TITLE: Quality of Life Isn't a Countdown: Assessing, Monitoring, and Improving Canine Quality of Life Throughout all Life Stages
DATE/TIME: 
Wed. April 14th, 2:15pm - 6:30pm OR
Thurs. April 15th, 2:15pm - 6:30pm
(1/2 day lab)
MAX PARTICIPANTS: 20 
 
DESCRIPTION: Most quality-of-life scales were built for one moment: the decision to say goodbye. They're introduced at the end, when there is nothing left to change. This four-hour hands-on lab treats quality of life the way it should be treated: as something you measure early, watch over time, and actively improve.
 
You pet your dog and assess your dog with the same hands, but you were simply never taught to recognize and record what you felt. That changes after this lab. You'll learn to put your hands on your dog with purpose, identifying common findings like heat, tension, and the muscle that has atrophied over time. You'll learn to watch a dog rise, walk, turn, and settle, and to determine what those movements are telling you, and how to share those observations efficiently with your veterinary team.
 
You'll leave with a method for creating a written baseline for your own dog, a monitoring method simple enough that you'll actually keep it up, and a menu of things you can change. We'll also talk about what caring for your dog asks of you. Whether or not anyone acknowledges it, your capacity to provide that care is an essential part of her care plan. Self-care isn't optional.
 
Bring your questions. Bring your worries. This is a session for people who want to get ahead of it.
 
Learning objectives: 
Perform a structured observation of a dog's activities of daily living (ADLs) and record the findings.
Palpate a dog systematically from head to tail and identify heat, muscle asymmetry, atrophy, altered tone, and guarding.
Assemble observation and palpation findings into a written baseline and a concise summary that a veterinarian can review during a short appointment.
Identify interventions across pain, function, environment, sensory world, agency, social contact, sleep, and enrichment, and select those the household can realistically sustain.
Assess your own caregiving capacity — physical, financial, logistical, and emotional — and account for it when planning care.
 
Cancellation Policy and Refund Request
To request a refund, please complete and postmark this Workshop Cancellation Form by March 28, 2026.  Refunds exclude a $25 processing fee.