PDTE 2010 January Newsletter

PDTE NEWS
JANUARY 2010 ● ISSUE 14
www.pdte.org
Photo: Raili Halme, Finland

MESSAGE FROM the PRESIDENT
Dear members of the PDTE,
I have the pleasure of once again writing a few words in this Newsletter which I hope will
be full of interesting things for you to read. A Newsletter is an important bridge between
members and the Board, and a way of hopefully making you feel that you are a part of
our organization. Also it might give you some good ideas about lectures, workshops, and
other things to write about. Enjoy reading, but also use it as an inspiration for getting in
contact with each other, and topics for new lectures, ideas about new articles and workshops
to arrange. Making use of each other’s knowledge and experience across borders
is making us truly international.
I hope to see members from even more European countries amongst us in the new year,
and to learn new things from each other. I very much look forward to hearing from you,
reading your articles, and getting new ideas and inspiration.
The year we have left behind us was a very productive one, with an efficiently working
Board and many new members. Hopefully that trend will continue, and I am therefore
wishing you all - members and Board members alike - a very prosperous and bright new
year.
Warmest greetings and thoughts from
Turid
President
MESSAGE FROM the EDITOR
of some of the AGM lectures and in the
next Newsletter you will see the remainder.
You can also read a summary of
Adam Miklosí´s lecture and my nosework
workshop.
I do hope these also offer you new ideas
about living with dogs. My thanks go to
Adelaide who has once again done a great
job in preparing the summaries for us to
enjoy in this newsletter.
CONTENTS:
Board‘s Corner 3
Welcome our new members 5
What‘s up in 2009? 8
Walking with my dog
to the town centre 10
On being deaf – Life with
a deaf foster puppy 12
How did you become
interested in dog nutrition? 13
Book reviews 15
Humans & dogs:
Interactions and emotions 16
My life with dogs 19
Training the working dog
— with or without force?
A dilemma or a matter of attitude? 24
Minutes of the AGM 2009 22
Canine Social Skills 30
Dogs, wolves and humans.
A comparison of inter-specific
communication 33
Invitation to the AGM 2010 35
Dear Readers!
First of all I want to thank my colleagues
– Magda, Paulina and Dorothea – from
Poland who organized a great PDTE
AGM meeting this year. There were lots
of people – members and non-members.
Local Polish people were very interested
in our methods of training and I’m sure we
will get many new members from Poland.
There were also many non-members from
different countries. Janis sent many people
from Greece and I’m sure they will also
become members one day. We all had so
much fun together that we can’t wait for
the next PDTE AGM meeting in Bilbao,
Spain :-)
The lectures were very interesting and
offered new ways of thinking to us all. In
this Newsletter you can read summaries
As the new year begins, may I thank you
all. I hope you will enjoy this newsletter
and also future editions.. And, please do
send me articles for our next newsletter. I’d
also love to hear your ideas regarding how
we can improve our newsletters.
Take care of yourselves, your loved ones
and your dogs. The New Year will bring
new ideas & innovations for all of us in the
PDTE :-)
Happy New year
to all of you!
Raili
Newsletter Editor
raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
Next newsletter
may 2010
Please send materials by 1 April at the
latest to raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
Advertising prices
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1/2 page 50 Euros
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More information, reservations
(latest 1 April) and originals
(latest 15 April) to
raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
Copyright © 2008. The reproduction in whole or part of any of the contents of PDTE News is expressly forbidden without written consent of the editor.

BOARD’S CORNER
PRESIDENT
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY
Turid Rugaas
Boks 109, 3361 Geithus, Norway
Phone: +47 (0) 32 780 987
E-Mail: turidrug@frisurf.no
Website: www.turid-rugaas.no
CHAIRMAN
Andrea Knoblauch
Dorfstrasse 66, 8955 Oetwil a.d.L.
Switzerland
Phone: +41 (0) 44 748 57 10
E-Mail: a.knoblauch@bluewin.ch
MEETINGS SECRETARY
Exciting news!! I got my Christmas present
(to myself!) early this year and have a new
puppy to join us for the fun. He is a little
lurcher, Pete, and my two adult dogs have
been wonderfully tolerant and welcoming
towards him and he’s settled in really very
well indeed and is a joy. His optimism and
interest in life is infectious and I find that
having a puppy again makes all the simple
things incredibly interesting and enjoyable.
Today sweeping up the leaves in the
garden caused much hilarity as he darted
about amongst them – he wasn’t much
help but he certainly made it an entertaining
time. Enjoying good times with our
dogs is so important for both them and us.
I feel that it’s been a very productive year
as far as the PDTE Board is concerned;
we have our new website which is wonderful
and we have moved the organisation
forward in many ways. I’ve been very
heartened seeing and speaking to other
members and seeing what good work
they’ve been doing in making life better
for dogs and their owners. Our newsletter
is going from strength to strength and
is packed full of interesting articles and
points of view from so many members that
it’s a pleasure and an education to read.
All very positive and keep those articles
coming in.
My hope for the New Year is that we can
make the PDTE more of a presence in
the dog world and continue to promote a
kind, knowledgeable and intelligent way
to live with and train dogs. Membership
of the PDTE is a great resource as far as
knowledge is concerned and to be able
Page 3
Winkie Spiers
121 Harbut Road, London SW11 2RD
England
Phone: +44 (0) 207 924 3744
Mobile: +44 (0) 7718 332 914
E-Mail: winkie@winkiespiers.com
Website: www.winkiespiers.com
TREASURER
Ulrike Geng
Ziegelstatt 6a, 85235 Unterumbach
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 8134 558785
E-Mail: geng.ulrike@t-online.de
Website: www.hundeschule-geng.de
to network and share experiences with
like-minded people is hugely useful. With
members whom I’ve got to know over a
period of time I find it very reassuring to be
able to discuss all manner of dog related
things with them and improve my own
knowledge as a result. Don’t forget we do
have a forum that you can join so that you
Raili Halme
Pärehöylänpolku 15, 03220 Tervalampi
Finland
Phone: +358 (0) 50 504 2109
E-Mail: raili@rakkaathaukut.f
Website: www.rakkaathaukut.fi
BACK-UP
Cristina Muro
Pza. Celestino Maria del Arenal nº 14,
10º D, 48015 Bilbao - Vizcaya, Spain
Phone: +34 (0) 94 6001099
E-Mail: muro.cristina@gmail.com
Website: www.ctv.es/USERS/aepa
can network with other members.
Wishing you all a happy, healthy and
successful 2010.
On behalf of the Board
Winkie
PDTE NEWS

