Educational Opportunities

This weekend, I am attending a two day seminar in Dublin, Ohio, which is just outside Columbus.  It is only about a three hour drive from here.  The speaker is Nicole Wilde.  She is a trainer, author and photographer.  She is perhaps most well-known for her work with wolfdogs.  She keeps a very informative blog, mostly about training and working with fearful dogs.

A local rescuer friend of mine, who has two rescued woofers and is the Director of Animal Welfare for a neighboring county, suggested we attend the seminar together.  I quickly checked my schedule and registered myself.  We are leaving early Saturday morning, and coming home late Sunday evening.  The seminar is not just for trainers, but is aimed also at rescuers, those with rescues or fearful dogs, or those who just want to be more dog-savvy.

Saturday's topic is Helping Fearful Dogs.  I feel this will be very beneficial to me when working with Faolan's fear and anxiety issues.  He is such a sweet boy, who absolutely adores people.  I want to be able to take him more places.

Sunday has two topics-Two Timely Topics: Separation Anxiety & Dynamics of Dog-Dog Play.  While none of my dogs appear to have separation anxiety, I anticipate learning quite a bit of new information.  I am most looking forward to the discussion of play dynamics.  My crew is very rough and tumble, rowdy, and vocal when they play with each other.  I know this is their norm, but guests have been alarmed when witnessing it.  It is my understanding that rowdy play is fairly common amongst northern breed dogs.  I am hoping to learn how to detect subtle nuances in canine body language while playing, and when to intervene if its ever needed.

Saturday evening, we will be having dinner with Nicole Wilde.  We have some woofer friends who live in the Columbus area, one of whom is Rachel, who has taken photos of both Neeko and Faolan.  If you follow the link, she features a photo of Neeko in her portfolio.  We are hoping to meet up with them Saturday evening for a cocktail.

I am quite excited about this seminar and time with some friends.  I am not looking forward to leaving my pups, however.

This is not only an educational opportunity for me, but for Les as well.  For the first time, he will be responsible for total care of the dogs.

I have planned out their meals, and will make them easy for him to find and feed.  At his request, I wrote down explicit instructions.

 

 

 

It is my hope that we both learn and benefit greatly from our experiences.