The Athletic Dog Education Program is designed as an educational tool to introduce veterinary students and graduate veterinarians to the field of Veterinary Sports Medicine. It also has the benefit of producing research information on the health benefits of long term active dogs. The educational module of the program has attracted and reached students and practitioners from all over the United States, Canada and abroad. The program has proven to be a valuable tool for educating the veterinary community about canine sports medicine.
There are five levels (listed below) of the program education module. Each level is 
designed to expose and/or teach canine sports medicine according to the educational stage of the individual. The different levels are progressively more advanced and intense in teaching and hands on experience. For example, a senior student will be required to conduct a full field exam on a canine athlete, whereas a sophomore student may observe a field exam being conducted. Therefore, there is exposure to concepts in canine sports medicine and then a progression into applied knowledge and skills.
The five educational levels are as follows:
- Level 1: Student Sports Medicine Chapter
- Level 2: Sports Medicine Classes
- Level 3: Senior Student Rotations
- Level 4: Resident and future Board of Veterinary Sports Medicine Certification Program
- Level 5: Practitioner Sabbaticals
Level 1: Student Chapter 
The Sports Medicine Student Chapter consists of over 40 veterinary students. The educational level of the students ranges from freshman to juniors. The Athletic Dog Education Program is used to expose the students to a variety of psychological, physiological, and structural concepts important to the canine athlete. They are also exposed to different kennel, transportation, and field management strategies for athletic dogs. This is accomplished through participation in lectures and wet labs with athletic animals, under actual working conditions. Athletic or working dogs are usually housed, transported, and/or worked in the field differently than the normal pet. Therefore, in order to understand the canine athlete, students need to be exposed to the dogs while they are under these conditions. The Program allows students to observe and manage the canine athletes throughout the entire process. It provides students with valuable athletic dog experience that is rare to find in the veterinary curriculum today. This experience better prepares veterinary students for senior clinical rotations and or professional practice in the field of veterinary sports medicine.
When these students become seniors, residents, or practitioners they have the option of enrolling in one of the more advanced athletic dog educational programs. In the more advanced programs they will learn how to apply their knowledge to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate the injured or ill canine athlete. They will also learn how to optimize performance, nutritional programs, kennel management, field management, and more to prevent injuries and illnesses in the canine athlete.
Level 2: Sports Medicine Classes
The Sports Medicine Classes are used to expose and introduce students to a variety of concepts and management strategies for athletic dogs. The sports medicine classes are used to teach these concepts and management strategies to the students. In addition, as the junior level veterinary students start to learn veterinary skills (e.g. musculoskeletal palpation); they begin to discover how those skills can be applied towards and modified for the canine athlete. The sports medicine classes progress students from an observational stand point to a hands on approach to learning the canine athlete. For example, they participate in musculoskeletal palpation labs and learn the differences between palpating pets and palpating high performance canines. They also learn the differences between pet and athletic dog psychology, physiology, and structure.
Level 3: Senior Rotation
The Athletic Dog Education Program is used to teach senior rotation students to apply their knowledge and veterinary skills to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate injuries and illnesses in the canine athlete. They also learn how to optimize performance, design conditioning programs, nutritional programs, kennel management protocols, field management, and more to prevent injuries and illnesses in the canine athlete. Seniors evaluate and monitor the dogs in the kennel and during transportation to simulated athletic events (e.g. lure coursing). Students learn how to assess athletic dogs in the field without clinical diagnostic tools such as radiographs. They also conduct different tests such as body temperature, heart rate or pulse and respiration rate (TPR), electrocardiograph (EKG), blood analysis, and high speed video analysis at special times throughout simulated athletic events. This allows the students to understand the psychological, physiological, and structural demands placed on the dogs during athletic activity. This program provides senior students with valuable hands on athletic dog experience that is rare to find in the veterinary curriculum today. This experience better prepares senior veterinary students for clinical and field sports medicine practice.
Level 4: Resident and future Board of Veterinary Sports Medicine Certification Program
As the sports medicine specialty grows residents will taught to refine the knowledge and skills they gained in veterinary school and apply them to the canine athlete. Residents will learn how to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate athletic injuries and illnesses. They also will learn how to optimize performance, conditioning programs, nutritional programs, kennel management, field management, and more to prevent injuries and illnesses. They will be able to evaluate and monitor the dogs in the kennel and during transportation to simulated athletic events (e.g. lure coursing). Residents will learn how to assess athletic dogs in the field without clinical diagnostic tools such as radiographs. They will also conduct different test such as TPR, EKG, blood analysis, and high speed video analysis at special times throughout simulated athletic events. This will allow them to understand the psychological, physiological, and structural demands placed on the dogs during athletic activity. By monitoring athletic dogs over a long period of time, residents can learn weather patterns and how the weather affects canine performance and safety. They can also learn how to track surface conditions in relation to weather, and wear and tear done to the surface via the dogs. The program will provide residents with valuable hands on athletic dog experience that is rare to find in the veterinary curriculum today. This experience will better prepare them for a career in the field of veterinary sports medicine. It will also prepare them for their Board of Veterinary Sports Medicine Certification Exam.
Level 5: Practitioner Sabbaticals
During the sabbaticals, practitioners are taught to refine their veterinary knowledge and skills and apply them to the canine athlete. Practitioners learn how to better diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate athletic injuries and illnesses. They also learn how to optimize performance, design conditioning programs, develop nutritional programs, assess kennel management and field management, and more to prevent injuries and illnesses. They can evaluate and monitor the dogs in the kennel and during transportation to simulated athletic events (e.g. lure coursing). They learn how to assess athletic dogs in the field without clinical diagnostic tools such as radiographs. They also conduct different tests such as TPR, EKG, blood analysis, and high speed video analysis at special times throughout simulated athletic events. This allows them to understand the psychological, physiological, and structural demands placed on the dogs during athletic activity. The experience they gain from the Athletic Dog Education Program better prepares practitioners for clinical and field sports medicine practice.