The Board has accepted the new visual
image of the PDTE logo. It has changed
just a little bit by changing the text font and
making it round. We hope that you like this
more modern version.
We have done three different logos:
- Normal logo for use by PDTE
- For FULL MEMBERS
- For ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
Yes you read that right! From now on
Associate members can also use their
own PDTE logo in their documents and
websites.
All Associate members and Full members
will receive the new logo after Christmas.
And we really hope that all of you will
start using them in all your documents
and websites. We have also made more
personalised versions for Country Representatives
(CR).
BOARD’S CORNER
update of the PDTE logo
They will all receive the new logo with text
stating which country each representative
lives in - below the normal logo.
If you have any questions or ideas regarding
the logos, please contact Raili:- raili@
rakkaathaukut.fi
PS Full Members - when you get the new
logos, please get rid of the old one:-)
COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVE
OF X-LAND
Country representatives
Austria
Denmark Turid Rugaas turidrug@frisurf.no
England Deidre Long deidrelong@fastmail.fm
dogsbodies@fastmail.fm
Finland Raili Halme raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
Germany Sonja Hoegen hoegen@dogcom.de
Greece Yiannis Arachovitis info@stardogs.gr
Ireland
Italy Chiara Gentileschi tristan22@virgilio.it
Netherlands Nelis Verhoeven info@zandberghoeve.com
Norway Turid Rugaas turidrug@frisurf.no
Poland Zula Przyblinska zprzybylinska@axio.com.pl
Spain Cristina Muro muro.cristina@gmail.com
Sweden Turid Rugaas turidrug@frisurf.no
Switzerland Susi Roger relosuga@bluewin.ch
THERE IS STILL
NO representative FOR
Austria and IRELAND.
If you are interested
please contact
Ulrike
geng.ulrike@t-online.de
PDTE NEWS Page 4

WElCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS
Karina Doose
Germany
First of all may I apologise for my
English. English is not my first
language - but I hope you will understand
my article. I’m 39 years
old and live with my family in Schleswig-Holstein,
Germany, not far
from Ostsee/Nordsee. We live with
our three dogs (Gordon Setter,
Border Collie mix and a Shepherd
dog-mix), cats, two goats and
cows on a farm. My husband is a
farmer. We have two children
(aged 21 months and 7 months).
Animalsvhave always played a major
role in my life, ever since I was
a little child. I spent time working
in an office, but I always wanted to
work with animals, especially dogs.
I read a lot of books about behaviour
and training, but this was not
enough! In 2003/2004 I undertook
a course in animal education with
Clarissa von Reinhardt in Bayern.
Then in 2004/2005 I undertook a
course at 1.DAHP Deutsche Ausbildungsstättefür
Hundephysiotherapie,
Jochen und Sabine Woßlick
at Linkenheim, near Karlsruhe. I
completed both courses successfully
and then resigned from my
office job to pursue a career with
dogs and canine physiotherapy at
my own school. During this time I
worked with a vet half of the time.
I met my husband and one year
later my first daughter was born.
Now I have two daughters. Consequently
I can’t work full-time with
dogs at the moment. However, if
I get the chance to work again as
Page 5
a dog-trainer together with a vet, I
will take the opportunity. With this
in mind I attended training courses
in 2002-2006 and 2009. I am an
active member involved in welfare
and this summer I will travel to the
south of Germany and help out
with various events. My special
interests are in the fields of nosework,
rescue-dogs, welfare, helping
galgos, greyhounds and other
dogs.
Silvia Weber
Germany
My name is Silvia Weber, I live
in Bochung (NRW) together with
three dogs (Focke, Lena and Shina)
and my partner Frank.
I grew up with two uncles who
bred German Shepherds. So my
first dog at the age of twelve was
a 3 year old German Shepherd
called “Lux”. I accompanied him
to training classes, to “learn” how
to train a dog. For 16 years I was
a member of “Verein für deutsche
Schäferhunde” and trained German
Shepherds for competitions
and shows. I never was highly
competitive, competing for half
points, but unfortunately I did a
lot of negative things to my dogs.
In retrospect I’m obviously very
sad about that. During the last 5-
6 years of this period I no longer
involved my dogs in competitions,
but was happier to live with my
last German Shepherds, “Ragna”,
“Alderich”, “Wolf” and “Unfug” as
loving pets.
I’ve also read a lot of books in the
last few years of my membership
and recognized that there are
many other ways to train dogs.
In 1993 a dog called Pinocchio
changed my life completely. He
was a big mix (Bordeaux-Doggen)
from a rescue shelter, aged about
2-3 years, and he had many problems
with people and other dogs.
I felt that it was not a good idea
to work with him in the same way
I had worked with German Shepherds.
I had read a book by Linda
Tellington-Jones and I started the
first trainer education course based
on her principles in Germany.
Pinocchio and I attended the
course together and it was a great
experience. We became a really
good team. In subsequent years
I realised that there were many
things about this method that I did
not agree with; nevertheless I am
grateful for the experience. I became
acquainted with many people
who were also searching for a
better way to train dogs and – for
the first time - I heard about calming
signals. At this time I started
my dog school and lived with six
dogs. Four of them were problematic
dogs from the Shelter. The
dogs were Pinocchio, Tina (Rottweiler),
Bärchen (Rottweiler), Jenny
(German Shepherd mix), and
the other two were also German
Shepherds, Unfug and Alderich.
In Summer 2000 I started the
trainer education course at “Animal
Learn” and completed it in
December 2001. In November
2002 I started the trainer education
course with Turid Rugaas and
completed it in July 2003. From
May 2004 I took part in Anne Lill
Kvam’s advanced course called
“Nosework- Brainwork” and completed
it in October 2005. Since
February 2004 I have been
qualified to do “Wesenstest” and
“Sachkundenachweise” according
to the law of NRW. During these
years I took part in a lot of weekend
seminars with different teachers.
PDTE NEWS

WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS
My special interests are: working
with problem behaviours (especially
aggression), working with old
German herding dogs like “Harzer
Fuchs”, “Tiger”, “Schafpudel” etc.
and and any kind of nosework.
I find nosework fascinating!
Katie Scott-Dyer
England
Hello, my name is Katie Scott-
Dyer, I have been involved with
dog training for 10 years and run
two successful businesses centred
upon dogs and pets. I have been
a full time behaviourist for 3 years
now and the more I do the more I
love it! I gained my first dog training
qualification as a Gold level
Instructor with the Academy of Dog
Training and Behaviour 6 years
ago, I have just gained a distinction
with my second Diploma (dip
dog psy) and I am currently studying
with Oxford College for my
third Canine Psychology diploma.
I also attend seminars and workshops
including Ttouch and day
courses whenever I can, which is
not always easy as I am a single
mum to two teenagers and three
dogs (two are rescues) a rescue
cat and a rescue guinea pig! I am
also a qualified Canine First Aid
Instructor and am becoming keenly
interested in inherited diseases in
dogs, but my main love is in rescue
work and rehabilitation. My
pet-sitting business is expanding
and I regularly have dogs boarding
and I also foster for a number
of charities as well as privately. I
assist with behaviour advice for all
the major Bull Terrier charities and
foster for Bull Terrier Welfare also.
I write a behaviour column for Bull
Terrier Monthly (which is a monthly
subscription magazine) and occasionally
for Petmag (a free online
magazine). I have been asked to
help rehabilitate difficult cases for
Brent Knoll RSPCA when they
open their new kennel suite this
year. I am on the local dog warden
approved list and am recommended
by clients, vets, rescue centres
and other trainers. I run classes
and Clicker Workshops as well!.
Anna Papazoglou
Greece
Hello! My name is Anna Papazoglou
and I am from Greece. I live
in a countryside region of Athens
with my two dogs, Bruno and Achilles.
Since I was a little child I loved
all animals and especially dogs. I
was introduced to the field of positive
training by Raul, a beautiful
American Staffordshire Terrier. By
the time Raul came to our home,
he was 2 months old, a puppy full
of energy and of a very strong personality.
Soon I realized that in order
to live together in harmony he
had to be trained! That’s how I discovered
Yiannis Arachovitis. Raul
and I became his students and I
think we were both best in class.
Given the fact that as a person I
despise any form of violence, I was
very taken by his methods. By the
time Raul’s courses ended, I had
already decided… I wanted to be
a positive trainer. I studied Yannis’
dog training courses and after a
year I started working as a Positive
Dog Trainer.
Since then I’ve trained a lot of
dogs, or rather, I’ve trained a lot of
dog owners, taught them the way
to communicate with their pets, understand
them and to live together
without the need for violence or
punishment. The thing I like the
most about my job is that I can
change the way people think.
Because Positive Training is a philosophy,
it’s about respecting the
personality, character and uniqueness
of every living creature-and
an effort to make their life better.
Raul now lives with my younger
son. He has turned into an amazing
dog. He can understand everything
and communicate flawlessly
with just a look. Bruno (boxer)
and Achilles (street dog) live with
me. I could ramble on about my
life with them!! About how I enjoy
walking with them every morning
in the countryside, or about how
they make me laugh and drift off to
sleep while they are playing. Instead,
I would like to conclude with
a big “Thank you” to my teacher,
Yiannis.
Thank you so much for everything
you taught me and continue to
teach me. Thank you for introducing
me and Raul to the beautiful
world of Positive Training, which
fills my everyday life with positive
energy and thinking. I would also
like to thank my canine students
for everything they teach me. It’s
amazingly mind blowing just how
much we can learn from dogs!!!
PDTE NEWS Page 6

WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS
Christine Gough
England
I left the Legal Profession to open
and run Cara Dog Training School
in 2001 after moving from Buckinghamshire
to the New Forest
in Hampshire, UK. I have been
training since 1990 and am an Institute
for Animal Care Education
Member (IACE), having obtained a
Distinction in my Training Coursework
and Assessments. I am also
an APDT Member 00653 (Association
of Pet Dog Trainers) and have
undertaken a Canine Psychology
Course.
In addition to my husband Barry
(APDT Member 00893), who also
trains and deals with most of our
administration as we run 15 Training
and two Agility Classes each
week, we have four other lady
trainers, one of whom is also an
APDT Member.
I also offer Private One to One
lesson(s) to address specific problems
or general training and can
deal with behavioural problems by
Private Consultation.
We are owned by two Labradors;
7-year-old Rosie, who as
a 5-week-old pup featured in an
Andrex TV Advert! She is wonderful,
if a little stubborn. Then there
is Crunchie who is our 2-year-old
Demo Dog!
I also train and run a Pet Dog
Demonstration Team which appears
locally helping to raise funds
for charities. We were also invited
to appear at “Paws in the Park”
this year 2009.
Maxwell Muir
Scotland
I am forty-four years old and live
in southern Scotland just outside
the Capital Edinburgh. I own two
dogs which are German Shepherd
crosses and have been brought up
with dogs my whole life. As a child
I grew up with hunting dogs like
lurchers and whippets and was often
taken out on the hunt. I love all
canines but my particular fondness
is for wolves and wild dogs. My
favourite dogs to own are crossbreeds
of the German Shepherd
and Pointing breeds. Following the
ADTB course, Action 4 Dogs was
founded with the intention of bringing
positive dog training techniques
to the area based on kindness.
Most other clubs around I thought
were quite harsh and limited. I also
wanted to educate the public on
dogs and the way they think, helping
to give the community a more
positive attitude towards them.
I run a dog training school where
I concentrate on teaching owners
more about the dogs’ emotions,
behaviour and body language
and teach handling skills that use
kind and gentle methods. It is a
small school but quite popular. I
also help people on a 1-2-1 basis
where I help them deal with common
problems associated with
owning a dog. I hold a certificate in
Canine Psychology with the Animal
Care College and I am currently
studying with Compass Education
doing a Diploma on Canine Aggression
and intend to move on to
the Advanced Diploma in Canine
Behaviour Management. Ultimately
I am reaching for membership of
the UKRCB. I also regularly attend
seminars and workshops to further
my education. I would like to speak
and hold my own seminars and
workshops one day. My goal is to
deepen my understanding in as
many areas as possible and learn
from the very best in their field in
the world of dogs so that I too may
learn and teach others and pass
that knowledge on. My wish is to
see brutal and harsh methods of
treating and training dogs come to
an end so that dogs can live safely
under a society that cares and
cherishes them.
My objective in helping to educate
the public is to hold regular seminars,
workshops and lectures introducing
international and prominent
speakers from the world of dog
training and behaviour. Beside
these seminars I would also like to
hold smaller and local based workshops
focusing on certain themes
i.e. pulling on lead and small talks
on given subjects. I would also
like to introduce an Intro to dogs
for schools in the area educating
children on how to behave around
dogs.
Page 7
PDTE NEWS

WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS
Melanie LinsseN
Holland
I’m Melanie Linssen, and together
with my boyfriend I live in a small
town in the south of Holland. We
have three dogs, two border collies
and an Australian Shepherd. We
also have 11 rabbits, French lob,
that we also breed with.
ENGLAND
Wikie Spears
20TH & 21ST FEBRUARY,
DOG’S TRUST IN MERSEYSIDE, UK.
Canine Communication, stress, socialisation &
mental stimulation, handling skills. Enquiries
michelle.roughley@dogstrust.org.uk.
SATURDAY, 6TH MARCH 2010
HOW DOG’S COMMUNICATE
Venue: CARA Dog Training,
Lymington, New Forest
Time: 10 - 4.30
Enquiries: Chrissy & Barry Gough
caratraining@ic24.net
www.caradogtraining.com
Tel: 01590 683 529
FINLAND
Rakkaat Haukut Koira-akatemia
– Happy Dog Academy
More information raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
Lecturers
HELP FOR EVERYDAY LIFE WITH DOG
TUE 26.01.
MON 15.02.
THU 04.03.
MON 22.03.
As a child living with my parents
I never had a dog, but my grandfather
had one, and I spent a lot of
time with his dog. When I moved
out of the family home, I finally got
the chance to buy my own first
dog, a Labrador retriever. After a
while a second Labrador retriever
came into our home, and then a
border collie. My relationship with
my boyfriend at the time came
to an end, and the border collie
stayed with me while the two Labradors
stayed with my ex-partner.
Then with my new partner I got the
second border collie and the Australian
Shepherd.
With all of my dogs I followed different
types of training at different
dog schools. Eventually the owner
of one dog school asked me if I
wanted to become
a dog trainer. Before that I had
done a lot of training with my own
dogs, read a lot and had started
already attending seminars and
What‘s up in 2010?
WED 14.04.
MON 10.05.
WED 19.05.
TUE 01.06.
NO TO NO-WORD, WHY?
SAT 27.03.
MEET POLITELY
TUE 25.5.
DOG´S LANGUAGE
TUE 30.03.
FEARFUL DOGS
TUE 12.04.
TUE 18.05.
ENRICH DOGS WITH FOOD
TUE 04.03.
HOW TO BEHAVE IN DOG PARK
WED 10.03
PUPPY IN THE HOUSE
TUE 26.01.
MON 15.02.
THU 04.03.
MON 22.03.
WED 14.04.
WED 19.05.
TUE 01.06.
DOG PROBLEMS
-CONVERSATION EVENING
SUN 28.03.
All lecturers are held in finnish but will be
translated to english if needed!
workshops. However, one seminar
I attended changed my ‘dog life’ in
a big way - it was a seminar about
calming signals.
I immediately knew that this was
the way to go, and I wanted to
know everything about it. So I
started to read even more books,
attended more seminars, including
with Turid Rugaas herself,
and finally I attended the IDBTS
course with Sheila Harper.
This all changed my own life, the
life of my dogs and my teaching
methods. I’m still very keen to
keep on learning and observing.
My special interests are puppy
classes, teaching people about
dog language, nose work and
search & rescue.
GERMANY
Ulrike Geng
is holding following events (all events are in
german):
27-28TH MARCH
“COMMUNICATIONS WITH DOGS” IN
HAMBURG
For further details contact Hundeschule Paw
Friends - www.paw-friends.de
Contents: basics of dog language, the different
connections, how to handle in the daily life,
calming signals and their meaning in the life of
a dog, recognizing and giving back to them
The following events are settled near Munich
- please contact Ulrike directly : www.hundeschule-geng.de
18TH APRIL
“THE ENGAGEMENT OF A DOG”
Contents: How to entertain our dog? A point,
many owners are unsure how much and what
to dog with their dog. What is a dog and what
do he want? How can I build up work with him,
which kind of equipment is usefull and where
are the borders
16TH MAY
“ THE LEASH - DREAM OR
NIGHTMARE”
PDTE NEWS Page 8

