Hi Eric, thanks for your interesting and informative articles. I have been following you with interest, and often find myself sharing info from your essays or podcasts with members of our local club, where I am a volunteer instructor.
Happily almost all of our members embrace our positive training ethos, whether they are experienced or total newbies. So the message is getting out. Even the occasional old school handler can be informed about different gear to use, different techniques, and the importance of engaging with the dog, rather than engaging in "the battle".
Thanks so much for your note! I'm glad to hear that you find my content (essays and podcasts) useful. Good for you for bringing solid information on modern training approaches to your club and to the students you work with.
It's really people like you that I write for - the ones who want to know more and do the best job with their dogs. What a wonderful bonus that you get to share what you are learning and that you feel that you are making a difference in the lives of people and their dogs.
If you would be interested, I would love to know more about your volunteer work and how things are going with your local club. It's always great to hear success stories.
Keep up the great work - I know the dogs will love you for it!
Thanks for taking an interest in our little club. We are DogzCairns, situated in beautiful Cairns in North Queensland Australia. We are an entirely volunteer run local club
As with many clubs we dont really have enough people who do all the work- but we have been running for 10 years.
Mostly we concentrate on weekly group classes- from puppies through to level 3. We teach basic dog manners and how to have a well rounded dog that is well behaved and calm. Sometimes we have 10 or more students in a beginners class- which is hard work for me as I am usually the beginner class teacher! Often we have complete novices, who have their first dog. These guys are the best because they are absolute sponges for info. That can also be a problem though as there is just not enough time to tell them everything! I usually email them an info pack which goes into more depth than can be covered in class, and has some links to trusted trainers: like yourself - for some self study. I try to explain the importance of engagement, the use of markers, human and dog body language, some simple games to play, reinforcing the dog when it is choosing to do the right thing all by itself, and respecting the dogs rights to choose.
As well as basics like the right way to hold a treat, good leash handling, good timing, how and when to practice. Mostly it's about loose leash walking at first.
We host two trials each year- in Agility/ Rally/ Obedience/ and Tricks.
We have a facebook page DogzCairns, which I am the admin of. As well as class announcements I try to post interesting articles, videos, jokes, and all sorts of dog related content We have 900+ followers on the page, and the posts seem to reach 150- 200 people.
If you have time check it out- scroll down through the posts to see some of the articles I have shared.
My own dog is a foster fail (of 8 foster dogs). Stella is a 6 year old Pit Bull, and is a great ambassador for a breed that receives too much bad press. She has titles in Obedience, CD, Rally RAE, Tricks TKS and Nosework,NWN. We are really enjoying nosework and she is an absolute star at it.
She LOOOOOVES everyone. especially all the staff and residents at my elderly Mum's Residential Aged Care Home. She is a smiler,and a yodeller, and loves to be rubbed and made a fuss of, and never jumps or runs.
Anyway I shall stop now- it is a subject I could talk about for hours. Thanks once again for so generously sharing your years of knowledge and experience
My first real training experience started with herding! Yikes! I couldn’t have picked a harder venue! So many times I wanted to just throw in the towel. It was with my second dog that I learned to trust my dog and keep my big mouth shut!
Hi Eric, thanks for your interesting and informative articles. I have been following you with interest, and often find myself sharing info from your essays or podcasts with members of our local club, where I am a volunteer instructor.
Happily almost all of our members embrace our positive training ethos, whether they are experienced or total newbies. So the message is getting out. Even the occasional old school handler can be informed about different gear to use, different techniques, and the importance of engaging with the dog, rather than engaging in "the battle".
Thanks again for your writings
Hi Rebecca -
Thanks so much for your note! I'm glad to hear that you find my content (essays and podcasts) useful. Good for you for bringing solid information on modern training approaches to your club and to the students you work with.
It's really people like you that I write for - the ones who want to know more and do the best job with their dogs. What a wonderful bonus that you get to share what you are learning and that you feel that you are making a difference in the lives of people and their dogs.
If you would be interested, I would love to know more about your volunteer work and how things are going with your local club. It's always great to hear success stories.
Keep up the great work - I know the dogs will love you for it!
Eric
Hi Eric
Thanks for taking an interest in our little club. We are DogzCairns, situated in beautiful Cairns in North Queensland Australia. We are an entirely volunteer run local club
As with many clubs we dont really have enough people who do all the work- but we have been running for 10 years.
Mostly we concentrate on weekly group classes- from puppies through to level 3. We teach basic dog manners and how to have a well rounded dog that is well behaved and calm. Sometimes we have 10 or more students in a beginners class- which is hard work for me as I am usually the beginner class teacher! Often we have complete novices, who have their first dog. These guys are the best because they are absolute sponges for info. That can also be a problem though as there is just not enough time to tell them everything! I usually email them an info pack which goes into more depth than can be covered in class, and has some links to trusted trainers: like yourself - for some self study. I try to explain the importance of engagement, the use of markers, human and dog body language, some simple games to play, reinforcing the dog when it is choosing to do the right thing all by itself, and respecting the dogs rights to choose.
As well as basics like the right way to hold a treat, good leash handling, good timing, how and when to practice. Mostly it's about loose leash walking at first.
We host two trials each year- in Agility/ Rally/ Obedience/ and Tricks.
We have a facebook page DogzCairns, which I am the admin of. As well as class announcements I try to post interesting articles, videos, jokes, and all sorts of dog related content We have 900+ followers on the page, and the posts seem to reach 150- 200 people.
If you have time check it out- scroll down through the posts to see some of the articles I have shared.
My own dog is a foster fail (of 8 foster dogs). Stella is a 6 year old Pit Bull, and is a great ambassador for a breed that receives too much bad press. She has titles in Obedience, CD, Rally RAE, Tricks TKS and Nosework,NWN. We are really enjoying nosework and she is an absolute star at it.
She LOOOOOVES everyone. especially all the staff and residents at my elderly Mum's Residential Aged Care Home. She is a smiler,and a yodeller, and loves to be rubbed and made a fuss of, and never jumps or runs.
Anyway I shall stop now- it is a subject I could talk about for hours. Thanks once again for so generously sharing your years of knowledge and experience
Regards
Rebecca
My first real training experience started with herding! Yikes! I couldn’t have picked a harder venue! So many times I wanted to just throw in the towel. It was with my second dog that I learned to trust my dog and keep my big mouth shut!