Brenda Aloff Clinic (3 days)
Saturday, May 26th, Sunday, May 27th and Monday, May 28th
Brenda Aloff has applied her extensive knowledge of dog behavior and learning theory, plus gentle “pressure on – pressure off” techniques borrowed from the world of equestrian dressage to develop a series of seemingly simple exercises that will allow you to effectively control your dog’s movement using just your body language. These exercises have the profound result of helping you to guide your dog’s priorities and gain relevance even in the face of strong distractions.
Approved for 12.5 CEUs for trainers and 14 CEUs for behavior consultants through the CCPDT and 26.5 through the IAABC. CEU’s are not offered for individual days. The CEU’s offered are for all three days of attendance.
Saturday and Sunday will follow the Get Connected guideline. Monday is a bonus day for advanced handlers and trainers working on problem behaviors with their dogs.
Location: Exercise Finished Dog Training Center
35B North Chicopee Street
Chicopee, MA
Hours: 9AM-5PM
Cost:
Auditors $110/day
Working Teams $160/day (maximum 6 working spots) FULL!
Early bird registration (before 4/22):
Auditors $90/day
Working Teams $140/day FULL!
Lunch: $8/day
FMI: Elise Gouge (413) 230-9873 www.petbehaviorconsulting.com
Presentation will include lecture, video, and live demonstrations.
Topics included are:
• The 6 exercises in the Get ConnectedTM Protocol – what they are and how to teach them.
• Exploration of the usefulness of the Get ConnectedTM Protocol for heeling, stays, judge examinations, control between exercises, and general attentiveness for obedience dogs.
• Exercises used with drivey dogs to preserve drive & speed but improve compliance.
• The developmental stages of behavior acquisition from initial teaching all the way to delegation of responsibility to the dog to do the job properly without help and prompting from the handler.
• Common mistakes with positive reinforcement training that inhibit the dog’s ability to learn what you want and reproduce it in the absence of food.
• Live demonstrations of problem solving with pre-selected dog/handler teams.
About Brenda Aloff
Brenda has been involved with animals her entire life. She got her first pony when she was four and had a succession of horses, dogs and cats and kept hens. In her youth and pre-motherhood years she showed horses on the Class A Circuit- Arabs, Morgans and Saddlebreds, did private riding instruction and trained many different horses, for herself and worked with various professional trainers. A few years ago she returned to her love of horses, taking up dressage as a personal hobby.
Over 20 years ago Brenda got involved in training dogs and became an avid student of Learning Theory and Operant Conditioning. She has competed with Smooth Fox Terriers, a German Shepherd Dog and a Border Collie in AKC and UKC Obedience. She has also trained one or more dogs in Agility, Canine Freestyle, and Tracking.
Later Brenda branched out into dog behavior counseling, at least in part due to what she learned about dealing with aggression and reactivity in one of her own dogs. Brenda runs Heaven on Arf Training Center in Midland, MI, providing group classes for basic obedience, competition obedience, field, and tracking. She also offers private lessons for pet and competition training and behavior consultations for problem dogs. She considers problem behavior in canines to be her specialty.
Brenda is the author of several books and DVDs, including the Maxwell Award winning (Dog Writers Association of America) Canine Body Language: A Photographic Guide and the book upon which much of this seminar is based Get Connected With Your Dog: Emphasizing the Relationship While Training Your Dog. She has done clinics all over the United States and Canada, Italy, Australia helping people with their problem dogs. She has also been an invited speaker at IAABC (International Association of Animal Behavior Counselors) and NADOI (National Association of Dog Obedience Instructors)
Reactive Dog Workshop I (1 day)
No dates planned at this time
Are you very busy with your life? Are you part of the Midnight Dogwalkers Club (where no one else can see you)? Are you desperate to learn how to rein in your dog’s reactivity but not sure where to get started? We work on what owners need to know in order to succeed and teach dogs what they need to know in order to cool it. Ideal for dogs with arousal issues, hypervigilance, motion sensitivity and general impulse control issues including a history of snapping, lunging, basically just freaking out. Ideal for owners that are committed to their dogs and are looking for some efficient ways to help their dog reach the goals of walking nicely in a neighborhood, seeing other critters and not losing their mind, and more.
10 AM – 12 PM
The first part of the day will be lecture and discussion about body language, your own experiences and we might toss in some science to help you understand how the reactive canine brain works.
12:30 PM – 4:30 PM
The second part of the day will be an introduction to a diverse set of tools you will be able to build on. Hands-on sessions with handlers and their dogs, auditors welcome to come. Only one prerequisite: No normal dogs allowed 
Just kidding, we have several other pre-requisites! Registration will be for auditors and handler/dog teams. Auditors are discouraged from bringing dogs. All working dogs in seminar must have a crate and be comfortable in it.
Registration limited to 20 (8 working slots).
Tuition: $75 for auditors; $100 for handlers working dogs
Application submitted for IAABC and CPDT CEU’s
Reactive Dog Workshop II (1 day)
No dates planned at this time
You did your homework. It’s working and you want to know what the next step is? You are an advanced handler looking to take it to the next level. This is the seminar for you. With our learning and background material behind us, we dedicate the whole day to working dogs and their handlers. An absolute paradise for those of you that are ready for this. A whole day dedicated to what you want to work on the most. Full on hands-on work, discussion, feedback, and progress.
Registration limited to 20 (8 working slots).
Prerequisites: Reactive Dog I
Tuition: $75 for auditors; $100 for handlers working dogs
Application submitted for IAABC and CPDT CEU’s
Agility and the Beast (1 Day)
COMING SPRING 2012
The Beast is, of course, when your perfectly well trained dog turns into a version of the exorcist
outside the ring…or in the crate… or while on (or off!) course. This workshop is designed to work
with highly motivated agility students to ensure that A) their dogs are not being naughty and creating
problems before running and B) your dog knows how to deal with uncontrollable behaviors from
other dogs in competition venues. A MUST TAKE course as we address every element that may
contribute stress to your dog, stress which could easily fragment his ability to achieve his full
potential for success.
Registration limited to 20 (10 working slots).
Tuition: $75 for auditors; $100 for handlers working dogs
Application submitted for IAABC and CCPDT CEU’s
Agility and the Beast, Part II (1 Day)
COMING SPRING 2012
The Beast is, of course, when your perfectly well trained dog turns into a version of the exorcist outside the ring…or in the crate… or while on (or off!) course. This workshop is designed to work with highly motivated agility students to ensure that A) their dogs are not being naughty and creating problems before running and B) your dog knows how to deal with uncontrollable behaviors from other dogs in competition venues. A MUST TAKE course as we address every element that may
contribute stress to your dog, stress which could easily fragment his ability to achieve his full potential for success. In the last workshop we focused on foundations and core behaviors. This day, we will push and challenge you and your dog to see opportunities for reactivity and instead default to controlled behavior.
Registration limited to 20 (10 working slots).
Tuition: $75 for auditors; $100 for handlers working dogs
Application submitted for IAABC and CPDT CEU’s
problem called “resource guarding”