Organizing, designing, developing, and facilitating workshops, events and other learning opportunities, both online and face to face, is what I do for a living. The bonus is that I’m constantly learning alongside the participants. The downside is that it’s difficult to completely engage when there is a constant to-do list in your brain.

With my entire work life wrapped up in this, It feels so different to be only a participant or student, but I allowed myself this luxury over and over again in 2015. I cut back my work to part-time, and filled up the rest of my hours learning about dogs.

This is a look back on my calendar of learning for 2015. It doesn’t include all the unscheduled, informal and serendipitous learning, which I value equally. Also, I participated in a few webinars that I’ve lost track of, and then there are podcasts, books, magazines, journals, blogs, videos…

And don’t forget the time spent with dogs. I’m forever grateful to Angel’s Animal Rescue for welcoming me as as a trainer for the many dogs that pass through those doors; I’ve learned so much from my visits to Angel’s.

I’ll stick to listing the scheduled events for 2015 along with a quick commentary!

January

Clicker Expo in Portland, Oregon

From Dog Training Education and Credentials

This was my third Clicker Expo conference. As usual, it was excellent. Clicker Expo is different from the conferences I’m used to in higher education, where typically the program comprises a short-list of speakers from peer reviewed proposals. The conference is a series of talks, workshops and labs by Clicker Expo faculty and invited guests. It’s a pretty tight curriculum, organized by skill/experience level, and three full days of very intensive learning. There was no time or desire to go sightseeing during the conference. Top notch!

February – March

Fenzi Dog Sports Academy – Introduction to BAT

This was my second Fenzi online course, both at the bronze level. Bronze essentially means that you can follow along the course by reading the content and discussion posts. It’s not a bad option if you are pressed for time and can’t commit to submitting homework. On the other hand, it’s not a good option if you want to continue to have access to the course content; your access is removed pretty promptly after the course is finished. I’m finding this practice is typical in online courses for dog professionals.

I was already familiar with BAT though Grisha Stewart‘s books and videos, but the 6-week course was still very worthwhile. Grisha and her teaching assistants were very thorough and responsive.

Fenzi Academy is a big success. They have some terrific instructors and a fun and interesting extension of their courses exists through various Facebook groups.

Shelter Training & Enrichment at Karen Pryor Academy

This is my second course through Karen Pryor Academy. My main reason for taking Shelter Training and Enrichment was to build a good framework for developing a training program at Angel’s Animal Rescue (AARS). This self-directed course is chock full of excellent and well organized content, and definitely fit what I was looking for and more. Each module includes a quiz that you must pass before moving one. Good way to keep you focused!

While I was already familiar with many of the topic covered, such as basics of clicker training and cueing, and how to read animals’ emotional signals, it provided an excellent refresher and structure for teaching these skills to others. After all, that is key in a good shelter/rescue training program. The course is meant to be completed in 8 weeks, but I took advantage of having access to it for longer, then found myself scrambling to complete before the 12 week deadline.

From Dog Training Education and Credentials

Dogsafe First Aid with Cathy Lehtonen

From Dog Training Education and Credentials

This 1-day workshop and curriculum package is money well spent. I recommend it to all caregivers and trainers. I always appreciate workshops that include useful materials you can take away and refer back to.

Disc / Freestyle with Dana Gallagher

Who knew there was so much to throwing a frisbee? This Kamloops seminar, hosted at 5 Star Dog Training (the best!), started out with humans only, learning how to actually throw a disc. It’s not as easy as it looks! Plus we learned how to keep it safe and enjoyable for the dogs. Then we took turns working with our dogs. I brought along Maxwell, who normally does not cope very well 1) inside buildings, 2) full of strangers, 3) at night time…but he was completely into to this fun event. Dana knew just how to keep Maxwell feeling safe and successful.

Nosework with Dana Gallagher

I’ve participated in several nosework classes, and really like when they are organized as half or full days. That way you get a lot of practice time. When I can, I bring both Maggie and Maxwell, so that doesn’t leave a lot of time to observe others in shorter sessions.

This weekend event with Dana was a really enjoyable experience. I learned a lot about how to adjust and simplify the search based on observations, and the value of patience. I have heaps of patience, but watching others who let the dog do the work was both reaffirming and heart-warming.

