Webinar - 5/8/23 - The Handler End of the Leash: How Body Language Tells the Tale with Suzanne Clothier - PPG (fee applies)
2023-05-08 08:00 - 09:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Virtual
Much of dog training is focused on the dog, or the mechanics of markers and rewards. Yet in many ways, handlers can and do affect their dog’s behavior and learning. Many training problems are rooted in communication issues, caused by a handler’s body language and unintended messages.
The dog’s understanding of the handler’s behavior is built in the details of how the handler typically moves, laughs, smiles, speaks, breathes, etc. in familiar and comfortable settings. But under stress, in unfamiliar or challenging situations, things can change. Shifts in the handler signals to the dog that the person he relies on is alarmed, angry, worried, or even afraid. Depending on the dog, this can have significant impact on behavior. We can be more effective in helping the dog when we understand the handler in new ways, and have practical approaches to help them say what they mean and mean what they say.
Learning Objectives
Meta-messages – seeing the whole picture
Breathing – how breathing impacts our ability to move, learn and think
Muscle tension & quality of movement
Flexion, balance & stance – warning, welcoming, worried or wild?
Blink rate and expression – what story does your face tell?
Core & gaze orientation – how we signal our awareness and focus
About Your Presenter
Suzanne Clothier has been working with animals professionally since 1977. Her positive and humane approach, Relationship Centered Training™ (RCT) promotes promote healthy, respectful and joyful dog/human connections.
The author of Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships With Dogs (2002), her innovative programs include Treat/Retreat, the Enriched Puppy Protocol, CARAT™, RAT™, FAT™, as well as many RCT techniques, online courses and webinars. A trainer of trainers, she has taught on a broad range of topics throughout the US and internationally, and served as a consultant to major service dog schools.
CEUs: PPAB 1 & IAABC 1
WEBSITE LINK: https://petprofessionalguild.com/event-5202798

Webinar - 5/9/23 - Compassionate Communication: Supporting People and Pets Through Human-Centered Language - HASS
2023-05-09 15:00 - 16:00
Have you ever been scrolling through social media and read through a post calling someone a “horrible pet owner” or worse during a time of need or crisis? The answer is probably yes; we’ve all seen this, and perhaps we’ve even used harmful language ourselves not knowing the full story. The words we use have an impact and can push away the people who need support so we’d like to take the time to evaluate how we can have more compassionate communication.
Shannon Glenn, Executive Director of My Pit Bull is Family and the North Minneapolis Pet Resource Center program, will share how animal welfare professionals can shift their language to be more human-centered and human-supportive to and keep more families together.
WEBSITE LINK: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/6016782060176/WN_UoCI8zCWQMmcSlHkaiBjng

Webinar - 5/10/23 - Turn Your Board Into a Lead Generating Machine - Network for Good
2023-05-10 10:00 - 11:00
“I want my board to support our fundraising, and I can’t get them to do it.” You’ve given them talking points, ask for names or leads, or even asked them to call donors with simple thank you’s and it doesn’t get done.
If this is you, then the good news is: You are not alone & this powerful tool will release resistance and have your board opening those doors…finally!
Most board members are awesome people committed to putting good work into your organization. Yet, fundraising can be intimidating.
That’s why we’ll teach you how to simplify your board’s role in your fundraising to make it super easy and fun for them to connect with potential supports and generate leads for you…without feeling rejected, ineffective or pushy.
Outcomes:

Understand barriers and fears to participating in fundraising
Define your donor pipeline and the board members’ role in supporting it
Learn a new tool for connecting with potential donors that takes away all the barriers and fears
Ways to systematize this approach so the leads are flowing to you with ease
How to create excitement and energy around fundraising

Speaker: Founder & Chief Excitement Officer, Courageous Communication

WEBSITE LINK: https://www.networkforgood.com/resource/board-lead-generating-machine/

Webinar – 5/11/23 – Maddie’s Insights: The Five Domains of Animal Care Model – Maddie’s Fund
2023-05-11 12:00 - 13:00
Animal well-being represents how an animal experiences their life. It characterizes the overall mental experiences of an animal and is a subjective concept that cannot be directly measured. Instead, well-being indicators are used to cautiously infer mental experiences from resource provisions, management factors and a range of animal-based measures. The Five Domains Model is a holistic and structured framework for gathering together these indicators and assessing animal well-being. It is used to systematically assess the well-being of animals in a range of contexts and explicitly focuses on an animal’s mental experiences.
The Five Domains Model is used internationally to assess animal well-being in a range of contexts. The Model also represents a framework that could be used to advance animal care – by drawing attention to a wide range of areas where we can make improvements. While animal well-being is an animal-centered concept (i.e., the focus is on assessing an animal’s mental experiences), animal care is human-centered (i.e., the focus is on what we can provide for animals). Animal care encourages those responsible for animals to consider providing them with a range of opportunities so that they can have a good life. The aim of this presentation is to demonstrate how the Five Domains can be used to scientifically assess animal well-being and how they also provide a means of considering how best to care for animals.
About the Presenter
Kat Littlewood, BVSc(Dist), PGDipVCS(Dist), PhD, AFHEA, FANZCVS(AWSEL)
Dr. Littlewood is a veterinarian and Lecturer in Animal Welfare within Tāwharau Ora (School of Veterinary Science) at Massey University. She is a fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics, & Law.
Kat’s research employs social science approaches to better understand complex human-animal interactions and ethically challenging situations. She aims to develop a nuanced understanding of why and how people make the decisions they do about how animals are managed. Kat also works to operationalize the Five Domains Model for animal well-being assessment and training.
Major research themes include: Understanding how animal well-being is conceptualized by different people; Exploring how human values, attitudes, and behaviors influence animal well-being; Developing systematic scientific strategies to evaluate animal well-being; and Implementation of animal well-being policy and standards.
WEBSITE LINK: https://maddies.fund/MIwebcast5Domains

