Dog Training Seminar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today started off a bit stressful. Had to get up early for the dog training seminar. Got my coffee and breakfast ( milk and meds yummm ) and got myself dezombified enough. Was right on time, loaded the car. Then my car wouldn't start. Of all the days?  Really?  Yeeaahh.  Can't have it looked at till Monday. Thankfully my aunt could give me a ride.

Got there just in time and got settled.  A room full of dog geeks and dog trainers and professionals somehow dog oriented or with their own fearful dogs, and here I am with Ember.  Everyone wanted to gobble her up and she would have gladly let them and become one with them if it were physically possible.  Everyone was real polite though and resisted the temptation of the cute little black and brindle dog in the room.

The seminar was great.  Debbie is thoughtful and has a wonderful sense of humor, and her presentations reflect that. So did the random times a certain image would flash on the screen and she'd lob various dog toys into the audience.  Ember was sad she didn't get to fetch them all, but behaved herself by simply watching as they went sailing and squeaking.  In the end I made up for it by letting her get all sorts of love from people who had asked, when it was safe to do so.

I was stuck when lunch time came since I didn't have a vehicle.  Some nice folks invited us to ride with them to go get lunch, which I thought was very awesome of them. Thanks again guys!

Great topics were discussed and lots of questions were presented and answered.  It was so wonderful being surrounded by so many dog and behavioral geeks, that sense of common ground and understanding we all shared.  I even got a chance to share my reptile geekery.

Time to speak one on one was limited, but I did have a chance to mention my situation with Chakotay and got some confirmation that we were on the right track. Echoing what I already knew; it is really dependent on the dog, set them up for success and hope for the best. But there is the reality that certain characteristics come with certain breeds and it may need more than behavior modification. Medication can be used to help get things in balance, and once that is used in combination with the training methods, the dog may get to the point where it is no longer needed.

We got a copy of one of Debbie's books and asked her to autograph it, which she was tickled by.  Then Ember and I got our picture taken with her.  After which Ember got sooooo much loooove from Debbie and anyone else who was still there waiting to speak with her.

Overall a good day.