Wednesday, October 24

General Session
9:00am - 11:30am

Keynote Speaker

Roger Fouts, PhD
Sign Language in Chimpanzees:
Darwinian Realities vs. Cartesian Delusions

General Session
1:00pm - 4:15pm

Count, Correlate, Then Cautiously Interpret

Jean Donaldson
Observations are events that all can witness and quantify.   Interpretations are stabs at a dog’s internal events – emotions and thoughts that mediate behavior.  In the popular domestic dog literature, there is a large body of attempted interpretation without quantified observation.  Interpretations are extremely useful insofar as they help us “chunk” observations into useful constructs, however, in order to be more than educated guesses (or, alarmingly, pure fiction), must be well supported in the form of replicable observations of behaviors that occur after a given behavior, X amount of the time in Y percentage of dogs in context Z. This presentation will summarize data from The San Francisco SPCA’s shelter population, highlighting significant correlations between behaviors during daily playgroups.

Problem Behavior in Dogs

Roger Abrantes
This talk covers the treatment of problem behavior in dogs from common problems like walking the dog and home alone problems to more complicated issues such as aggressive and fearful behavior. The talk is based on the extensive experience and large files of the Etologisk Institute. The talk targets professionals such as veterinarians, behavior counselors and trainers who are interested in understanding how problems develop or how to avoid them.

4:15pm - 5:00pm
APDT General Membership Meeting

 

5:30pm – 6:00pm
Puppy Orientation

Teoti Anderson
If this is the first time you have attended an APDT conference then you are a Conference Puppy.  Join us for a short conference orientation, we will discuss:  all the conference publications, how to choose sessions, special conference activities, CEUs, and how to get help.

 

6:00pm – 7:30pm
Welcome Reception
Hors d’oeuvre and No Host (cash) Bar

Friday, October 26

8:00 a.m. -12:00 Noon

Learning Theory 101: Understanding How Dogs Learn

Pia Silvani
When trainers encourage dogs to learn specific behaviors, we are basically using one form of learning, called operant conditioning.  However, when classical conditioning and operant conditioning are at odds, classical will typically win out.  Operant learning involves consequences – positive and negative, while classical conditioning involves the dog learning about stimuli that are linked.  If you are a new trainer anxious to learn more about how to become a better trainer in order to develop a top-notch curriculum or are interested in doing behavior work, then this lecture is what you are looking for to help improve your knowledge base and skill sets.  We will go over some basic principles of learning as well as give you ideas on how you can use both classical as well as operant learning in your classes and private consultations to achieve success.

What Happened to Off-Leash Reliability, Emergency Sits, Bombproof Stays, and Snazzy Heeling?

Ian Dunbar
As pet dog training has become a separate field and moved away from Obedience Competition, there has been a dramatic decrease in the reliability and precision of performance.  Quantification of reliability and precision is virtually non-existent.  Few classes have regular weekly tests to assure that the pupils achieve a desired standard.  All too often, the standard is poor because the training techniques are inefficient (too slow), too complicated, or inappropriate for the owners (especially children).  In some classes, essential pet owner’s skills are omitted from the curriculum entirely.

In addition to teaching what we think owners need to learn, pet dog trainers must also teach owners what they want to learn.  Desired skills may include: an emergency off-leash sit, ultra reliable short-term stays, lengthy settle-downs, a healthy respect for boundaries (especially open doorways and curbside), to walk calmly on/off-leash, and for some, to heel with precision and pizzazz.

Basically, pet dog owners want off-leash, gizmo-free reliability, because the dog is usually off-leash around the house and garden and the owner does not always have a training tool/gizmo immediately at hand. Consequently, with the exception of when teaching leash work, classes are best taught off-leash from beginning to end, with training entirely integrated within the play session. Recommended training techniques and exercises must be appropriate for, and quickly and easily mastered by, pet owners, especially including children. Moreover, the end goal should always be—reliable and timely responses to a verbal cue, i.e., to phase out the need for any training tool.