What‘s up in 2010?
Contens: The walk on a leash - How to build
up, why is for so many people the walk with a
leash so horrible and how we can change it.
20TH JUNE
“COMMUNICATION WITH DOGS”
Contents: basics of dog language, the different
connections, how to handle in the daily life,
calming signals and their meaning in the life of
a dog, recognizing and giving back to them
18TH JULY
“BEHAVIOUR DISORDERS”
Contents: How do disorders become? What
can we do to make it better, finding solutions.
Please recognize the maximum of 6 participants!
Maria Hense, Inga Böhm and
Turid Rugaas
DOG-TRAINER-EDUCATION starting in
February 2010, Language: German. Maximum
Scholars: 12 persons
Nicole Renner
Evening-Lecture “Inoculation” with in February
2010, Language: German
Maria Hense
2-day-Seminar “Fearful dogs” with in April
2010, Language: German
Hundeschule dogcom
2-day-Workshop “CLICKER-TRAINING”
WITH IN APRIL 2010, Language: German
Evening-Lecture “NUTRITION” WITH ANKE
TROBISCH IN JULY 2010, Language: German
2-day-Seminar “PROBLEM SOLVING” WITH
TURID RUGAAS IN OCTOBER 2010,
Language:English, German
For detailed information see www.dogcom.de.
All events are hosted in the South of Germany,
near to Heidelberg and Stuttgart.
HOLLAND
Calming Signs
More information of events below
www.calmingsigns.com or
nelis@calmingsigns.com
Winkie Spears, England
5TH & 6TH JUNE
which will hopefully be a PDTE event and I will
be looking at the factors affecting dogs who
live in the country versus the City dogs and
what we need to be aware of to enable them
to cope.
Raili Halme, Finland
27 AUGUST
14.00 – 21.00 o´clock
GOOD LEADERSHIP IS PARENTHOOD
Workshop consist theoretical and practical
work around parenthood.
28 AUGUST
10.00 – 17.00 o´clock
STRESS IN DOGS AND HOW TO LOWER
STRESS IN COURSE SITUATIONS AND IN
COMPETITIONS
Workshop consist theoretical and practical
work around stress.
29 AUGUST
10.00 – 17.00 o´clock
STRESS FREE OBIDIENCE
Workshop consist theoretical and practical
work around stress free obedience.
POLAND
Psia Wachta
More information of events below
www.psiawachta.pl/seminaria-i-kursy
or info@psiawachta.pl
Sheila Harper, England
MARCH 2010
‘THE LEAD AGGRESSION’
Alexa Capra
MAY 2010
‘OBSERVING DOGS’
Turid Rugaas, Norway
JUNE 2010
‘INSTRUCTOR COURSE’ - START
Raili Halme, Finland
JULY 2010
‘RUNNING A DOG-ORIENTED DAYCARE
FOR DOGS’
NOVEMBER 2010
‘AAT
Cristina Muro, Spain
Good Dog hotel in Warsaw.
More information on www.dobrypies.pl
Raili Halme, Finland
14-16 MAY 2010
STRESS IN DOGS - PRACTICAL WORK ON
RECOGNITION AND TREATMENT
Stress is one of the most common issue in
human society. Everybody knows that stress
leads to health problems and makes us unbalanced,
over reactive, frustrated and even
aggressive towards everybody around. It has a
huge influence on our relationships with others.
And what about dogs, who share their live with
us? We complain they are not obedient and
feel angry for them, looking for more and more
radical training solutions.
The truth is that they have exactly the same
problem as we have, or actually even bigger,
because of people’s expectations and luck of
understanding.
How to recognize stress in our dogs? How to
help them to be happy and satisfied?
I hope during this workshops You will find the
answer and also get practical solutions how to
help stressed dogs.
if you would like your events to appear in the
next newsletter in May, please send your
information by 1 april to raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
Page 9
PDTE NEWS

