Albury- Wodonga Seminars and Workshops November 2008

Underdog is coming back to the Albury- Wodonga region! In November 2008 Underdog will again travel to the border for a weekend of seminars and workshops. Private lessons will also be available. For further information, please contact Tamara and Stuart.

Canberra Weekend of Seminars and Workshops September 20th/ 21st

Our recent trip to Canberra was a huge success with close to 100 bookings over the 2 day period! It made for a very busy weekend and we were fortunate enough to meet some wonderful people. Canberra is very fortunate to have the people we met working for the dogs in need in the area- they truly do a great job.

The Saturday morning seminar was held at the Canberra Greyhound Racing Club and we thank them for their assistance in providing a terrific area for us to hold the event. There were some great questions asked and answered and a little insight given into why dogs do the things they do! While the seminar does not contain practical demonstrations, there are plenty of light bulb moments as participants learn more about their dogs’ behaviour. It also made many keen to come along to the practical Sunday session to see the theory put into practice.

Saturday afternoon saw us head to Domestic Animal Services/ Canberra pound for the temperament testing workshop. This workshop gave everyone the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of temperament testing as well as doing practical handling of dogs currently impounded. We thank DAS for allowing us to use the facility and for not being too grumpy when we ran over time! We tested some wonderful dogs and every dog tested taught the group a little more about the importance of formal temperament testing procedures. There has already been positive feedback with regards to the future relationship between rescuers in Canberra, Albury and Melbourne who now use the same temperament test!

Throughout the whole weekend we were extremely fortunate to have brilliant weather and Sunday was no exception. While Stuart was busy with private lessons, I ran the practical workshop which allowed us to demonstrate some of the concepts we had discussed on Saturday. We were able to conduct an array of practical demonstrations from teaching loose lead walking to dealing with dog to dog and dog to human aggression issues. Various training techniques and different training equipment was used with many having a new appreciation for different ways to use the same tool. We worked with some terrific dogs of all shapes and sizes and everyone improved on the day. Special thanks to Raelene and ACT rescue and foster for their help in organizing this special event. Plans are already underway for us to return to Canberra next year.

Here are just a few comments from those who attended the weekend-

I have to say that this was the most fantastic weekend of dog training.
I am soooo impressed with Underdog, and would recommend them heartily for those who want effective training that is geared towards that specific dog, and taught in a way that is easy to understand and easy to implement. I have learned so much and feel more confident about both temp testing and handling my own dogs. I am also in love with the cheeky Dexter. The ONLY bad thing about the weekend is that Tamara and Stuart went back to Melbourne

It was an absolutely fantastic weekend that left everyone with lots more tools in our tool box!

Thank you so much Tamara and Stuart. I would encourage anyone who has the chance to attend an Underdog training seminar to GO

Tamara is an excellent facilitator & the seminar was well presented. The weekend was excellent value for money & I would highly recommend it. Regretfully I was unable to attend today's workshop, but the information yesterday really got the thought processes working.

What a FABULOUS weekend. Was definitely worth the trip (now I just gotta stay awake today)

The hugest of thanks to Raelene for the lengths she went to ensure that this weekend happened. Raelene you are a true legend! And of course a big thanks to Tamara, Stuart and 'crew'. You guys are an inspiration.

Thank you to Stuart and Tamara for giving some very easy to understand and practical advice.

Warm thanks from me, also. The weekend was fantastic and the information will be really useful. Thanks to all whose hard work and generosity went into the organisation of the weekend

You could not ask for anything more from the 2 days, it was professionally run, in plain english, easy to understand and follow and should be easy to apply to all of my dogs fosters and mine inclusive. We will all look forward to follow up weekends in the not too distant future; I think you guys will be very busy from now on. Love the pics at Parliament

Thanks for spending your time to come up and help educate us rescuers. It means a lot for us to be able to help our dogs to become better canine citizens and better dogs for adoptions. We'll all be practicing our walking on a loose lead and relish not being dragged from pillar to post by the enthusiastic pooches (I think this will be wonderful for many of us). We'll also have better knowledge of why a dog might be doing what it is and if we are inadvertently rewarding an unwanted behaviour.... oops... have caught myself already.

Just to add my heartfelt thanks for the Canberra weekend- can not believe how much I got out of the two days- the behaviour generally, the temp testing and of course the amazing dawning of the loose lead Flash Jack from Gundagai!

