Here Come the Holidays!
Nothing rings in the holiday season like including the animals in our lives into our celebrations and gift-giving activities. Tis the season for increased hustling around while visiting family and friends, and purchasing those special new treats, toys, and gear for our animal family members.
With our personal and professional calendars booking up, it’s important to also frequently assess how our family pets are adjusting, too. Here are some useful and practical resources:
Canine communication
Doggone Safe offers excellent tips:
http://doggonesafe.com/holiday_tips
http://doggonesafe.com/Speak_Dog
http://doggonesafe.com/dog_bite_prevention
Dr. Sophia Yin’s resource for free educational materials:
http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/free-downloads-posters-handouts-and-more
Training and Management Tips
Do you have clients with new puppies, an adolescent dog, or a newly adopted dog? This is an article I wrote last year with various suggestions to help plan in a proactive manner:
Fear Not: Navigating the Holidays with an Adolescent Dog (http://www.clickertraining.com/node/4365)
Here are great crate training tips from Casey Lomonaco:
Keeping the Holiday Peace: How to Crate Train Your Dog (http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3140)
How to Properly Fit a Harness
Can you imagine how frustrating (and uncomfortable!) it would be if someone asked you to walk across a street, and then placed a rubber band snug around your legs? No doubt that your stride would be compromised and you would become behaviorally and medically agitated. Our dogs are no different.
When their gait is limited and restricted, it effects their body structure and behavior. Before our clients head out to spend money on new harnesses, guide them toward this excellent resource by Lori Stevens:
Properly fitting a harness
http://seattlettouch.com/harness-fit/
Empathy for the Owner and Their Animal
Eileen Anderson wrote a clear and concise blog about the potential fallout and frustration of the extinction process in learning. There are helpful tips that compare human to animal learning.
How to Make Extinction Not Stink (http://eileenanddogs.com/2014/11/10/extinction/)
Continuing Education Information
Additional resources will be added in each subsequent newsletter. Here are a few upcoming events to mark on your calendars.
Training Conferences and Seminars:
2016
1) ClickerExpo
Reno, Nevada (January 22-24)
Cincinnati, Ohio (March 18-20)
Denmark (October 28-30)
http://www.clickertraining.com/clickerexpo
2) ORCA (The Organization for Reinforcement Contingencies with Animals)
March 20-21 (University of North Texas)
http://orgs.unt.edu/orca/conference/
3) IAABC (International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants)
April 9-10 (Anaheim, CA)
http://iaabc.org/conference/2016
4) Living and Learning with Animals for Professionals with Dr. Susan Friedman
September – October (8 week online course)
http://behaviorworks.org/htm/lla_professional_dates.html
5) APDT (Association of Professional Dog Trainers)
October 12-15 (Las Vegas, Nevada)
https://apdt.com/conference/
5) Pet Professional Guild Force-Free Summit
November 7-11 (Tampa, Florida)
http://www.petprofessionalguild.com
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6) Fenzi Dog Sport Academy Training Camp
June 19-22 (Gray Summit, MO)
http://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/component/content/articl
Have a wonderful, safe, and fun holiday season. Maybe the animal in your life will surprise you with a special gift (or two!).
See you again in the New Year,
Laura
