The Original Fearful Feral Dog Workshop
Schedule
Mon, 11 May, 2026 at 09:00 am
UTC-06:00Location
Las Vegas Animal Care Center | Las Vegas, NM
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Feral Dogs as Teachers: A Two-Day Rehabilitation Workshop for Trainers & Rescue, Shelter Professionals and Dog Enthusiasts
May 11-12 | Las, Vegas NEW MEXICO
This two-day feral dog rehabilitation workshop offers a rare, hands-on learning experience for dog trainers, rescue workers, and shelter professionals who work with fearful, shut-down, or behaviorally complex dogs. Feral dogs—having survived without human support—serve as powerful teachers, acting as magnifying glasses for our skills, awareness, and emotional regulation. Their responses reveal, with clarity and honesty, what truly builds trust, safety, and connection.
Working with feral dogs takes us to the core of the human–dog relationship. These dogs have developed their own survival strategies, free from human influence, making them ideal guides for understanding canine communication, stress responses, and confidence building. The insights gained in this workshop extend far beyond extreme cases and can be directly applied to shelter dogs, rescue dogs, and companion dogs.
What You’ll Learn
Led by Julie Hart, an experienced feral dog rehabilitator, in collaboration with Nelson Hodges, founder of the Canine Human Relationship Institute, this workshop blends classroom instruction, live demonstrations, and hands-on practice.
Key focus areas include:
Building trust with fearful and feral dogs
Reading and responding to canine and human body language
Effective leash handling with high-stress dogs
Creating predictability and emotional safety
Facilitating confident, brave behavior fast instead of enabling fear
Understanding how human mindset, energy, and expectations affect outcomes
How to apply Nose- Centric techniques to all dog training scenarios to improve training results.
Participants will learn how to connect with dogs on a deeper level by becoming what dogs need to feel safe, not by “fixing” behavior. A powerful side effect of this work is increased self-awareness—learning to manage your own emotions, presence, and reactions in challenging situations.
Using feral dogs as our teachers to improve our knowledge of dogs and ourselves, this two-day feral dog rehabilitation workshop in New Mexico is like no other dog training experience out there. Feral dogs are like magnifying glasses on our dog training skills, behaviors, and mindset. Feral dog rehab gets to the essence and depth of the human-dog relationship with an animal that has developed street smarts and survival techniques without human influence. The lessons feral and fearful dogs teach can be applied to help ALL dogs.
You will be guided by Julie Hart, an experienced and effective feral dog rehabilitator, in collaboration with Nelson Hodges, founder of Canine Human Relationship Institute.
Las Vegas, NEW MEXICO
May 11-16, 2026
$400
https://hart2heartcanine.com/store/p/fearfulferalworkshop
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Where is it happening?
Las Vegas Animal Care Center, Las Vegas Animal Care Center, 1680 N Grand Ave, Las Vegas, NM 87701, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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