If you are involved in helping people and dogs find their best relationship, RAT™ is a must-have tool that streamlines your training so that you can be as effective, humane and customized as possible.

Before focusing on training specific behaviors, you need to understand  the dynamics of the relationship. RAT's simple but effective framework helps you create a customized approach that meets the needs of dog and handler to minimize or eliminate points of conflict, and to support and build the "fireflies" of mutual connection and joy.

Suzanne Clothier created RAT to help trainers, behaviorists, veterinarians, instructors, shelter, rescue, breeders, anyone involved in assessing dogs for specific purpose or lifestyle, or responsible for making dog/human matches.

Though it only takes a few minutes, a RAT assessment gives you a wealth of information that will shape your approach to that specific handler/dog team. Humane and effective training begins with understanding the relationship.

Why do you need RAT?

  • The dynamics of relationship are your guide to effective training. RAT shows you what that dog and that handler need!
  • The RAT scoresheet provides clear information for the client, and supports the rationale behind your training plans.
  • Track progress through changes in the RAT scoresheet, provide excellent feedback for clients.
  • Identifying strengths and weaknesses in a relationship points the way to customized training plans.
  • Make the match! Is this dog right for this handler? Is this handler or lifestyle right for this dog? RAT is an ideal suitability assessment.

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Course starts February 9, 2025.

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What does RAT assess?

This rapid assessment provides a new framework for understanding the dog/handler relationship.

RAT looks at the patterns of interaction between a dog and handler. Both ends of the leash are considered, with an eye to what supports the relationship, what may be undermining it, or what may be creating training challenges.

RAT looks for the strengths that are present, and identifies areas for improvement. Specifically, RAT looks in detail at:


  • Pulling
  • Equipment Use
  • Directability
  • Use of Space
  • Handler Communication and Feedback
  • Connection
  • Check-In
  • Orchestration
  • Accommodation
  • Arousal and Resilience
  • Dog-to-Dog Interactions
  • Risk Factors

What Others Have To Say About RAT

5 star rating

Extremely well organized & taught

Patricia Rapaport

The RAT course was extremely well organized and taught. I have gained so much more understanding on how to assess the relationship between handler and dog. Suzanne provided many examples to view. Our Q&A sessions were helpful. As usual Suzann...

Read More

The RAT course was extremely well organized and taught. I have gained so much more understanding on how to assess the relationship between handler and dog. Suzanne provided many examples to view. Our Q&A sessions were helpful. As usual Suzanne is a wealth of knowledge. I feel very confident that I am able to evaluate the relationships. I am using the methods to help the handlers understand why their connection with their dogs may be falling short. Suzanne gives us tools to also do triage and set up training plans that help meet the handlers’ needs. I highly recommend this course for serious minded trainers or behaviorists!

Read Less
5 star rating

A great course for all!

Linda Zegers

RAT gives your mind a great way of looking at and evaluating the relationship between dogs and humans. It gives clear directions and guidelines and helps you to identify all the elements of a relationship. I recommend this course for everybody wh...

Read More

RAT gives your mind a great way of looking at and evaluating the relationship between dogs and humans. It gives clear directions and guidelines and helps you to identify all the elements of a relationship. I recommend this course for everybody who has to do with people and their dogs. All our staff at our assistance dog school are going to take this course. Linda Zegers Hulphond Nederland

Read Less
5 star rating

Take advantage of this excellent educational offering

Jacqueline Moreno

For dogs as to humans and other animals, one key to well being is to be control of behaviour and emotion. It very much depends on the quality of our relationship with those we live with. Assessing the quality of those relationships and work out ho...

Read More

For dogs as to humans and other animals, one key to well being is to be control of behaviour and emotion. It very much depends on the quality of our relationship with those we live with. Assessing the quality of those relationships and work out how some dogs and people are a nice fit is a complex task. If you want to learn how to approach it you need Relationship Centered Training offered by legendary animal trainer and guru Suzanne Clothier. Suzanne has created a detailed and well thought through tool for the rapid appraisal of the quality of a dog-handler relationship, what is good in it and what needs to be repaired and rebuilt. Clothier has a very generous approach to teaching and coaching. It is worth every penny. She offers all the great written material and videos plus live Q&A sessions where people can ask to their heart content and she answers every question. Yes…every question. I have never seen anyone else do that.