Webinar - 5/11/23 - Reducing the Baseline: Setting Your Dog Up for Success Before B-mod - FDSA (fee applies)
2023-05-11 15:00
Changing behavior is hard work for your dog; are there things you can do right now to make sure your dog is feeling their best before engaging in behavior modification?
This webinar will give you tools and exercises to help create a more thoughtful and focused dog. Both are beneficial when working with a fearful or reactive dog prior to exposing it to potential triggers during the behavior modification process. We will explore ways to decrease the dog’s adrenaline (fight or flight), increase their dopamine and serotonin, and take advantage of the oxytocin you share.
Presenter: Karen Deeds
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/self-study/webinars

Webinar - 5/11/23 - Strategies for Surviving (and Enjoying) Canine Adolescence - FDSA (fee applies)
2023-05-11 18:00 - 19:00
Our dogs transition through several phases across their lifetime. From a behavior perspective adolescence is perhaps the phase with the most potential to cause disruption in a household and can really test our skills as a trainer.
Adolescence is the time between puppyhood and adulthood. In dogs, this developmental phase starts anywhere between 6 and 12 months and typically ends somewhere between 18 months and 24 months. Adolescence is accompanied by physical changes, endocrinological changes, and neurological changes. During this phase there can be significant changes to motivation, preferences, energy levels, ability to focus, emotion regulation, impulse control, and decision-making skills.
Many of the overt and challenging behaviors exhibited during adolescence are driven by frustration; increased evidence of frustration is common at this time due to our dog struggling with conflicting motivations, and/or due to them being blocked from engaging in the (inappropriate / unsafe) activities they would choose to undertake. Frustration can be a particularly challenging emotion for an adolescent dog to manage. The intensity of the emotions and urges experienced, together with the dog’s reduced ability for impulse control during this phase, frequently leads to “undesirable” and challenging behaviors that the human needs to manage or modify. The exact behaviors exhibited will depend on the individual dog’s coping style as well as other factors influenced by genetics and prior learning. Some of these behaviors are only evident in training scenarios, whereas others are evident in day-to-day life. Common examples include:

Reverting to performing behaviors that had previously ceased during early training (e.g. jumping up on people, pulling/lunging when on leash, mouthing / nipping / grabbing, etc.)
Excessive barking and/or whining.
Destructive behaviors (e.g. digging, ripping up objects, etc.)
Unable to maintain a stay or other durational behavior particularly when “distractions” are added.
Unable to focus or remain attentive for more than brief periods.
Reduced interest in their human, combined with increased interest in the environment.
Low levels of perseverance (i.e. rapidly disconnecting from training at the first moment of confusion / frustration / uncertainty – resulting in either zoomies, running off to visit people/dogs, wandering off sniffing, leaving and lying down, leaving and hiding, the development of avoidance behaviors, etc.).
An apparent deterioration of previously “known” behaviors (e.g. not able to follow “known” cues, not able to perform a fast or accurate recall, etc.)
In some dogs we may also start to see aggressive responses occurring that were not previously present. These may be directed at other dogs or humans.

Adolescence can be an extremely challenging time for both the dog and their human/s. Sadly in the pet dog sector adolescence is the primary developmental phase where re-homing and relinquishment occurs. In the dog training sector, it is the phase where handler’s skills and emotions can get pushed to the limit. Having our dog emerge into adulthood as a confident, capable, relaxed, and well-rounded individual requires us to be strategic in our training and management during the adolescent phase.
In this webinar we discuss the changes that are occurring in our dog as they transition from puppyhood into adulthood, as well as practical adjustments we can make to our training during this developmental phase. These adjustments will:

Reduce frustration for both us and our dog.
Allow us to enjoy our time with our adolescent dog.
Allow our dog to enjoy their adolescence.
Assist in forming a stronger relationship with our dog that will carry forward for the longer-term.
Create beneficial habits that will support our long-term training goals.
Increase the probability of reaching our long-term training and competition goals.

Presenter: Sharon Carroll
WEBSITE LINK: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/self-study/webinars
