The Youth Village Foundation announces it’s Partnership with Canine Dimensions, a dog training company to launch a unique program to serve young men at the Youth Village and the Medlock Treatment Center. The program pair’s juveniles that have been involved in the juvenile court system with experienced dog trainers to learn the basics of dog handling, management and training.
The program is P.R.E.P. Dog Training, which stands for Patience, Responsibility, Empathy and Partnership, all describing the behaviors and skills developed through participation in this program. Jerry Silhan, Executive Director of the Youth Village Foundation, explains, “the program helps these boys develop important life skills like anger management, impulse control and self-discipline. This helps them become more consistent in their responses, more reasonable in their expectations, and inclined to creative problem solving rather than acting out of frustration in response to negative influences. It also helps students to identify with ‘their’ dog because of unfortunate shared life experiences such as abuse or neglect and to develop empathy and form healthy attachments. It is a second chance for both the young men and for the dogs.” The program is designed to teach practical skills that could lead to a career in canine management, grooming, veterinary sciences, or assistant trainers.
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