The Center for the Study of Medical Assistance Canines
“Training service dogs is a rewarding career for those who care about dogs and people. It requires empathy, dedication, precision, and a great deal of knowledge in dog behavior and psychology.”
WHO WE ARE
The Center for the Study of Medical Assistance Canines (CMAC) was founded by Jennifer Cattet Ph.D. in response to demand for coaching from dog trainers, medical professionals, and service dog programs. Jennifer Cattet Ph.D. has helped hundreds of trainers and several programs both in the US and internationally, expand the type of service dogs they could offer to include medical alert dogs. Specialized mostly in the training of diabetic alert dogs, seizure dogs, and psychiatric service dogs, Jennifer Cattet is also experienced in the training of mobility assistance dogs and autism dogs. The coaching is individually catered to meet the programs’ needs.
With a focus on science-based, ethical, and force-free training methods, CMAC provides cutting-edge training methods when working with medical assistance dogs. CMAC is dedicated to creating efficient and practical, training programs based on applied behavior analysis and years of practice in the field.
WHAT WE DO
The Center for the Study of Medical Assistance Canines CMAC) offers a variety of teaching and coaching services. Jennifer Cattet Ph.D. assists organizations in developing and implementing new service dog programs and teaches professional dog trainers about medical assistance dogs. When the situation allows, she offers in-person tailored consulting services based on the organization’s needs or online options.
All teaching is based on the following principles:
- Creating an optimal training program with defined criteria and assessments for quality control.
- Using principles of applied behavior analysis and canine cognition for efficient and collaborative training.
- Working in the respect of both the dogs and the clients’ needs.
SERVICES OFFERED
Services offered include seminars, webinars, private coaching in person and online as well as consulting and research on the following subjects:
- Selection of dogs for service dog work.
- Developing partnerships with rescues and shelters.
- Developing a breeding program and/or working with breeders.
- Foundation training for all service dogs: creating a structured curriculum and assessing the dogs’ progress and suitability for the program.
- Advanced training and assessments.
- Training for Public Access, the laws, the assessments, and dealing with the public.
- Specialized training for a disability: Diabetes, Epileptic seizures, Autism Spectrum and Psychiatric disorders, mobility impairment.
- Scent training for medical detection, from indication, to discrimination and alerting.
- Setting up a new service dog organization.
- Optimizing existing training programs.
- Transitioning from traditional training methods to positive science-based methods.
- Dealing with behavior issues when they arise, how to treat and when to decide to release a dog from the program.
- Research in medical detection: cancer, SARS-COV-2, diabetes, seizures, migraines, pain, etc.
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