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The Dynamics of Interaction

Your guide to helping people & dogs find their best relationships

"Wherever you go, there you are!" 

In each relationship, the handler brings his or her habits, personalities, needs and style to interact with the dog, who also brings his own personality, patterns of response, needs and style.

RAT™ provides a clear structure for helping you see whether a dog and human are aligned, or if their individual patterns of behavior are creating challenges or even conflict. 

Put your training time, energy and resources into addressing the actual issues, not following a one-size-fits-all training plan.

RAT™ clearly identifies the strengths and weaknesses of any dog/handler team. Training Triage helps you prioritize and develop a sensible, targeted training plan for improving and strengthening the relationship.

RAT's rapid assessment provides clear, actionable information for you as trainer/instructor and provides talking points for discussion with clients.  

Grounded in detailed observation, RAT™ can be used for initial assessment as well as for monitoring progress over time or situations.

If you are involved in helping people and dogs find their best relationship, RAT™ is a must-have tool that streamlines your training so that you can be as effective, humane and customized as possible.

RAT™ is ideal for trainers, instructors, shelter workers, rescue groups, veterinarians, vet techs, breeders, service dog trainers, AAI/AAT and anyone interested in understanding and enhancing the dog/human relationship.

RAT™ comes with six months of instructor support, and a year access to the course.  

Q&As are tentatively scheduled for:

  • February 19th at Noon EST
  • March 5th at Noon EST
  • March 19th at Noon EST
  • April 2nd at Noon EST
  • April 16th at Noon EST
  • April 30th at Noon EST
  • May 28th at Noon EST
  • June 25th at Noon EST
  • July 30th at Noon EST

Course curriculum

    1. A message from your instructor

    2. How to use this course

    3. Your Starting Point

    1. Schedule of Q & A Sessions

    1. Relationship Centered Training & RAT

    2. BONUS: Intro to RCT

    3. CONNECTION

    4. COMMUNICATION

    5. COMMITMENT

    6. RCT Principles in Action

    1. RAT Objectives & Possibilities

      FREE PREVIEW

    2. PDF of INTRO to RAT webinar

    3. Intro to RAT: Webinar

    4. Here, There & Everywhere

    5. Learning to See

    1. Assess: Pulling

    2. Assess: Check-in

    3. Assess: Directability

    4. Assess: Use of Space

    5. Assess: Equipment Use

    6. TEST YOUR LEARNING

    1. Assess: Accommodation

    2. Assess: Communication & Feedback

    3. Assess: Orchestration

About this course

  • $425.00
  • 99 lessons

FAQ

  • How long does it take to learn RAT?

    The RAT course content will be dripped out in a way that lets you spend 2-4 hours per week. At that rate, you can complete the course in about 3-4 months. But you have access to the materials for one year, and are free to work at your own pace.

  • Does RAT require a special set up or equipment for assessment?

    RAT is observation based, and can be done almost anywhere. No special set up or equipment required, though for organizations doing formal assessments, having a consistent set up makes apple-to-apple comparisons possible.

  • I only teach group classes. Will RAT help me as an instructor?

    RAT is an observation based assessment. This course sharpens your observation skills, helping you to see patterns of interaction, and recognizing how those patterns can help or hinder the relationship. Knowing what each end of the leash needs to improve the relationship is invaluable to group class teachers.

  • I only teach private lessons. Is RAT useful for me?

    RAT is the ideal addition to your training toolkit. When RAT is your initial assessment of the client and dog, you are already shaping up the training plan and knowing what needs to be prioritized.

  • I'm not a professional - can I still learn RAT?

    While RAT is intended as a professional level course, we know that many dedicated folks work in a volunteer capacity for organizations, shelters, training clubs, etc. If you'd like to learn RAT, join us! We love helping dedicated folks learn more so they can do more for dogs and people.

  • I am involved in Animal Assisted Therapy, service dog work, therapy dog work, ESA or other AAI programs. Can RAT help me?