WALKING with my dog TO the TOWN
CENTRE
Karina Doose, GERMANY
Just imagine it is midday on a Saturday.
You are going with your dog to the city.
You have been looking forward to it all
week — and now the day has arrived. You
can stroll through town with your dog. It
is the beginning of summer and you need
new T-shirts, shorts and shoes. When
you’ve bought these, you plan to go into
a restaurant for lunch. And this should be
fun for your dog too. Shouldn’t it? Just
imagine you are your dog — having his
1st visit to the city. There are masses of
people pushing and shoving. Perhaps as
a dog you only reach the knees of your
owner. Not everybody is prudent and gives
you sufficient space. You can feel people
pushing against you and so you don’t
feel much enjoyment in strolling through
the town. There are not only masses of
people, there are so many noises from the
street: sounds of car horns, sometimes
the music in cars is so loud that you feel
you are about to go deaf! Mothers carrying
screaming babies are pushing through
the pedestrian zone. Think about all the
above while you are imagining one day in
the life of your dog! And as a dog you can
hear all this noise at least four times louder
than people do! Because you are such a
sweet and and well mannered dog, lots of
strangers’ hands are stroking you. Well,
on reflection, would you, as a pet dog- always
enjoy a stroll through town with your
owner?
When you do decide to take your dog into
a busy city centre, there are some points
to bear In mind…
Don’t throw your dog “in at the deep end”
and don’t overburden him. Also don’t be
too hasty in what you expect of your dog.
It will take time for a dog to get used to
going into the city with you. The first time
you take him, don’t spend hours there.
Increase the time span from perhaps ten
minutes, in gradual increments - until
your dog feels more able to cope with the
stresses (crowds, narrow streets, speeding
cars, bikes etc...). Observe your dog
to see if he is trying to avoid something. Is
he anxious? Is he frequently lip licking or
yawning? In this way your dog will show
you if he feels stressed. If he is feeling
stressed stop the training. Your dog is
telling you the experience was too much.
Start the next training session in 2 or 3
days and stop earlier than the last training
session. And please do remember to end
every training session on a positive happy
note.
Whether you want to get to the city centre
by car, bus or train, your dog should be
comfortable with travelling in such a way.
When this is a problem, your training will
need to address this issue. Otherwise your
dog will be stressed out before you reach
the city, because the journey by car /bus/
train etc. was too stressful for your dog.
When travelling in any such vehicle is not
stressful, your dog will associate it with a
happy experience. And this is an important
training issue for all city dogs. Before you
travel to the city centre, give your dog
time to defecate and have a run.
Use a dog harness, not a collar. This
removes any pressure from the cervical
vertebrae. Do everything you can to make
the experience a happy one for your dog.
Remember that dogs are not allowed
inside every shop, and so you may have
to tie your dog up outside. However, It may
not be possible to tie the dog up on the
wall outside the shop. Some owners tie
dogs onto cycle stands. This is not a
good alternative. The dog cannot move
away if a cyclist wants to park his bike at
the stand. In addition, cyclists may approach
the dog head on as they arrive at
the bike stand. Remember that dogs do
not like strangers invading their personal
sace. Hence such a dog could bark at
- or try to bite - cyclists who try to enter
the dog’s space to tie their bikes up to the
cycle stand.
Photo: Andrea Knoblauch, Switzerland
Similarly, dogs should not be left in the
sun - they prefer shade. Remember that if
you do tie your dog outside, you have no
control over what happens to him! Someone
may try to steal your dog or provoke
him to bark or even bite. Someone could
kick him. People may take a liking to
your dog - puppies are very attractive to
everyone, and vulnerable to theft if tied up
outside. There are so many missing dogs
which end up stolen, because the owner
left them alone outside and went shopping!
“Fighting dogs” are stolen and used for
horrific dog fights. Please, don’t let your
dog out of your sight! We must be there to
help our dogs when they need our support!
Why not take someone with you when
shopping, a friend or family member? She
could wait outside with your dog until you
come out of the shop.
This makes the dog feel safe as there is
someone around who can help him if the
need arises.
PDTE NEWS Page 10

You often hear that owners tie their dogs
up to advertising sign boards or a public
seat/bench. This is very dangerous
because the owner is leaving the dog, and
for example the dog may want to run after
the owner. Or the dog may see a cat, or
another dog. In either scenario as the dog
starts running the advertising sign may fall
over with a loud bang. The dog then panics,
running away faster with the danger
attached to his neck!! There is a great
risk of injury to the dog and also to other
persons and animals. Never let your dog
out of your sight!!!
Once your shopping is done, think ahead
about lunchtime in a restaurant. It is a
good idea to take a soft item of clothing or
fabric with you for your dog, so that he can
rest too. If you forget, you can always use
your own coat. Look for a table in a quiet
corner. And check that there isn’t another
dog nearby. This could create tension
between the dogs because they are on
a leash, they are unknown to each other,
and they are in a cramped space. To get
to know one another they need alternative
surroundings - distance between them,
perhaps without a leash. A restaurant is
not the best place for this!
Fights between dogs are usually avoidable.
Take a lot of care when involved in
activities with your dog eg going to the
centre of town, meeting other dogs or
people or any situation where your dog
feels stressed. Also think about water for
him in a restaurant. This should be not a
problem.
Photo: Heidi Pesonen, Finland
Once the shopping is done and you return
home, please give your dog rest. It is
stressful for dogs as well as humans! And
don’t take your dog with you every day
into busy town centres. No two dogs are
alike. For one is may be okay to go to the
city often. However another may need a
few days rest before a new walk through
the city . Learn to watch your dog and you
will see when fun has turned into stress for
him. Respond accordingly and help him
out. Don’t put your dog under a cycle of
ever increasing stress. If you feel your dog
has had enough while out shopping, call
it a day. Don’t be disappointed if your dog
does not share your enthusiasm for shopping
in the town centre. Try to imagine the
experience from your dog’s point of view.
How does he feel? You will realise that
sometimes it is better to leave him at home
where the surroundings are familiar and
he feels happy. Your dog will be thankful
to you and very happy when you return
home. Perhaps you have bought a snack
for him? In this way, gradually your dog will
start to share your enthusiasm
for shopping in the city!
Photo: Heidi Pesonen, Finland
Page 11
PDTE NEWS

