Zink Seminar: The logisitics

Beckett and I went to our first working seminar, Dr. Chris Zink, "Coaching the Canine Athlete." Okay, so calling Beckett a athlete is a lot like calling my young cousins art work a master piece... Not to say there isn't any truth to it. My cousins work does look better then some modern art I've seen. And Beckett has done rally, some lure coursing, and he is my jogging partner which gives him between 9-15 miles a week 9 months of the year (we don't run in the winter).

I suppose we are in the intramural dog sports league which would be easier if they had an intramural level, but they don't, and the seminar was close by, and my friend was going, and I've always wanted to go to a working seminar. You know what? don't judge me, I went with Beckett my lovable cuddle champion.

I imagine one could easily tell I was the least experienced dog person there with a working dog. It was obvious from my general ignorance in everything agility related that Beckett was not a rising or even would-be agility star, from his form it was probably even more apparent that he did not pull, mush, or do field work. I was the black sheep with my own brindle greyhound. Why don't they have intramural dog sports? All the fun with out so much of the competition?

I think I may have gotten my preconceived notions of what a dog seminar would be like extrapolating on the veterinary lectures at the greyhound expo. The expo scene was like deja vu of my scientific lectures, rows of chairs, projector screens, power points, people occasionally nodded between furiously scribbled notes; the difference from my scientific lectures, aside from the location - there was no fancy convention center or hotel ball room, was the dogs lounging over every available floor space.

My self created fantasy of the seminar had me taking notes like the amazing student I am (doing what I do best), with my dog by my feet doing what he does best (nothing). It was going to be awesome! Except, it was going to be not like that at all. Oh, the place had all the trappings, the notebooks, the projector ect., but the dogs, they weren't sprawled on the floor they were crated in the other room separated by a pair of closed doors.

I mean Beckett is crate trained, but I've never had him in a different room from me for so long. I brought the fabric crate - what if he tore through that? (which experience has taught me not only is he capable of doing, but costs 60$ to replace.)

My heart was suddenly beating loudly, I'm wasn't sure, what if he broke out, I could put him in the car, but it is still a bit cold for him. I took a deep breath and to be honest I totaled up the monetary cost of the whole thing, (cha-ching; seminars are not cheap). I decided to keep Beckett busy in the crate with a frozen kong and a bully stick. If he gets out, he gets out, I'll take him home and we will call it a weekend. (At least I'll get to that laundry that has been piling up).

The first break was 2 hours after the doors were closed.

I was sweating bullets. What if they had an intercom I could just imagine it, "Could the women with no real reason to be here come chase down her dog who escaped from his crate to the amusement of everyone, then maybe take a quick pop math test, Thank you." Of course, reality is Beckett comes when he is called so I wouldn't have to chase him anywhere and I'm reasonably certain that I'm passed the age I ever have to take a pop math test.

The two hours took what seemed like forever to pass - even with the good sized amount of knowledge I was trying to absorb. When we finally broke off I was happy to find Beckett safe and sound inside his crate. He seemed to be a bit nervous, panting a little, but otherwise was his normal self.

My previous fears were not as crazy as you may have thought, the dog next to us broke through his fabric crate and was being packed up. However, there was no announcement nor did they make the owner take a math test.

The day had two breaks and a lunch. Beckett was out and working for maybe 20-30 min of that time the rest of the time he was crated. By the end of the first day he was amazing in the crate obviously at ease, though I myself was still nervous. He was well behaved always was able to follow commands, and though he wasn't an athlete he was an amazingly good dog.

The second day was much like the first with some more working time in the afternoon. I'll save the actual content to blog about later, which was really informative, I am really glad I went.

Where are the cookies?

No cookies?! Blame nefarious combination of my work schedule and the long lingering death grip of winter. The once picturesque blanket of snow is now suffocating the ground keeping me from my lovely seasonal vegetables. The carefully persevered winter squash? Gone months ago! The only things left from the last growing season are one slightly dry but still good sweet potato and one white potato. At least I have my potted herbs.

A Book Review, "Train your dog like a Pro" Jean Donaldson

In keeping with my news year’s resolution; wait was reviewing books part of that? I can’t remember. The truth is I’ve been swamped at work. We’ve had to stop fostering, my husband was taking up all the dog slack and though he was a good sport about it, with no end in sight he started getting understandably cranky. Still, enough about my personal life and more about the subject at hand, Ms. Donaldson’s book, “Train your dog like a Pro.”

Donaldson is (as one might have easily gathered from the title) not writing for the professional dog trainer, but for the rest of us, even the most work laden-time crunched-not excited about dog training among us.

If you’ve read canine texts, you might be familiar with the image of the rural farm house, the grass laden fields, the lovingly described pack of dogs, the lesson-teaching-well-meaning-personal-tales, all the things that bring to mind a natural connection between the writer and the canine psyche. Well, you won’t find those here. Donaldson isn’t verbose on her own relationship with the canine species instead leaving those cozy hearth scenes on the editing room floor in order to get straight to the point, training your dog.

To be blunt, I’m not sure if Donaldson is a natural savant of the dog world, but I can tell you she seems like natural at teaching people how to train their dogs. The training instructions are clear, well-described, and already broken down into small easy to digest and accomplish bites. Instead of a book, it is more like a work-book; and as such it is your own actions - your own success that keeps you coming back.

Donaldson starts off with simple instructions and goes above and beyond to give you several different explanations in case the first one doesn’t fit with your learning style. Yes, she actually discusses different learning styles. Furthermore, Donaldson approaches several aspects of dog training that are commonly overlooked by similarly presented books, time management, self- encouragement, motivation, involving family members, and if your still not able - with no condensation or judgment exploring other options such as having a professional do the training for you.

The chapters themselves are well organized, moving and building from the simple to the more advanced behaviors. However, even the most complicated sections cannot shake off the ubiquitous aura of simplicity. Which as you might imagine has the potential to be a complete bore, but almost surprisingly, it isn’t. I personally found the book pretty compelling. I loved reading the multiple explanations of the same concept unfold and found that the simplicity that flowed throughout actually tied the book together and kept the reader from ever feeling overwhelmed.

The only part I wasn’t a huge fan of was how late in the book the clicker was introduced. I understand, not everyone wants or is on board with a training aid. After all it is one more thing to buy and carry around, but aside from that little tiny afterthought I was really impressed. Now the best part. It comes with a DVD, A DVD which… I haven’t had to time to watch… yet.

I originally borrowed this book, but three fourths the way through added it to my must purchase list and now that I’ve finished reading it there is no doubt it is worth the money. It’s a perfect addition for anyone looking for a simple well thought out guide in order to start training their dog ... like a pro.