    "Goodness of fit" is a critical component of AAI/AAT programs. Evaluating teams is time consuming, and often organizations find that their current assessments do not provide accurate information. RAT's rapid assessment is ideal for effective and helpful evaluations that are easily administered and shared. Additionally, RAT identifies areas that can be improved, so would-be teams can get to work on those specifics.

  • Is RAT helpul for shelters & rescues?

    As many have learned, the principles of RAT are powerful tools in making the right match. RAT can be used to assess a handler/dog match, evaluate a handler's skill, assess the dog only, and even help you undertand your staff & their specific skills.

  • What is required to become certified in RAT?

    To become a RAT assessor, you must successfully complete all coursework, provide two recommendations from professional colleagues, and submit four case history videos showing application of your RAT setups, and provide completed RAT scoresheets and a Triage & Training Plan (TTP) for each dog/handler team. You will need the ability to videotape and do modest editing on your video, plus download and read PDFs, and work in Word or equivalent for various assignments.

  • Are CEUs available?

    Yes - CEUs are available for IAABC (23) and PPAB (pending). No CEUs for CCPDT (their policy)

What Students are Saying

5 star rating

A Tool for all dog professionals!

Kathi O'Malley

I have LOVED the RAT tool ever since Suzanne first started teaching it. That was many years ago! I was thrilled when she announced she was offering RAT as a self paced online course!! I signed up on the spot and am so glad I did! The group...

Read More

I have LOVED the RAT tool ever since Suzanne first started teaching it. That was many years ago! I was thrilled when she announced she was offering RAT as a self paced online course!! I signed up on the spot and am so glad I did! The group zoom sessions are great, giving us access to Suzanne and each other as we move along the modules! RAT helps you see where the human/canine relationship is out of balance, and gives the professional dog trainer a point of reference to give solid recommendations that will help the handler communicate more effectively to their dogs! I recommend this to all dog professionals as a must have tool for their tool box!

Read Less
5 star rating

A great course for all!

Linda Zegers

RAT gives your mind a great way of looking at and evaluating the relationship between dogs and humans. It gives clear directions and guidelines and helps you to identify all the elements of a relationship. I recommend this course for everybody wh...

Read More

RAT gives your mind a great way of looking at and evaluating the relationship between dogs and humans. It gives clear directions and guidelines and helps you to identify all the elements of a relationship. I recommend this course for everybody who has to do with people and their dogs. All our staff at our assistance dog school are going to take this course. Linda Zegers Hulphond Nederland

Read Less
5 star rating

Take advantage of this excellent educational offering

Jacqueline Moreno

For dogs as to humans and other animals, one key to well being is to be control of behaviour and emotion. It very much depends on the quality of our relationship with those we live with. Assessing the quality of those relationships and work out ho...

Read More

For dogs as to humans and other animals, one key to well being is to be control of behaviour and emotion. It very much depends on the quality of our relationship with those we live with. Assessing the quality of those relationships and work out how some dogs and people are a nice fit is a complex task. If you want to learn how to approach it you need Relationship Centered Training offered by legendary animal trainer and guru Suzanne Clothier. Suzanne has created a detailed and well thought through tool for the rapid appraisal of the quality of a dog-handler relationship, what is good in it and what needs to be repaired and rebuilt. Clothier has a very generous approach to teaching and coaching. It is worth every penny. She offers all the great written material and videos plus live Q&A sessions where people can ask to their heart content and she answers every question. Yes…every question. I have never seen anyone else do that.

Read Less
5 star rating

Up Your game

Tree Schul

Suzanne's RAT course will help you improve as a dog trainer! RAT will not only help you improve your observation skills, but it will also help you make better sense of what you are seeing. You will develop a keen eye for canine and handler body l...

Read More

Suzanne's RAT course will help you improve as a dog trainer! RAT will not only help you improve your observation skills, but it will also help you make better sense of what you are seeing. You will develop a keen eye for canine and handler body language and use these observations to assess areas of positive connection in the relationship, as well as areas that might need focus and improvement. You will learn how to triage aspects of the canine/handler relationship that need improvement and learn how focusing on improving basic, fundamental behaviors can often extinguish a seemingly unrelated, larger behavior problem. The insight and understanding you will gain from the RAT course will improve your overall dog-handling skills and training abilities. I'm so glad I took the course! Tree S.