On Being Deaf
- Life with a Deaf foster Puppy
Katie Scott-Dyer, England
I had fallen in love with Hogan, a 12-weekold
pure bred American Bulldog, upon
first sight at an RSPCA charity fundraiser
I had been invited to speak at. As it turns
out, after talking with his handler he
was completely deaf and needed a new
foster home via the charity he was currently
fostered with who had rescued him
(Hope Rescue). Hogan was white and all
wrinkled where he had yet to grow into
his skin, which just made him even more
adorable, so I volunteered my services as
a foster and to help him learn some signs
and give him a head start ready for his
new family.
The very first day Hogan arrived he settled
in and had learned the important sign for
‘toilet’ and ‘outside’ and ‘watch me’. It was
astonishing; his level of ability to learn
matched my eagerness to teach him! He
also just wanted to play and chase my
three English Bull Terriers and day boarder
around, so I let him blow off a bit of steam
then I worked on his observation skills.
He gave off a lot of calming signals but
ignored distance signals being given him,
so I worked on this after teaching him
where dogs use the toilet. He needed to
understand that even if he couldn’t hear
a warning growl, the accompanying body
language was intended for him to back off
from whichever dog he was annoying at
the time. What I noticed was, as ever, my
two females were very tolerant of him and
would allow him to do what he like. My
male would air snap quite quickly though;
this helped Hogan learn very quickly that
he should not bite Koda, my male Mini
EBT (who was clearly trying to teach
Hogan the bite inhibition which older dogs
are very good at teaching youngsters), but
it was ok to bite the girls, not in aggression
but in the painfully sharp puppy nip way.
He couldn’t hear their yelps but I needed
to help them out a bit by teaching him
somehow not to use his teeth as much
and ‘listen’ to their look-aways and yawns
instead. How though? Usually I would
clicker-train a dog or puppy. Hogan was
completely (unilaterally) deaf. He did like
to work for sweeties/treats though and was
easily free-shaped, which was a blessing!
How was I to mark the moment I observed
him ‘listening’ to the others’ body language
though? This was important as Cassini,
my eldest rescue female EBT, has recently
developed a haematoma on her ear, which
needed regular draining and Hogan’s playful
ear nips hurt her but he couldn’t hear
her yelps when he hurt her and tried to
encourage her to play more as she tried to
get away from him. Hogan took a shine to
Jellybean Lollipop, my other rescue female
EBT, and would follow her everywhere,
getting into as much mischief together as
possible! Two more boarders (both Jack
Russells) turned up for their holiday and
they didn’t appreciate having a boisterous
puppy in their faces, so it was utterly
enthralling for me to observe the intricate
nuances of all these different styles of
calming and body signals and to watch
Hogan learn through his own trial and error
(usually error) which dogs to chase and
play with and which one needed a puppy’s
touch. He completely ignored the oldest
(19 years old!) female, who would do her
utmost to be as noisy and intimidating to
him as possible; Hogan just dodged the
teeth and sat at an angle to her in her bed,
he was utterly unphased by her anger!
Hogan, however, did learn quite quickly
that the fluffy white cat in my house (Lego,
my rescue cat) which was hissing and spitting
at him really would use his claws as a
warning. The cat was fair game to chase
when cornered in the garden though!
Hogan was like a sponge during his
3-week stay with me, soaking up all the
free-shaping and sign training. and soon
he had a good repertoire of signs he had
Photo: Heidi Pesonen, Finland
learned in a relatively short space of time.
My other female, Jellybean Lollipop, also
seemed to encourage Hogan to get into
mischief; I was always finding them in the
kitchen bin, or upstairs looking for the cat
or playing tug with stolen underwear! One
thing still niggled me though; his sheer
panic when I left the room or if he was
behind a door; common behaviour in differently-abled
dogs, but one which couldn’t
be worked at in a normal manner. Again
this is something I would normally rectify
partly with a clicker and counter-conditioning
but how was I to help him if I couldn’t
clicker him when I was out of sight? I had
to leave him occasionally; we could not do
things as a family just because our foster
PDTE NEWS Page 12

him when he was behind a door or I was
out of vision. I was able to leave him for 5
seconds on the first attempt and built up to
30 but he would still urinate almost immediately
so I did have some way to go with
this now learned response to being alone.
His previous foster reported that he had
only ever barked with her but not urinated,
so it would be interesting if he did this in
his new home. Sadly I ran out of time before
having to say goodbye to Hogan, his
new family collected him the next day but
they were armed with a long list of signs
he had learned (partly in thanks to a client
who uses Makaton), a pocket LED torch
(thanks Mike) and instructions on canine
body language, Turids’ calming signals,
details of their nearest approved classes
and were shown how to ‘clicker’ train a
deaf puppy and how to relax him and keep
his excitement sub-threshold to enable
continual learning!
Hogan settled into his new home very well
and the charity reported that he is making
good progress with his distress at being
alone as the new owners are both home
all day so are able to devote the time he
needs to work through his issue, fantastic!!
I still wish I had thought of it sooner to help
with his play bite and separation issues but
he is the best possible home he could ever
wish to have and that’s what matters. I feel
privileged to have known him, even for just
a while.
How did you become interested
in dog nutrition?
In July 2009, dog nutritionist and therapist Sally Askew gave a weekend lecture in Poland on dog nutrition.
Magda Urban interviewed Sally about her work.
HOW DID YOU BECOME INTERESTED
IN DOG NUTRITION?
My interest in dog nutrition, in the limited
sense of the word, came about as part
of my need to understand more about
the whole way of life of dogs, and how to
best provide for their needs. In the limited
sense of the word, “nutrition” is just the
understanding that the dog’s body is built
up entirely from molecules derived from
the food they eat, the water they drink, the
air they breathe and the sunlight they live
in. But for me, nutrition doesn’t just mean
what the dog eats, drinks, breathes, etc.
For me, nutrition is also about providing
the dog with balance in the physical and
emotional building blocks of physical rest
and activity, its emotional and mental
states, its lifestyle and environment. So
I’ve always been conscious that meeting
the needs of a dog isn’t just about survival
for the dog – from before they were born
all the way into old age, it is their strength,
their size, their short and long-term health,
and length and quality of life. With every
decision you make about a dog’s life you
affect their body in a positive or negative
way. The life-style we provide (of which the
food is just a part) and its quality affects
the dog’s ability to be healthy and stay
healthy.
Page 13
IN WHAT WAY MAY DO THE QUALITY
OF THE FOOD, THE BALANCE OF
NUTRIENTS AND THE TAILORING OF
THE DIET TO THE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
OF THE DOG INFLUENCE A DOG’S
HEALTH?
Each dog is an individual with its own individual
needs. Food is required by a dog to
support its vitality and energy, for growth
and for the maintenance and repair of its
body. A dog can only be healthy if all of
these needs are met. A dog’s requirements
in each of these areas will change over its
life-time as it grows from a puppy through
adolescence into an adult dog and then
into old age – its activity levels will change,
the work required of it (if a working dog)
will change, its circumstances or environment
might change, and with each change
each dog will need a change in nutrition
to keep it in optimal health. The perfect
diet for a dog is one that is nutritionally
balanced and tailored to suit the individual
dog’s age, breed, activity level and health.
HOW CAN WE MONITOR WHETHER
THE FOOD WE’RE FEEDING OUR DOG
IS SUITING IT OR NOT?
Take a good hard look at your dog! Is he is
optimum health? Is he enjoying life? Does
he have a good coat appropriate for his
breed or breed-mix? Is he the right weight
for his build? Does he have bright shiny
eyes? Does he have fresh breath and little
or no doggy odour? If you’ve answered
“yes” to all of these questions then your
dog’s food and lifestyle are probably suiting
him. If however you’ve answered “no”
to one or more questions then maybe you
should seek the help of firstly a vet and
then a canine therapist who deals with
a whole lifestyle approach to living with
dogs, to see whether any changes in your
dog’s lifestyle and/or nutrition might help
promote better health for your dog.
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ABOUT THE
CONNECTION BETWEEN ARTIFICIAL
PRESERVATIVES IN COMMERCIAL
DOG FOOD AND CANCER OR OTHER
DISEASES?
I know of no proven link between the levels
of artificial preservatives used in premium
commercial dog foods and cancer or
other serious diseases. Commercial foods
do need to use preservatives (artificial
or natural), in order to keep the products
fresh enough for long enough to make
the products commercially viable. People
worry about things like preservatives
but we also need to remember that any
PDTE NEWS

