KCK9 Connections Youth Program

Two young children working on a craft project with colorful adhesive dots on a wooden table, surrounded by craft supplies including wooden sticks, tape, markers, and decorative tape.
A young girl with brown hair tied back in a braid is standing on a sidewalk, holding a small dog on a leash. The girl is wearing a black jacket with a pink lining and pink pants, while the dog is tan with a black face and wearing a silver chain collar. The scene is outdoors on a sunny day in a suburban neighborhood with houses and trees in the background.

What Children Learn

KCK9 Connections youth program was created to give youth the opportunity to train and understand dogs on a deeper level. This program will teach children how to training effectively, give them activities that help support enrichment in a dogs life, how to care for a dog and how to understand puppies and support their development to becoming a well rounded family dog.

My goal is for kids to apply their education from this program at home with their own dog.

What this program will offer:

  • 1 on 1 training with Bijou

  • Dog related arts and crafts that their dogs can use at home (or donate to shelter dogs) and crafts for themselves.

  • Learn how to safely interact with dogs through:

    • understanding dog body language

    • Body language games

  • Importance of enrichment and nutrition

  • Canine care- brushing, nails, bathing, vets visits

Yellow bell peppers stuffed with green beans, peas, and chopped turkey or chicken, topped with crushed crackers, on a speckled gray kitchen countertop. Behind the peppers are a bag of chicken toppers, and a can of pure pumpkin.
Enroll
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Program Size & Enrollment

  • Participants must be older than 7 years old

  • Camp Date:
    June 8 -June 12

  • Youth Program:
    9 am - 3 pm

    Program: $350

To ensure a safe, calm, and instructor-guided learning environment, sessions are limited to 5 children per group. This allows for close supervision, meaningful instruction, and respectful interactions with the dog.

Along with this camp, you will get full access to my youth resource library. This is filled with articles, kids activities, upcoming dog related events and more!

Enroll

The youth program is led by Sara Maasen, educator and founder of KCK9 Connections, alongside Bijou, a Certified Therapy dog.

Sara brings extensive experience working with dogs and families, with a background that includes canine training, competition, youth education, and family-focused safety practices. Her work is informed by the principles behind Family Paws® education, emphasizing preparation, awareness, and safe interactions between children and dogs.

Rather than teaching children to simply follow instructions, Sara guides learning through understanding — helping children see how canine behavior, communication, and training connect to real-life responsibility and safety.

A woman with shoulder-length dark hair, wearing a denim jacket and black pants, kneels beside a large Australian Shepherd dog with black, white, and brown fur, inside a room with wooden floors and white walls.
A woman kneeling on grass with a dog on a leash, in an outdoor park with agility equipment in the background.