Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Nearby Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, Carls Jr. for your lunch break convenience.
Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: my home in Tulare
Workshop capacities are limited to intimate sessions of 10 registrants.
Registration fee: Saturday $60 or Saturday and Sunday $100
The poop on this page was last scooped on: 7/19/2010
Page design and written content by Gail Berk.
© Gail Berk 2009-2010.
All rights reserved.
2-Day Canine Behavior Workshop
Saturday Topics
1. Keys to Successful Training
2. Leadership
3. Learning Principles
4. Training Techniques
5. Bridging Principles
6. Positive Feedback
7. Training Stages
8. Training Sessions and Workouts
9. Principles of Basic Behaviors
10. Directions
11. Hand Signals
12. Discipline
13. Equipment Orientation
Sunday Topics
1. Behavior Problem Causes
2. Predispositions
3. Resolution
4. Digging
5. Chewing
6. Barking
Note: This 2-day workshop is a formidable foundation for dog training, not dog training classes. Kindly leave dogs and
children at home as we do not have the facility to accommodate either. Neither is my home wheelchair accessible. Please see our Services page for alternative, in-home sessions.
If you'd like to attend Saturday only or both Saturday and Sunday, please phone us at (559) 687-8000 and we will inform you how to pre-register. Due to a very limited seating capacity registration form and payment must be received 7 days prior to the workshop to confirm your attendance. No at-door registration. Cancellations within 7 days of the workshop will be issued credit only.
Saturday
Dog Sense
How dogs think: Foundation for better training
and a better relationship.
Having a relationship with your dog is not about being alpha. This is so old school. Dogs recognize that humans are a different species. And if we act like it, they recognize we are the higher-intelligence species. So if we're so smart, isn't it logical that it's up to us to make the adjustments needed to convey a point rather than expect a dog to just know what we mean? Dogs do not require, nor expect, us to act like a dog in order that they "get it". But it is necessary for us to understand how they think and learn in order to effectively use that knowledge in teaching.
It's not about being an alpha, it's about being a good leader. Being a good leader requires consistency and competency. It's about being fair, not about being a bully. Isn't having a dog about the companionship? Companionship isn't something forced but rather built, built with mutual trust and respect.
Berk's Canine Companion Training practices techniques and principles which will help you understand what can reasonably be expected (or not expected) from your dog. Just because you've always wanted Lassie doesn't mean it's obtainable. You can have a relaxed relationship without compromising reliable behaviors.
Additionally we will be discussing the humane way to discipline a dog. Humane, as in without need to strike a dog with hand, fist, foot, or instrument, including a newspaper. While striking a dog with a newspaper will unlikely render an injured dog, it is perceived as an extension of your hand which should always be used in a loving way if you are to have a non fear-based relationship.
Come to our workshop and gather some dog sense and learn what makes your dog tick. When you understand how your dog thinks, training is easy and you can provide an environment conducive to your dog's willingness to learn.
Sunday *
Behavior Problems: Prevention/Resolution
(digging, chewing, barking)
All dogs dig, chew, and bark, to one degree or another. It's a normal dog behavior. We people are the ones who have problems with it. But, after all, they are living in our world so it's reasonable to expect that dogs have a little compromising to do as well.
There are many causes for digging, chewing, and barking behaviors.
Let's suppose you are experiencing holes in your backyard. Everyday a new hole. Digging is a symptom of a greater problem. Something is causing the digging.
Since you will come away from the Saturday workshop with the complete understanding that there is no such thing as an effective after-the-fact reprimand, let's say you decide you'll just cement your whole backyard. Ha ha, now he can't dig. What you'll probably experience is that while you may have effectively resolved the digging, now you're getting your patio furniture chewed up. What happened here was that you addressed the symptom but not the cause. Since the cause still existed but could no longer manifest as digging, it instead manifested as chewing.
I have created a methodical, yet simple, way to resolve these types problems: problems we all encounter by virtue dog nature, problems that can be elimininated without causing new ones to crop up in their place.
Come join us for this half-day workshop to find the causes of digging, chewing, and barking (commons dog behaviors) and learn how to resolve the cause, rather than the symptom. We will be doing some exercises in resolution for these behaviors and welcome your own on-topic problems to the discussions.
* To attend this workshop there is a requirement that you have attended the Saturday workshop on Dog Sense. This provides crutial foundation that this Sunday workshop builds upon.
There are no workshops currently scheduled. If you are interested in attending, please notify us
from our Contact Us page. Review the workshop contents. Our Comprehensive program contains ALL of the information from ALL of the workshops below (see Services page).
