Course Details
As trainers and guardians, our role is not only to develop the specific behaviors we desire in our young sport or pet dog, but also to look at each developing dog as an individual, identify their innate tendencies, and then implement strategies (training, management, exercises, activities, exposures) that counter these innate tendencies.
For example, some dogs innately tend toward action/movement in situations that are ambiguous, whilst others are more cautious and revert to hesitation and inactivity in ambiguous situations. Identifying this key difference is essential, because this trait determines which training strategies will be most effective (e.g. whether “impulse control games” will be beneficial or detrimental for that individual dog).
When working with dogs that are confident, fast, bold, movement-oriented, and tend to move forward when faced with an ambiguous situation, it is beneficial to implement strategies that encourage composed thinking, develop calm waiting behaviors, facilitate opportunities to learn how to relax / settle, and develop skills for inhibiting unwanted responses to urges / impulses.
However, when working with dogs that tend towards being cautious, are innately more risk-averse, and have a tendency to undertake extensive thought before acting in any situation that is even marginally ambiguous, we instead need to prioritize rewarding displays of initiative (e.g. trying things / taking chances / making guesses about what might be the “correct” behavior); we also need to encourage movement and undertake activities that contribute towards building (physical / mental / emotional) confidence. Importantly, with these types of dogs, common “impulse control games” can generate significant unwanted “fallout”; the impact of these types of “games” can be detrimental to these dogs in terms of their development as a sport dog or even their development as an engaged and confident pet dog.
In this webinar we will discuss several innate tendencies, such as:
• Dependence. / Independence.
• A tendency to approach. / A tendency to retreat.
• Optimism. / Pessimism.
• Dissipating arousal through movement. / Dissipating arousal through stillness.
• Handler focus. / Environmental focus.
• Risk taking. / Risk aversion.
• Persevering through frustration. / Quitting in response to frustration.
• Acting before thinking. / “Overthinking” before acting.
We will also discuss the most effective strategies for countering common innate tendencies; with the goal being to help our dog be more well-rounded, more content, and more able to effectively participate in training sessions.
About the Instructor:
Sharon has been a professional animal trainer for over 30 years; she currently operates a dog training and behaviour consulting business based in Newcastle, Australia.
Intent on really understanding animals better, Sharon completed a Bachelor of Applied Science, a Graduate Diploma (Captive Vertebrate Management – wildlife and exotics), and a Master of Animal Science. Sharon is a fully certified behaviour consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) for both dogs (CDBC) and horses (CEBC) and is a certified professional dog trainer - CPDT-KA. Sharon is also a faculty member of Fenzi Dog Sports Academy.
Sharon has published several scientific papers and review articles on the topic of training and behaviour modification in journals, including veterinary journals. Sharon guest lectures to post-graduate veterinarians and behaviourists at several universities and organisations throughout the world on the topics of animal behaviour, training, species-specific cognition, welfare, and psychological trauma in animals.
Sharon currently competes with her 3 standard poodles Jericho, Vincent, and Kane; her current dogs have titled in several sports including obedience, rally, tricks, heelwork to music, musical freestyle, and scent work.
