, hiking and the climbing wall create repetitive relational experiences.

Within the first week or two of enrollment, there is a "self-selecting" process between the child and the dog AND the dog and the child for choosing the dog the child will be working with (It tends to be quite mutual). From there the child and dog enter a foster care track and eventually, if the child wants to, may petition for adoption, complete with a home study, handwritten essay and signing off by staff and others before there is an official decree of adoption. Once the child graduates the program, the dog is also then certified as a canine therapy dog.

The love and care the kids give the dogs is equally reciprocated, and as Lon put it "there is nothing as forgiving as a dog."

To listen to the full interview, goto When a Program Goes to the Dogs on LATalkRadio.
Also available in Podcast

Lon Woodbury is the owner/founder of Woodbury Reports, Inc. and www.strugglingteens.com. He has worked with families and struggling teens since 1984 and is the host of Parent Choices for Struggling Teens.

Dr. Ken Huey, PhD holds his PhD from Purdue University in Marriage and Family Therapy. He worked with struggling teens several residential treatment settings before launching his own program in March of 2006. Dr. Huey is a frequent presenter at national conferences on issues of parenting, couples communication, adoption and residential care. He serves on the boards of ATTACH, NATSAP and ATN. He and his wife live in a tiny town in Missouri with their six children. He humorously refers to his only neighbors as Chiggers and ticks.

When A Program Goes To The Dogs

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