Pet dog trainers should set realistic progressive (week-to-week) criteria, and quantify time and trials to each criterion.  The process of dog training should always comprise a repetitive Test-Train-Test-Train sequence:

Test, to establish the behavior baseline (percentage reliability of sits, speed of sits, straightness of sits, length of stays, number of barks etc.).

Train, to change the dog’s behavior and meet criterion.

Test Again, to ascertain the efficiency and effectiveness of the training techniques (time and trials), and to check that the dog’s behavior did, in fact, change in the intended direction and that it met criteria, and then,
 
Train Again, and so on.

How the Brain Rewards itself- Learning on a Neuronal Level

Barbara Schoening
Learning theory is an important issue for any trainer, as a solid foundation ensures not only goal oriented fast learning but also the dog’s welfare.  Today science has a clear picture on how associations and conditioning processes in the brain happen and especially where, when, and how, reinforcers unfold their action, e.g. to ensure stable long-term memory.  It is stated that a trainer’s knowledge about the most relevant neurophysiological processes will improve the practical implementation of learning theory to benefit both dogs and training goals.  This presentation gives an overview on the contemporary knowledge in this field with regard to practical application.  A short overview on the nervous system and how neurons work (including some neurotransmitters and their basic action), will lay the foundation to go further into memory building processes (habituation, sensitization and association-building on neuronal level).  Special emphasis will be laid on the internal reward system of the brain (its function, actions and involved neurotransmitters), as the crucial element enabling us to learn from consequences and to train others effectively.  Why certain “methods in training” should be preferred and others discarded can be explained when looking at neuronal action.  In association with the internal reward system we will look at how emotions and motives for action are built up and how the physiological stress reaction is involved; the point of a dogs’ welfare during training will be addressed from that direction.

Natural Medicines for Working Dogs

Randy Kidd
In “Natural Medicines for Working Dogs” participants will learn the basics of several natural medicines, including acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, herbal, flower essences, and aromatherapy.  The basics will include applications, delivery systems, dosage and potency, precautions, expected term of therapy, and expectations for results.  Applications and specific remedies will be discussed that will apply especially for working dogs and for those animals currently being trained.  Each of the natural methods discussed will be compared and contrasted to conventional western medicine, and a format will be given for integrating the natural medicines with each other and with western medicine.  Participants will have the chance to discuss various natural medicines, and they will be given a chance for hands-on applications of some of the methods.

1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Bored of Teaching the Same Old Trick’s?  Test Your Dog’s Conceptual Learning

Pam Reid
Once dogs have mastered the necessary competencies that enable them to be a good companion and, possibly, a skilled competitor, owners may both be ready for bigger and better challenges.  Animals can tell us a great deal about their thoughts by asking them complex questions through training.  For instance, are they able to understand the concepts “same” and “different?”  To address such a question, dogs can be trained in matching-to-sample and non-matching-to-sample procedures.  If I’m asking my dog to match, I show him an object and he must select the same object from a set of choices.  Suppose I want to delve deeper into his thought processes.  Can my dog understand that some of his toys are “prey simulations” and others are simply arbitrary toys?  I could teach him that when I show him a specific toy, say, a stuffed squirrel, he should select the stuffed rabbit and not the stuffed ball from amongst a sample of toys I provide. How about asking him if he recognizes his own bark from a selection of recorded dog barks, including some made by his dog friends?  These are fascinating questions which can be answered only by highly-trained and motivated dogs.  During this talk, I will introduce you to some of the procedures psychologists have used to ask various species of animals what they understand about the world and I’ll demonstrate how these tasks can be modified to stimulate and challenge our own clever dogs.

Balance the "B" in Behavior

Cheryl Margaret Smith
Using a combination of video and lecture we will discuss the effective use of integrating the physical, mental and emotional requirements to retrain dogs exhibiting problem behavior.

