PEAK K9's for Kids
is a non-profit organization dedicated to the education of children through our animal-assisted social-emotional learning program.
Wendy Pendleton and the PEAK Dogs
Wendy Pendleton has always had a love of animals and nature, so majoring in biology was a natural choice. She wanted to be able to share her knowledge and interest with others and graduated from James Madison University in 1999, with a BS in Biology as well as a secondary education certification. She taught high school Biology and Earth Science for 10 years, where she loved connecting with students and helping students connect with plants, animals and the planet we all share.
But biology wasn’t her only passion…she also is an avid agility competitor and has been competing since 1999, and has taught classes and private lessons for nearly that long. So, in 2010, she left teaching to pursue her dream of teaching dogs and their people full time, starting Peak Performance Dogs Sports, where she teaches a combination of classes and private lessons in agility, obedience, rally, tricks and nosework.
In 2014, she decided to bring both of her passions together: teaching kids and dogs, into one great program, PEAK K9’s for Kids, an animal-assisted social-emotional learning program designed to help kids face the challenges in the world today, empowering them to do the right thing. There are two main branches of this program, one geared toward upper elementary grades and the other focuses more on middle/high school aged students. Both curricula, help students learn valuable social emotional skills and improved self-esteem.
Pawsitive Works is a program geared towards middle and high school students and teaches them many life lessons about empathy, self-concept, mindfulness, effective communication both verbal and non-verbal, stress management, motivation and goal setting, patience and resiliency through the lens of canine training and behavior. All of these qualities are important for the healthy development of young adults in today's society.
The Manadoob Program for Self-Esteem is an essential educational tool teaching elementary school children self-esteem while enhancing their reading and writing skills through the use of story, craft and individualized interpretation. The characters, both human and animal, celebrate diversity and inclusion, instilling a sense of belonging in children while creating a non-threatening environment in which they can share and explore.
Wendy’s experience as an educator and a dog trainer make her uniquely suited to bring this program to students throughout the central Shenandoah Valley. She does this with the help of the PEAK dogs..her two dogs, Vixen, a 7-year-old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and her Golden Retriever puppy, Rebel (PEAK dog in Training!). The PEAK dogs, not only provide a therapeutic quality, inviting the students to open up and to relax, but they will be learning more about dogs and how they think and learn, teaching them tricks and behaviors using positive training techniques will encourage and promote self-esteem, Kindness in their interactions with other beings and social awareness of the community around them and the world at large.
But biology wasn’t her only passion…she also is an avid agility competitor and has been competing since 1999, and has taught classes and private lessons for nearly that long. So, in 2010, she left teaching to pursue her dream of teaching dogs and their people full time, starting Peak Performance Dogs Sports, where she teaches a combination of classes and private lessons in agility, obedience, rally, tricks and nosework.
In 2014, she decided to bring both of her passions together: teaching kids and dogs, into one great program, PEAK K9’s for Kids, an animal-assisted social-emotional learning program designed to help kids face the challenges in the world today, empowering them to do the right thing. There are two main branches of this program, one geared toward upper elementary grades and the other focuses more on middle/high school aged students. Both curricula, help students learn valuable social emotional skills and improved self-esteem.
Pawsitive Works is a program geared towards middle and high school students and teaches them many life lessons about empathy, self-concept, mindfulness, effective communication both verbal and non-verbal, stress management, motivation and goal setting, patience and resiliency through the lens of canine training and behavior. All of these qualities are important for the healthy development of young adults in today's society.
The Manadoob Program for Self-Esteem is an essential educational tool teaching elementary school children self-esteem while enhancing their reading and writing skills through the use of story, craft and individualized interpretation. The characters, both human and animal, celebrate diversity and inclusion, instilling a sense of belonging in children while creating a non-threatening environment in which they can share and explore.
Wendy’s experience as an educator and a dog trainer make her uniquely suited to bring this program to students throughout the central Shenandoah Valley. She does this with the help of the PEAK dogs..her two dogs, Vixen, a 7-year-old Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever and her Golden Retriever puppy, Rebel (PEAK dog in Training!). The PEAK dogs, not only provide a therapeutic quality, inviting the students to open up and to relax, but they will be learning more about dogs and how they think and learn, teaching them tricks and behaviors using positive training techniques will encourage and promote self-esteem, Kindness in their interactions with other beings and social awareness of the community around them and the world at large.
If you would like to get us to be apart of your after school program, summer program, or curriculum, we are are always looking for new locations to meet and educate. please contact me at 540-908-5150 or use the contact us page.
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