Training and Learning
There is so much to learn and experience about canine welfare, behaviour and just having fun with your dog.
When we get the chance to try some of the many courses, workshops and other experiences on offer,
we will share it with you on this page.
Who knows - you may decide to follow up for yourself if it sounds interesting!
A Seminar with Professor Ray Coppinger - Jan goes to listen and learn!
Some of you may have read Professor Coppinger's books. In particular, the book written together with his wife Lorna
has become a must have text on every behavioural student's bookshelf.
"Dogs, A Startling New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behaviour and Evolution" is crammed with information and sometimes
a little hard to read, so the opportunity to meet with and hear from Prof. Coppinger himself was too good to miss.
Professor of Biology at the School of Cognitive Science at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, USA until 2006,
Ray Coppinger has studied dogs, bred dogs, raced dog sled teams in the Arctic and worked with dogs for decades all over the world.
He is also a consultant to the famous Wolf Park, Indiana, USA.
The headline promotion for the event said -
"Ray and Lorna have developed the modern theory of how dogs evolved by natural selection. The most consensus view is that people domesticated dogs
but the Coppingers question that. By investigating dogs in places like the Mexico City dump they gather information to support their argument that dogs
evolved as one of the all time successful scavengers. Dogs wild behavior is that of a village scavenger, but often dogs like those Mexico City Dump
have their behaviors shaped by the environment they find themselves in."
The seminar was held in the Medieval Hall in Salisbury Cathedral Close - an interesting choice of venue! Around a 100 people came to the seminar
from all sorts of background - rescues, charities, trainers, behaviourists etc. As Professor Coppinger lives in the USA, visits to the UK are not frequent.
To make matters worse, the Prof. was stuck in Poland only days before, marooned by the Icelandic volcano eruption,
so I felt very lucky to hear him speak.
To give you a flavour of the day, Professor Coppinger described it as follows :-
"A study that centers on how the dogs and people interact with each other in the Mexico City Dump. I will try to compare them with the rest of the dog world.
This island paradise gave me new insights into the natural history of dogs, into their behavioral ecology and the continuing evolution of dogs and their people friends.
This presentation is important in understanding the relationship between human and dog societies. We find why the denizens of the dump do not fit the pervading
perception that they are the dregs of societies in need of help and control. Often I am faced with those public officials who want to do something about people living in dumps.
As people struggle with issues of economics, health, medicine, environment, resources, energy, population, humane treatment and even politics,
here we see a fresh view of human and animal welfare that can inform our thinking here in our island paradise.
For most dogs in the world their daily bread is reliable. The Mexico City dump dogs have a 24/7/365 reliable resource just like our better-cared-for pets.
Life is so much better and more natural for the dump dogs. All the food you can eat and an interesting social life which is heavy into courtship, motherhood
and puppies and all those other wonderful natural things that dogs like to do.
In fact for a dog it is a bit of paradise. They are not neutered, and they are not on a leash. The worst thing that could happen to any one of them is to get captured
and sterilized and put in some shelter in Florida, maybe to be adopted into a solitary life in someone's home."
The seminar ran from 9 am til 5pm and was just sooo interesting - I can't begin to tell you all about the content, but a film was made of the day
and is available on dvd. I have ordered a copy, which I will happily share with Paws People when it arrives.
Dogs Behaving Badly
Sunday morning (early - 7am), the sun is up and its going to be a beautiful day, so what did we do?
We sat in a car for over 2 hours, well, 3 of us did - Nikki was driving so had to be a bit more awake!
4 of us (Nikki, Manda, Anne and Jan) went to Oxshott in Surrey for a day's workshop about dogs who are or have
potential to be aggressive with people.
At Paws we are mostly very lucky with our dogs and handlers, to date we have not had a problem.
But I guess one day we might, so we wanted to be well informed and consistent in our response.
The workshop was led by Paddy Driscoll, who is a very experienced Pet Behaviourist and trainer based
in Lincolnshire - yes I know that's nowhere near Surrey!!
The day went by very quickly, we were joined by a 14 week Finnish Laphund, a German Spitz and 2 collies
to give us some practical examples of dogs with different behaviours and we also had the opportunity to share
other peoples' experiences.
So at the end we felt that this had been a worthwhile day's training for us, there was nothing new or
startling in the information we were given, but working with 4 unknown and very different dogs was useful.
We talked about the day on the way home, swapped thoughts about different things, munched sweets,
until Manda said " I think we're going the wrong way".
The signs to Gatwick sort of confirmed this, and then our sweetnatured, kind Nikki turned into a demented rally car driver
in order to get back to the M3.
Good day out - well worthwhile and plenty of laughing, as usual.
Holidays with Dogs
Well, we've just come back from a week in West Wales and if anyone is looking for a dog friendly place to stay,
then we can personally recommend Little Dumpledale Farm in Pembrokeshire.
Dogs are almost compulsory, no limit to how many you can take - the owners have 7!!
No charge for dogs, securely fenced gardens at each of the properties, miles and miles of dog friendly beaches and hills.
