www.westjerseyk9.org

SATURDAY:  DOGS WILL BE DOGS:  Understanding & Improving Life With Dogs 

Dogs will be dogs.  People will be people.  Sometimes, we both have trouble understanding the other's perspective, body language, and motivations.  For both people and dogs, how we absorb information, respond to our world, interact with others, and experience life depends heavily on what we know & understand.  Using pre-selected demo dogs, this workshop focuses on helping participants find multiple "AHA!" moments of insight through an exploration of:

• Tune In! Reading Canine Body Language - tuning in to the ongoing broadcast from your dog's mind.  From the basic meta-messages of body language to the nuances of whiskers, breathing and eye shape, learn how to read what your dog tells you

• The Human Factor - how our awareness, actions, body language, breathing and thoughts affect our dogs. Practical exercises to improve your awareness and ability to use your own body language to clearly communicate with your dog for better responses, improved performance and resolution of behavior problems.

• The Magic Microphone & the Elemental Questions - Learning to ask the dog the important questions that will steer you to the answers you need to resolve behavior & performance problems

• What Your Dog's Body Can Tell You About His Mind - Learn to assess your dog's every day movement (sit, stand, walk, down) for clues to how he's feeling, what he's capable of doing, and how his physical being can (and does!) affect his mental & emotional state and cause behavior & performance problems

SUNDAY:  PRACTICAL BONES FOR REAL DOGS

Using pre-selected case history dogs, this day will focus on the practical application of RCT to address and help resolve the problems presented.  Is your dog fearful? shy? dislikes being handled? growls at you? gets too excited? Wish you understood how to assess and help a shelter or rescue dog?  This is a fascinating day with real dogs showing us the complexities of behavior and relationships, and demonstrations of how Relationship Centered Training techniques can help in surprisingly easy but effective ways.

Techniques that may be put to good use include:

• Treat/Retreat - Simply the best skill builder for shy/unsure dogs when it comes to meeting & greeting people. An absolute must have in any serious trainer's toolbox.

• ACI - Suzanne's Auto-Check-In - a powerful tool for teaching the dog to maintain connection with the handler while learning how to voluntarily disengage from a wide variety of stimuli

• Ghost Handling - A relationship building exercise that highlights weak areas while also providing opportunities for shifting responsibility, providing autonomy, and finding true connection

• Go Hunt, Loose Lead Walking, and more

This 2 day workshop will leave you with a deeper understanding of your dogs, new tools for working with, living with and training dogs, and an appreciation of all that dogs can teach us when we put our relationship with them at the center of all we do.

DETAILS & REGISTRATION at the West Jersey K9 SAR website.