Behavior is the observable result of a dog responding to its environment. How the dog responds is a combination of many factors that are impacting on the dog at that moment. Is the dog healthy? Is he well nourished? Is he structurally sound? Is he over tired? What is the mental state? Has the dog received even the basic training? Does the dog understand what the 'cues' mean? Does the training expand the dog's mental capacity or shut it down? Are there emotional pressures such as fear or anxiety? Are there changes in the dog's life such as loss of companionship that are affecting the behavior? All three states are inter connected - physical, mental and emotional - and each one affects the others. Therefore a training program that addresses improvement in all areas will provide better results in the long term. We will demonstrate techniques that are particularly effective in dealing with arousal which, in my experience, often leads to the development of aggressive behavior. The video will show dogs undergoing the program and complement the lecture.

Mission Review

Kathy Sdao
After meeting with a demanding client or teaching a particularly challenging class, do you ever think, “why bother?”  It’s a good question.  Examining your own specific goals — what you hope to accomplish as a professional trainer — will help you make better decisions about issues such as; curriculum design, choice of methods, and client selection.

We know it’s essential to understand what motivates dogs.  We realize that without adequate reinforcement, their behavior falls apart.  But we rarely take time to consider what motivates us trainers to continue behaving; that is, doing the difficult job of educating pet owners about effective, humane training techniques.

Our rewards are rarely the promise of easy money and public admiration.  More typically, they’re related to being a source of help – for people and for dogs. We will explore ways to identify your own specific long-term goals as an instructor, whether in a group setting or with private clients.  With this information, you can develop a personal mission statement which will provide guidance when making decisions about your business and your professional development.

Puppy Dog Behavior

Joel Walton
Experienced pet dog trainers know there is a standard set of behaviors normal puppy dogs come with but which are considered behavior problems by owners.  Puppy dogs pee and poop and may not have learned the proper place for these normal and necessary functions.  They play bite, chew, jump up, pull on leash, and don't respond to English requests until they are taught.  Using the tried and true Management, Relationship, and Education System, pet dog trainers can help the owner manage these behaviors while the proper relationship is developed and the puppy dog is trained.

3:15 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Dog Bites: Fact vs. Hopes

Janis Bradley
How dangerous exactly are dogs?  Dog trainers need accurate information in a society where more and more states and municipalities are passing dangerous dog statutes, plaintiffs are awarded enormous sums for dog related injuries, and insurance companies refuse homeowner’s coverage to many dog owners.  All because of the looming threat of dog attacks.  But the reality is that dogs almost never kill people.  A child is more likely to die choking on a balloon, a marble, or falling off a swing than being bitten by a dog.  The supposed epidemic numbers of dog bites cited in the media are absurdly inflated by questionable research techniques and by counting the bites that don’t actually hurt anyone.  The vast majority of dog bite injuries are at the Band-Aid level.  Why all the alarm?  Partly because our own evolution has programmed us to be more scared of predators (think saber toothed tigers) than of machines (think cars) and partly because stories about things with big teeth keep us tuned to Channel 4 better than stories about things with big wheels and a couple of tons of force.

Based on a thorough analysis of the existing research in the field, this workshop challenges societal conceptions and assumptions about dogs and their place in our human world, using hard facts and statistics.  Topics include comparisons of incidence and severity of dog bites to other common injuries, rate of aggression among canines, and analysis of reasons for widespread, unrealistic fear of biting dogs.

Keep Them Coming:
How to Make More Money Doing What You Love

Leslie Nelson
Are you always trying to figure out how to pack too much information into too few weeks?  Most clients come to us planning to take only one series of classes.  We, as instructors, know that it takes much longer to have a well trained dog.  In the past couple of years, Leslie has challenged her staff to come up with creative techniques to keep clients training for additional weeks, months, and even years.  For those of us who teach for a living, this not only makes great training sense, it also makes great financial sense.

The Heritability of Behavior: Performance Traits

Janice Koler-Matznick
Join us for a discussion of peer-reviewed papers published on the heritability of performance/working traits and temperament in dogs.  The general conclusions are that heritability of specific traits, the "Nature" of the Nature/Nurture controversy, is from about 0.25 to 0.40, which means Nurture is the vital ingredient producing top performance dogs.  The methods of determining "heritability" will be described in general theoretical terms, without advanced mathematics, which is available in computer programs.