Read Less
5 star rating

Extremely well organized & taught

Patricia Rapaport

The RAT course was extremely well organized and taught. I have gained so much more understanding on how to assess the relationship between handler and dog. Suzanne provided many examples to view. Our Q&A sessions were helpful. As usual Suzann...

Read More

The RAT course was extremely well organized and taught. I have gained so much more understanding on how to assess the relationship between handler and dog. Suzanne provided many examples to view. Our Q&A sessions were helpful. As usual Suzanne is a wealth of knowledge. I feel very confident that I am able to evaluate the relationships. I am using the methods to help the handlers understand why their connection with their dogs may be falling short. Suzanne gives us tools to also do triage and set up training plans that help meet the handlers’ needs. I highly recommend this course for serious minded trainers or behaviorists!

Read Less
5 star rating

I believe Suzanne is a pioneer in a much needed aspect or our profession

Kirsten Kraljevic

Bob Bailey says "Any trainer can train any behavior using any method given enough time" But do we really know how to help owners solve their relationship problems with their dogs? We all know behavior doesn't happen in a vacuum and it takes two t...

Read More

Bob Bailey says "Any trainer can train any behavior using any method given enough time" But do we really know how to help owners solve their relationship problems with their dogs? We all know behavior doesn't happen in a vacuum and it takes two to tango, that means if you are working with dogs and their handlers, knowing how to train behaviors is never enough. Through RAT, Suzanne has developed a systematic repeatable assessment tool to help you teach yourself to ask the right questions and improve your observation skills as well. She has developed exercises to help you develop your communication skills giving you the tools to communicate with the owner in a down to earth actionable way the very things that can help improve their relationships with their dogs. This stuff is golden and a must have if you are serious about making a difference in the field of dog training.

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Course Fees

Starts February 9, 2025. Includes one year access to the course materials, 6 months of instructor support, 3 months of bi-weekly Q/A with Suzanne via Zoom, followed by 3 months of monthly meetings. CEUs: IAABC-23, PPAB-19. Includes the RAT Assessor Test.

What Others Say about RAT

“As a trainer, RAT gives me a better understanding of the specific aspects of the relationship of the owner with the dog in front of me so that I can tailor a training program to address those needs, especially from the dog's perspective.”

Cindy Benson, KPA CTP Benson Maremmas

“RAT has added some powerful skills to my professional trainer toolbox. RAT helps me identify what skills & support are needed for dog & handler The RAT score sheet provides each client with great clarity and the opportunity to dig into a specific, well though-out training plan that meets their needs.”

Cindy Knowlton, CPDT-KA, CNWI, CCA -- See Spot Grin, MD

“Using R.A.T. helps me as a psychotherapist examine and identify essential elements of relationship quickly and clearly with my clients. The information I get from R.A.T. then helps me structure interventions that have a greater likelihood of helping clients achieve their goals. It helps me work on the issue rather than the symptoms of the issue. ”

Ann Howie, LICSW, ACSW, CCFT, CCA

Instructor & Creator of RAT

Suzanne Clothier

Senior Instructor

Suzanne Clothier has been working with animals professionally since 1977, with a deep, broadly varied background of experience including obedience training, agility, Search & Rescue, kennel management, and program development. She is well respected for her humane, effective Relationship Centered Training (RCT™) approach to dogs and the people that love them. She has taught on a broad range of topics throughout the world. Her tools and materials have been put to use in guide & service dog organizations, in animal assisted therapy, for every day pet owners, and by trainers, breeders, veterinarians, academics and in research. Her work has been presented in multiple international conferences. Her book, Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships With Dogs (Warner, 2002) has received wide spread praise from every corner of the dog world. A German Shepherd breeder, her 11 generations of Hawks Hunt German Shepherds have been successful as competitive performance sports, as well as in Search & Rescue, herding, therapy work and of course as beloved companions. Suzanne lives on an upstate New York with her incredibly tolerant husband John Rice.