PDTE 2016 December Newletter

Report:
The PDTE AGM 2016
Iattended my very first PDTE
AGM in Mataró, Spain and I
must admit that it was all that I
expected it to be and then some more.
The AGM seems to be a fantastic
opportunity to meet likeminded
people from across the globe, have
stimulating conversations, build
valuable friendships, learn about
wonderful initiatives relevant to canine
welfare and of course have some fun.
While, in this newsletter, I have tried
to compile articles that summarize
several of the talks at the AGM, I
must admit that nothing compares to
actually being there and soaking it all
in.
The fantastic event was put together
for us by Nuria and her team at
Canidos. The event happened in a
lovely hotel near the port of a charming
little sea side city of Mataró. The
weather was warm and welcoming and
the food was nothing short of enticing.
This four-day event comprised of 15
Photo Credit: Team Canidos, Spain
speakers speaking on different topics
related to canine care. In addition there
were several fun events organized like
salsa classes, wine tasting, sightseeing
and a grand dinner in Barcelona.
Do check out the picture post cards
from the AGM that are printed in this
newsletter.
The talks started with one by Dr.
Marcelo Cabrera on Geriatric dogs.
Cabrera spoke about the decline in
biological functioning in dogs and
how, often, organic problems in dogs
are misinterpreted as behavioural
problems. He spoke of Canine
Cognitive Dysfunction, a condition
similar to Alzhimer’s in people. He
listed symptoms of the condition and
discussed some holistic solutions to it.
This talk set the tone for the rest of the
event, that focused a lot on looking at
underlying issues that cause so called
“behavioural issues in dogs”.
Julia Robertson, the founder of Galen
therapy center in the United Kingdom,
which specializes in providing hands
on therapy for dogs that suffer
from chronic pain spoke about how
pain always affects behaviour. Julia
repeatedly reminded us that chronic
pain is insidious and invariably effects
behaviour and yet is hard to spot
with an untrained eye. She provided
some very useful pointers on how to
recognize pain and things to do to
avoid pain. A synopsis of her talk is
available in this newsletter, for you to
get more familiar with myotherapy, its
importance and its application.
Julia underlined the importance
of empathy, when treating pain, a
concept that was echoed in several
talks during the event, including the
one by Pennie Clayton. Pennie spoke
about Canine Bowen Therapy, a nonmanipulative
technique that works
on the soft tissue of dogs with very
mild pressure, that does not focus
on treating specific conditions, but
instead focuses on reducing pain and
tension throughout the whole body.
The technique does not lose sight
of the importance of giving the dog
choices – the dog decides how long
the treatment should last, when he
needs breaks, if he wants to receive
the treatment indoors or outdoors and
if he prefers it sit, stand or lie down
during the treatment. An introduction
to this technique is presented in an
article by Pennie in this newsletter.
Winkie Spiers, the chairperson of
PDTE, further elaborated on the topic
of choices for a dog, in her talk titled
“It’s a dog’s life”. Winkie reminded us
of the basic needs of all dogs, including
quality sleep, good food, clean water,
freedom to eliminate at will, social
contact and as many choices as
possible – choices on the kind of food
a dog would like and where he would
like to sleep. She reminded us of how
scavenging, chewing, licking etc…were
natural and valuable to a dog. Her talk
drove home the point that a dog lives
a dog’s life and needs a dog-friendly
world to live it in, which provides well
for the physical and mental wellbeing
of a dog. She also presented some
very interesting charts on what kinds
of problems clients really seek help
with. These charts are all part of her
article in this newsletter and definitely
worth examining for dog trainers
and behaviour consultants, to better
understand what it is that clients really
need, to bring harmony in their “canine
households”.
The idea of the right environment
for an animal was discussed again
in the talk by Dr. Jesús Rosales-
Ruiz, an Associate Professor in the
Department of Behaviour Analysis
at the University of North Texas.
He provided a framework for
understanding and approaching
“behavioural issues” with an approach
derived from Skinner’s functional
analysis of behaviour that is based
on the fundamental belief that “The
organism is always right”. Dr. Ruiz
argued that an animal’s behaviour and
personality reflects the environmental
conditions the animal lives in and
urged us to create constructive
environments that produce optimal
interactions between people and
animals. He differentiated between
a constructional approach (which
looks at setting up a constructive
environment for the organism to
offer/alter certain behaviours) and a
pathological approach (which focuses
on solving just the problem at hand,
without considering the environment
in which the behaviour is established
and maintained).
Virginia Millares, a professional dog
trainer and kennel owner, elaborated
further on this idea of setting up the
right environment for dogs, specifically
in the situation of meet and greet in
the canine world. She spoke of a fairly
elaborate protocol that would set up a
dog for success. Her protocol involves
a detailed interview to gather as much
information about the dog as possible,
carefully selecting a dog that would
be right for this introduction, picking
a place that is safe and insulated
from loud noises or other things that
could scare a dog and setting up of
an enriched environment for the dogs.
She then outlines the process where
the dogs are introduced slowly, the
people are encouraged to be relaxed
and the dogs are encouraged to move
about slowly (by having people walk
slowly and calmly).
6
PDTE Newsletter PDTE Newsletter 7
PDTE Newsletter Dec 2016.indd 6-7
22-12-2016 05:04:57 PM