Successful Puppy Classes: Suggested Goals of Kinderpuppy Class and How to Achieve Them

Jennifer Messer
The most important goal of Kinder-puppy Class is to help puppies develop into safe, enjoyable companions. Obedience training is only one part of the curriculum: socialization, bite-inhibition training, and behavior problem prevention are essential.  A review of the key components to a well-rounded Kinder-puppy curriculum will help ensure that your goals are being met.

Sunday, October 28

9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Updates on Behavioral Genetics and Treatment with Behavioral Drugs

Karen Overall
Many of the common canine behavioral conditions have a genetics basis and may be co-morbid with other behavioral conditions.  This pattern suggests that we should be looking at behavioral pharmacology in new lights, including interventional and preventative ones, and that ongoing research may help us decide which choices to make.

Speak Softly and Carry a Big Click: Cueing Demystified

Kathy Sdao
Trainers want their dogs to respond to commands accurately and enthusiastically.  The dogs’ failures to do so are often attributed to stubbornness, though are more likely the result of confusion because the cues are unfamiliar, inconsistent or unclear.  Understanding the science of cueing helps improve the process of choosing, adding and, maintaining cues.

Building an Army: Maximizing Resources and Extending Your Reach in a Shelter

Sarah Babcock
Shelters are faced with limited resources (people/time/money) to “get the word out” and provide meaningful education that will lead to less animals entering shelters because of behavior “issues” and will better dog-human relationships.  Come explore proven ways to extend your reach and build an army of believers in your community.

10:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Group Dynamics - the Key to Harmony

Cheryl Margaret Smith
Video footage will be used in combination with lecture to explore the relationships between dogs and their owners in today's urban environment.

Our current perceptions and expectations of our canine cohabitants might be described as "the good, the bad and the ugly". We tend to let our emotions determine our interaction thereby failing to give our dogs 'what they need' to navigate the treacherous shoals of human life. The group dynamic in many households borders on chaos and fails to provide the safe structure for healthy development. The overly stimulated dog becomes the hyper-aroused dog and aggression is a form of hyper arousal. This presentation will provide a framework for establishing a healthy group dynamic in the household that will benefit both dog and human.

Saving Rocky

Teoti Anderson
In January 2007, the Columbia, SC Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals contacted Teoti Anderson to help rehabilitate a neglected, emaciated German Shepherd.  Learn how this partnership helped one dog overcome the odds … and helped launch a marketing campaign against animal abuse and neglect throughout the community.

Project Click! An At-Risk Youth Program

Keri Gorman
This 90 minute session will give participants a look into the format of a pet facilitated at-risk youth program. How it got started, how it is structured, how youth and staff are selected and how the curriculum was developed.  We will share the resources that are available for people interested in starting at-risk youth programs, funding possibilities and liability concerns.  We will also spend time discussing the importance of positive reinforcement training methods for both the animals and students involved and how they are incorporated into the program.

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Keynote Speaker

Leslie Nelson
Walkin’ the Walk
Most everyone wants a dog that will walk politely at their side, even in the midst of distraction.  In fact, nationally, in class after class polite walking is listed as one of the top 3 skills that clients want their dogs to learn. 

Polite walking is by far the most challenging skill to teach our clients.  It is challenging, not because it is particularly difficult for dogs to understand, but because it is very difficult for our human clients to be clear and consistent in every situation.

During this session, Leslie will use video and live demos to share with you everything she knows about teaching clients and their dogs to walk together.  She will demonstrate how she breaks the behaviors down into small steps that are fun and easy to train and how she troubleshoots the common pitfalls.  She will take you from polite walking for the family dog, to attention heelwork, the basis of Competition obedience, Rally, and Musical Freestyle.  This session will have lots of fun ideas that you can easily put into any training program.