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FREE LIVE ONLINE EVENT: A MORNING INSIDE THE ACADEMY

Discover what being a canine therapist
actually involves

Watch Michelle Monk work through real cases the way she does in her clinic. Then put your questions to Michelle and the graduates she has trained, and hear what studying with the Academy did for their careers, so you can decide whether getting certified in canine hydrotherapy or massage is the right next step for you.

10am-11.30am AEDT (Melbourne time) Friday 16 October. 

SAVE YOUR FREE SEAT

Live on Zoom. Limited time replay available.

ACRA · IAAMB · ACWT accredited | 650+ graduates in 17 countries | Taught by Michelle Monk, MAnimPhys, 24 years in clinical practice

How the morning will run:

1. Watch the thinking process every CHWA therapist is trained in  

Michelle will work through a variety of cases from the first conversation to a treatment decision, reasoning out loud as she goes. 

You'll see:

  • The six-step assessment process that underpins every treatment.
  • When massage vs hydrotherapy is right for that dog
  • How these therapies transformed the lives of the cases presented
  • The scenarios where a case needs to go back to the vet

2. Hear what the job entails day-to-day

Certified graduates join Michelle to talk about the realities of being a canine therapist

You’ll hear: 

  • What led them to certify, and what the certification process was like for them
  • What a normal week looks like in their own practice or in a clinic (including the good days and hard ones) 
  • How they’ve built their practice or found employment 
  • What they wish they'd known before they started 

After that, the floor is open for all your questions. 

Whether or not you go on to get certified, you'll leave with an accurate understanding of the certification process and where it could take you after graduation.

Meet Your Host Michelle Monk, BPhysio(Hons), MAnimPhys

I came to this work as a human physiotherapist.

When I moved out of home and got my own dog, I assumed the same quality of rehabilitation care I could offer my human patients would be available to my dog too. What I discovered instead was a significant gap.

Dogs recovering from surgery, injury and chronic conditions were going without the evidence-based rehabilitation that would have meaningfully changed their outcomes.

Owners weren't being given the information they needed to make informed decisions. And in an animal allied health industry that remains largely unregulated, animals were — and still are — being treated by people who aren't adequately qualified to do so safely.

That realisation became the foundation of everything I've built since.

I went on to complete a Master's Degree in Animal Physiotherapy, open Dogs in Motion, Australia's first dedicated canine physiotherapy and hydrotherapy clinic, and design and build the country's first canine underwater treadmill. I've published research on canine rehabilitation, authored the hydrotherapy chapter in the Canine Physiotherapy textbook, and been awarded for my delivery of service to canine patients.

Over the past 24 years, I've treated tens of thousands of dogs, and it still fills up my heart every time I get to make a difference. There's something so immensely satisfying about seeing the look on a client's face when you help their dog walk again after they were told it couldn't happen.

But one clinician can only reach so many dogs.

Since 2002, I've been educating vets and the wider community on the importance of rehabilitation and access to qualified therapists. In 2017, I created the Academy to formalise and expand that work, so more dogs in more places can access the standard of care they deserve. 

Since then, we’ve certified over 650 therapists in 17 countries, and I’d love for you to become one of them.

Meet the Graduates

Ask the people who've already done it… 

Every graduate completed the same curriculum. Where they started and what they've built since, looks very different.

Katherine Oliver, Dual Qualified Canine Hydrotherapist & Canine Remedial Massage Therapist

Kerry Fox, Certified Canine Hydrotherapist- Self Employed

Alison Skeer, Certified Canine Hydrotherapist-Employed at Dogs in Motion Canine Rehab Clinic

Tania Howard,

Dual Qualified Canine Hydrotherapist & Canine Remedial Massage Therapist - Employed at Canine Health and Wellbeing Academy

If you’ve…

  • Watched your own dog recover and wondered about doing it for others
  • Worked with dogs as a groomer, trainer, walker or vet nurse, and want to offer more
  • Trained as a human massage therapist, osteo, or bodyworker, and are curious whether your skills transfer
  • Or simply been curious about what this work involves

    You're in good company. Our graduates have come from every one of these starting points. We’d love you to join us. 

SAVE YOUR FREE SEAT

10.00-11.30am AEDT Fri 16 Oct. Live on Zoom. Limited time replay available.

Questions you might be wondering

Every dog deserves someone who knows exactly how to help them.

A Morning Inside the Academy is your chance to see what that looks like and to find out whether that person could be you.

SAVE YOUR FREE SEAT

10.00-11.30am AEDT Fri 16 Oct. Live on Zoom. Limited time replay available.