Maine Dog Training Company is proud to sponsor a variety of seminars, lectures and working sessions from the best trainers and speakers from across the country and around the world. Our seminars offer an opportunity for dog trainers and dog owners alike to learn from the best on a variety of subjects from dog sports to problem solving to building a better relationship with your dog. Join MDTC and learn along with us!
What is covered Would you like to know how to improve the relationship with your dog? Or are you a dog professional, a vet, or working in the animal industry, and would like to know more about how human behaviour, thoughts and emotions impact our dogs and influence their behaviour, and how you can support the dog owner during your service?
If yes, then attending the 2-day “Bravery Workshop” would bring great value to your life. The goal of the workshop is that by the end of the 2 days you will have inner resources that you can draw upon for the rest of your life. This isn’t a “traditional” dog-training course. This revolutionary course focuses on “the end of the lead” (aka the dog owner) and less on the dog.
So what will "THE BRAVERY WORKSHOP" cover? This 2-day workshop is designed for dog owners, dog trainers, vets, and other people working in the animal industry, who want to learn more about how to troubleshoot common problems with the human at the end of the lead.
Topics covered in the workshop: - You will learn about the evolution, the keystones and the practical implications of "THE PACT MODEL", which is the theoretical foundation of the workshop and has been especially designed for the human at the end of the lead - You will learn about unhelpful behaviours and thought processes that frequently interfere and stop the human-dog couple from having a good relationship - You will practice grounding and self-soothing strategies, to set yourself up for success in your training and difficult life circumstances in general (e.g. “Drop your anchor”) - You will learn how to cultivate “emotional flexibility” that helps you create a sense of "BRAVERY" and resilience in your everyday life - You will learn to read human stress signals, and the best strategies that can help humans calm down the quickest without passing their stress onto their dog - You will learn about the concept of “emotional transmissions” that we pass onto our dogs, often without knowing or being aware of them - You will be shown strategies how to increase your confidence and self-esteem whilst interacting with your dog
The workshop will be hands on and it is designed to address common problems that dog owners face in everyday life. This workshop doesn’t have working spots as we only focus on the dog owner.
You don’t need to have any prerequisites to attend this course, the only thing you need is an open mind that is curious and would like to grow. :)
When Saturday September 14th-Sunday Sept 15th, 2019 Cost $225 for both days - (No one day options) $235 for both days- by Credit Card(No one day options) please read our Seminar Policies. Location West Cumberland Community Hall 115 Blackstrap Rd, Cumberland ME 04021
What is covered This 5 day seminar will include lecture and hands-on opportunity in puppy imprinting and development, bite and grip development, detection fundamentals & learning theory. All working participants will have hands on training with chickens, puppies and their own dogs. Completion Certificates will be issued on the last day of class
This course is designed around two classroom lectures covered the first two mornings, with as much practical application as we can fit in. Our first lecture is on Operant and Classical Conditioning, the foundation of what our training methods and principles are based on. Learning the fundamentals of Operant and Classical Conditioning is vital for success in our training system. During this lecture, we also discuss Behavior Shaping. During the Operant Conditioning lecture you will learn: - How animals learn through the four quadrants of Operant Conditioning - How to correctly use classical conditioning to prepare the dog for marker training - How to properly motivate the dog for training - How to achieve engagement before training can begin - Drive theory in training - The use of deprivation in training - Reward VS Reinforcer - Timing of reinforcement - Superstitious behaviors - Primary / Secondary Reinforcers - Reinforcement schedules - Stimulus control - How to use a “skinner box” - Successive approximation - Back chaining - Behavior economics - Techniques to improve your timing and reading the animal During the practical application, students will learn how we shape behaviors with chickens in color and shape discrimination. Chickens make excellent training models for shaping behaviors due to their speed and the fact that they cannot be trained using force or aversive methods. This will help the student make huge improvements in his timing. The concept of color and shape discrimination with a chicken is very much the same as the concept of odor detection with a dog. The second lecture is on Odor Detection. We see many dogs who have a solid understanding of target odor, but who have not been properly proofed off of many different distractor odors. This leads to false indication problems. We also see many dogs that are not taught independent searching, but rather rely on handlers to lead them to the source for “odor confirmation,” rather than true odor detection. In the Odor Detection lecture you will learn:
- How to apply the concepts of classical and operant conditioning in teaching correct odor detection work - The fundamentals of training an odor detector dog based on timing, criteria, and rate of reinforcement - How to begin odor work as young as 1-day old - Training tools and techniques to develop accurate and reliable detector dogs - How to teach dogs to ignore all distractor odors with no punishment - The importance of hunt drive in a detector dog and how we utilize it - How to teach a focused Trained Final Response (TFR) with marker training - How to teach a dog to search a pattern independently of his handler - The importance of drive building with a detector dog During the practical application, students will learn how to begin odor detection with a 7-week old puppy. They will learn how to teach the puppy to recognize one target odor, ignore many distractor odors such as food and toys, and perform a consistent search pattern. Students will also work with their own adult dog on odor imprinting, proofing off distractor odors, and general detection problem solving. We will also briefly discuss proper canine selection. The degree of our success in dog training is greatly dictated by starting with the correct type of dog for the job required. Many dogs are genetically limited to the point of not being suitable for the type of work we are trying to train them to do. Having a thorough understanding of proper dog selection will keep you from fighting the uphill battle of trying to train a dog that is not genetically cut out to perform to the standard set forth by the mission requirement. The third lecture is on drive building and grip development. A common problem we see way too often is a dog that has been rushed too quickly in training and is asked to fight before he has learned to properly bite. In addition to this, we see decoys that lack the skill required to teach dogs to first bite correctly, and then fight correctly. We work to teach students how to work their puppies so the puppy has total confidence in his ability to control the fight with the man. He must learn a proper fighting skill set, and have a winning mindset in order to dominate and control a man.
In our Drive Building & Grip Development lecture you will learn:
How to develop drive and teach proper gripping technique throughout all stages of young dog development
The role of the handler during bite work
The role of the decoy during bite work
How to teach the "out" through non-reinforcement without any conflict
How to teach the dog the path to always winning the fight
During the practical application, students will learn how to correctly reinforce proper biting technique. They will learn how to teach the puppy the way to control the adversary by applying and relieving pressure (stress) at the critical time to communicate to the dog that his behavior controls the fight.
When Wednesday October 23rd-Sunday Oct 27th Starting at 9am each day/ending around 5:30pm
Cost $800 Full 5 day working spot by check, Mail to address below $810 Full 5 day working spot if paid by Credit Card limited to 10 working spots /FULL Payment is needed to hold spot
$500 full 5 day audit spot by check, Mail to address below (no one day options) $510 full 5 day audit spot if paid by credit card Limited auditing spots. FULL Payment is needed to hold spot
Please read our policies at the bottom of the page!
Payments Checks made out to "MDTC LLC" and mailed to:
Amanda Stearns MDTC Seminars 65 Orchard Rd. Cumberland, ME 04021
Refunds FULL PAYMENT is needed to hold your spot, with a reasonable date for cancellations to be determined in your confirmation e-mail. There will be an administration fee for cancellations made after a specific date. It is the attendees responsibility to read their confirmation e-mail carefully.
Filming Filming is only allowed at the permission of the seminar presenter.
Other Information Attendees are responsible for bringing their own chairs. To keep our costs low, we will offer coffee, water and light snacks. Each seminar will have lunch options which will be noted in your confirmation e-mail