Just a few miles south of Haverfordwest, this place is quiet, well away from the road and easy to reach from Somerset - 3 hours
on good roads.
One of the many beaches, this is Freshwater West
Looking like a sheepdog in the Presceli Mountains!
I had a lovely Holiday!
And so did I!!
Doggy Dancing with Richard Curtis - a report from Anne and Karen
On a cold icy Sunday morning Anne and Karen and their dogs Millie and Fleckle set off from a snowbound Crewkerne to Keinton Mandeville
for a Heelwork to Music (HTM) workshop with Richard Curtis. Heelwork to Music? Karen in particular wasn't sure what to expect -
to the uninitiated HTM is commonly referred to as Doggie Dancing.
Richard soon got everyone involved, training dogs to walk on the left, right, twirling and bowing. With some useful coaching tips,
consistent handling and a positive approach it was amazing what was achieved in a relatively short space of time.
All the dogs were involved, motivated and so well behaved. Fourteen dogs in a village hall and hardly any noise (except from Millie who can get a little excitable
when food treats and other dogs are around.) But even she was quiet and well focussed when actually performing.
After a quick break for lunch, Richard gave a short demonstration with one of his dogs, Pogo.
The slick moves and musical interpretation were very impressive. Then we were working again, but without our dogs
who were resting in cars, or crates around the room. Music was added to the session now and we had to walk to a beat (some found this surprising difficult)
and learn to use more expression in our movement. Then in pairs we designed and performed a sequence travelling from one side of the room to the other,
one taking the role of the dog and the other being the handler. Hilarious!!
Then two groups were formed and each given the idea of a piece of music and asked to ‘brainstorm' thoughts for a possible routine.
The first group had to discuss ballroom music and the second, the set piece ‘Working 9 to 5'.
Certainly made everyone think about moves, props, costumes etc and Richard subsequently extended a few of those thoughts.
When the dogs returned to the hall, they were soon walking backwards on command and jumping over poles.
Fleckle with her short dachshund legs amazed everyone, not least Karen.
This enjoyable sport seems to be appropriate for all shapes and sizes -of both dog and handler!!
Finally, the dogs had to perform set moves or ‘tricks' with the added complication of a prop, in this case, a cane.
In what seemed like no time at all they were twirling to the side of a cane and putting their paws up onto the prop.
Obviously some dogs and their handlers performed better than others but everyone saw what was possible and appreciated that
Richard was giving initial guidance so that participants could return home and continue the good work.
Wow, what an intense and exhausting day for both dogs and handlers- but how very enjoyable and positive.
A day out with like-minded people in the company of your dog- what could be better?
Go on have a go at HTM, in the safe expectation that you and your dog will have a great time together.
Richard and Pogo
Fur by Nikki
Hi there - Moss here reporting on a day at the Furdressers.
Just because I turned into a black and brownish collie, my Mum took me to Auntie Nikki's furdressing parlour.
I don't like water OK?
How insulting was that! 3 - yes THREE - shampoo sessions 'cos Auntie Nikki said I was minging,
well I LIKE the smell of fox poo especially when it's nice and sticky and all round my ears.
After the soapy stuff had washed off all my lovely foxy perfume and my tail and furry knickers
were no longer nice and matted with all that lovely mud I brought back from Lauren's field in Devon
- did you know that the mud down there is RED and it makes my Mum really cross 'cos it does something
to her clothes that she calls "stains" - wicked!! - well it just got worse, next came the shower spray!!
Ha!! I'll get you for this Mum!!
By now Mum and Auntie Nikki were wet as well, so I'm feeling a bit better. I hopped up on the table when asked, only for it to move
up into the air - well, didn't mind that! Then Aunti Nikki started to brush me and cut all the muddy bits off and the warmth from the drier
sort of sent me to sleep in mummy's arms --
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I really enjoyed the last bit, warm and cosy and I feel really pretty now. All I need to finish the new look
is a nice dab of fox poo!! Let me at it!
Fur by Nikki at Whiskers and Wet Noses, Andersea near Burrowbridge
Walk with a Hawk
Great Fun - not strictly dog training, but several similarities.
On a glorious Autumn day, three of us set off across the moors above the Horner Valley on Exmoor,
in the company of Ben, our falconer for the afternoon, and Costa the Harris Hawk.
Over a 2 and a half hour walk, Ben described how hawks and falcons are trained, we learnt about
the use of the whistle, the relationship between different breeds of dogs and different birds of prey,
how dogs and birds hunt together and so much more.
Autumn is my favourite time of year on the moor, with the leaves and the bracken turning to
orange and red colours.
Costa's own colouring gives her excellent camouflage amongst the beech hedges, although
Ben worried about her taking one of the pheasants that are so plentiful at this time of year.
Luckily for them Costa didn't have pheasant on her menu on this day.
If you enjoy this kind of walking, don't mind muddy boots and can admire the beauty and brains of these
wonderful creatures, then this is an event you should try.
Visit www.exmoorfalconry.co.uk and give it a go!