April

Fearful Dogs Seminar with Debbie Jacobs

This 1-day event was hosted by Canine Behavior Science in Bothell, Washington. Anybody who has a fearful dog has probably heard of Debbie Jacobs. Debbie’s book, A Guide to Living With and Training a Fearful Dog, is highly recommended, and she does an incredible job of sharing her wisdom and moderating the Fearful Dogs Facebook group which has over 6,500 members.

During this talk, Debbie’s personal dog stories were woven into a very thorough overview of caring for fearful dogs. What I wasn’t expecting was to be laughing so much during Debbie’s talk. She has a great sense of humour!

From Dog Training Education and Credentials

Giving Dog Training Back to the Dogs with Chirag Patel

This BCSPCA sponsored workshop was held in Kamloops, BC. What a great opportunity to learn with Chirag Patel at a venue so close to home! I was already familiar with his work so knew in advance it would be a fantastic event.

Several participants had working spots, so after an overview of behaviour science, and the ethics of caring for animals, we were able to immediately see the theory in practice. Chirag has an amazing ability to observe behaviour, coach the client, and engage an audience at the same.

May

Canadian Federation of Humane Societies National Animal Welfare Conference (NAWC)

Building the Bond, with Chirag Patel

At the April event with Chirag Patel, I discovered that his next stop would be Vancouver to speak at the National Animal Welfare Conference and deliver a full-day training session. So I dropped everything and drove to Vancouver!

This was a sold-out, jam-packed day. Aside from a quick break for network and lunch, Chirag kept us engaged — both using our brains and hands-on skills with the animals that were brought in by participants and the BCSPCA.

June

Society for the Promotion of Applied Research in Canine Science (SPARCS) conference

This is a 3-day international conference with a huge perk — the talks are all live-streamed, for free! Part of the SPARCS’ mission is to raise awareness about canine research and “bridge the gap” between science and the public. It’s well organized, high quality, and the topics are all fascinating. This year I was on vacation and staying in a cabin with iffy internet access, so the online experience for me wasn’t as good as previous years. One day I hope to participate in SPARCS on the ground.

July

Ttouch for Companion Animals

What a gift to live just a couple hours away from the Icelandic Horse Farm! This 6-day workshop was definitely a highlight of the year, and I look forward to taking this to the next level (This was my second workshop). I just need to find time to finish writing up my cases! I wrote about my experience in detail back in July.

From Dog Training Education and Credentials

August

Nosework, with Ann Gunderson

Maxwell and I had big plans for this weekend workshop taught by Ann Gunderson, the first Canadian Certified Nose Work Instructor with the National Association of Canine Nose Work. However, it was so hot in Kamloops that I ended up leaving him at home. I decided to use my time well by taking lots of notes, and publishing a piece about my observations to share with the Teaching Dog Trainers How to Teach People group.

Behavior Adjustment Training Instructor’s Course, with Joey Iverson

From Dog Training Education and Credentials

This 5-day workshop is taught all over the world, so I was hopeful that it would one day come to Canada. And it did! I signed up for the “full participant” option, which meant that I worked directly with a client. I also sat for the exam because I plan to complete all the requirements to become a Certified BAT Instructor (CBATI). Next I need to submit video case studies (editing as we speak!) for the Practical Skills Assessment component. Just a couple more steps…

September – October

Living and Learning With Animals, taught by Dr. Susan Friedman

From Dog Training Education and Credentials

I see that I wrote about this online course when it was just getting started, and somehow never got back to writing more! Well there was plenty to say! Living and Learning With Animals is an 8-week online “professional” course (as opposed to caregiver course). It is a very thorough look at behaviour analysis for companion (and captive) animals, and really highlights exactly what we need to pay attention to when it comes to observing and changing animal behaviour, and how often we get it wrong!

Following each weekly lecture we submitted homework that began a “soft” Socratic-style dialogue with assigned tutors. It was an effective model for a large class (over 100? Not sure!).

Once you complete Living and Learning With Animals, Susan invites you back for next year’s course as an auditor. I accepted that invitation right away!

What did I miss? What’s next?

There were many other opportunities I had pencilled in my calendar but just couldn’t fit them in. The Association of Professional Dog Trainers conference was too far away (Spokane in 2013 was doable though!). Ttouch in Calgary conflicted with Thanksgiving weekend, and Ttouch in Portland was in November which is my very busy month at work.

I still have several projects to complete as follow on to these workshops. That’s my big focus for now. But I’d better get crackin’ before the 2016 calendar fills up!