So this was Flash http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=127340
 when he was in rescue and as you can see that pulling thing of his was fairly well ingrained so you will be delighted to know that since Sunday he has perfected loose lead walking. I cannot believe it was so simple- that lead holding, standing my ground and the tea towel flick correction-Monday morning he needed a mere 2 corrections and since then both morning and evening walks have been loose lead till we get to the leash free paddocks and he seems really keen on checking back with me at every occasion, like he is actually more secure in the knowledge that I am in charge. Anyway, many thanks, clear proof that you can indeed teach an old dog new tricks- not to mention old(er) owners eh?!

Temperament Testing Workshop 14th June 2008

Special thanks to The Australian Animal Protection Society (Keysborough animal shelter) for allowing us to use their facilities and dogs for the temperament testing workshop. The workshop was a wonderful opportunity both for us and the large number of rescue groups/ shelters that attended. Thank you to Lort Smith Animal Hospital/ Shelter, Keysborough Shelter, Victorian Dog Rescue, Beagle Rescue, Melbourne Dog Rescue, Rigby’s Rescue, Pets Haven Woodend, Luv a Lab Rescue, Active K9 and the wonderful ladies from Mildura for attending and making the workshop such a success. Everyone braved an icy Melbourne afternoon and many traveled great distances to attend the workshop.

Temperament testing is a vital part of successfully rescuing and rehoming the unwanted dogs that find themselves (often through no fault of their own) in pounds and shelters across Australia. We hope to make further resources and information available to everyone involved in dog rescue and have started planning a trip to Canberra in the near future to run another temperament testing workshop. If you would like a temperament testing workshop and/ or a dog behaviour and psychology seminar in your town/ state, please contact us at underdogtraining@hotmail.com or on 0402 112 105

Scent Detection Workshop 14th June 2008

The scent detection workshop on the14th June was a great success- thanks to all those who attended. The dogs attending all did extremely well for their first time and the handlers did a great job handling their new sniffer dogs! We have since heard great reports about the dogs progress beyond the workshop with the scent detection exercises being used on the cold, wet Melbourne days instead of a walk. We will be running more scent detection workshops this year and hope to see you all there!

Evening Seminar 26th June 2008

This seminar will cover two topics of vital importance if we wish to resolve some of the issues facing our four legged friends and their families. The first half of the seminar, “When Freddy Meets Fido” will provide information on the prevention of problems between Children/ Babies and the dogs they share their home with.

We will then be discussing the best ways to “Select a Dog” from both a new owner and rehoming point of view. Our aim is to prevent poor dog selection that frequently results in unhappiness for both dog and owner.

The seminar will take place on Thursday June 26th Registration 6:15pm for a 6:30pm sharp start. Expected finish time is 10pm including interval

COST: $35 per person. Discounts apply to rescue groups, shelters and group bookings (4 or more) from veterinary clinics.

Location: Clayton South Primary School Clayton Rd, Clayton Sth, opposite Fairbank Avenue

Albury Wodonga Weekend of Seminars and Workshops

We would really like to thank Trish from Albury Dog Rescue for their assistance in organising the wonderful weekend of seminars and private lessons in the Albury Wodonga region.

The Saturday morning seminar ran for 3 ½ hours and covered a range of topics from dog psychology and training concepts to behaviour problems including separation anxiety and aggression. We were fortunate to meet a wonderful group of people from both the Albury Wodonga and Wagga Wagga regions, many of whom are involved in rescuing dogs on death row from local pounds and shelters. Thank you to those who traveled to take part in the seminar- we hope that seminars like these will continue to assist everyone who trains their own dogs and those who assist dogs in need of a loving new home.

We then ran a practical workshop in the afternoon at the Albury pound on formal temperament testing. Our aim is to have many pounds, shelters and rescuers across Australia using similar temperament tests so that there are uniform results that can be easily interpreted. Running workshops such as this will make this a reality and dogs being rehomed will be of sound and reliable temperaments.

Sunday was a terrific day of private lessons with owners and dogs who had an array of different issues- from fear and timidity to dog to dog aggression and fear aggression to people. It was a positive experience for owners and spectators to recognise that there are many things that can be done to resolve such issues and build happier relationships for dogs and their humans.

Thanks to everyone for their help and support- we had an excellent weekend and hope to continue to run training weekends in regional areas.

Do you think your town or community could benefit from a weekend with Underdog Training? Please contact us to discuss your needs so we can bring professional training services to all areas of the country.