nutrient ingested in sufficient quantity can
cause a problem – for example you can kill
yourself if you drink too much water – it’s
the amount that’s used that is important.
Also when considering the use of artificial
versus the natural preservatives, we need
to think about the fact that for some dogs
natural preservatives such as rosemary oil
or sage oil can cause problems, and for
dogs such as these actually selecting a
dog food containing an artificial preservative
might be a better option. Again it is
the principle of selecting the right dog food
considering the individual needs of a dog.
CONTRARY TO THE CURRENT TREND
IN DOG NUTRITION, YOU ARE NOT
AGAINST COMMERCIAL DOG FOODS.
HOWEVER MANY DOG OWNERS
OBSERVE THE POSITIVE CHANGES IN
THEIR DOG’S HEALTH AFTER SWITCH-
ING THEIR DOG TO HOME-PREPARED
COOKED OR RAW DIETS. WHAT MAY
BE THE REASON FOR THIS?
I think this a myth that is growing steadily
in people’s minds as a result of the coverage
of canine nutrition on Internet forums
and in canine magazines. I think it is true
to say that any major change in diet will
be reflected in the dog’s body, either in a
positive or negative way. Sometimes the
improvements seen are only temporary
- if the new diet is unbalanced or simply
doesn’t suit the dog – and then the apparent
‘improvement’ simply isn’t sustained
long-term. For some people feeding a
home-cooked or raw diet to their dogs simply
isn’t a practical option. Also, one only
has to look at how people feed themselves
– if long-term, and despite good intentions,
people are unable to feed themselves
a good, well-balanced and healthy diet
consistently – how can they expect to do
so for their dogs?
As a canine nutritionist I have seen some
dogs benefit from a change to a home-prepared
diet (my own dog is one of these),
but I’ve also seen some dogs who have
benefited from changing from a homeprepared
or raw diet to a commercial dog
food. The quality of the commercial food
is important and there is no denying that
quality dog food isn’t cheap. However,
these quality commercial dog foods are
packed with good quality ingredients. I
would caution people to beware of cheaper
brands with cheap filler ingredients or
too many ‘special additives’ to make the
food more digestible for the dog.
I’ve now been providing a hair-tissue
mineral testing service for my clients for
several years. The dogs tested have been
on either home-cooked, raw or commercial
foods and yet less than 4% of all the dogs
tested show optimal health – proving again
for me that there simply isn’t one single
“best way” to feed all dogs.
I would also draw you attention to the
Newman and Keith scientific study that
showed that dogs fed a high quality
commercial complete dog food plus Dr
Newman’s supplementation programme
showed a much greater improvement in
health after six weeks on this diet than
dogs being fed either a home-cooked or
raw diet.
IS FEEDING A DOG WITH A HOME-
PREPARED DIET MORE RISKY THAN
USING A COMMERCIAL DOG FOOD?
Feeding a well-balanced home-prepared
or raw diet is certainly not an easy option
- it takes time and commitment to do it
correctly. The owner becomes responsible
for ensuring that all of the dog’s nutrient
requirements are met. If any are missing
or consumed in the wrong combination
then gradually over time the dog’s health
level will decline as the dog starts to show
signs of malnutrition. This eventually can
lead to the development of a serious
health condition.
On a personal note, I’m not opposed to
feeding home-prepared diets – indeed it
has proved necessary for one of my dogs
in helping to control his seizures. The best
diet for a dog is a diet that meets the individual
requirements of the dog i.e. a diet
that suits that individual dog, and whether
it is a commercial food or a home-prepared
cooked or raw diet doesn’t matter as
long as it meets the dog’s needs.
PDTE NEWS Page 14

SHOULD A HOME-PREPARED DIET
FOR DOGS BE BALANCED EACH DAY
OR CAN WE TRY TO BALANCE IT SAY
OVER A WEEK OR A MONTH?
My view is that the nutrient content of a
dog’s diet should be balanced over a
period of approximately a week. Variety is
also important – there is the need to vary
the content of the diet to ensure it contains
all the vitamins, minerals, amino acids etc
required for balance and also because a
dog can, over time, develop sensitivity to
foods if fed the same thing continuously.
CAN WE GIVE A DOG A CHANCE TO
CHOOSE WHAT IS BEST FOR HIM/HER
AND APPLY LIKES AND DISLIKES TO
HIS/HER DIET?
Up to a point. I do think we need to listen
to our dog’s likes and dislikes in food – this
information can be very valuable in helping
to maintain optimal health levels in dogs. It
can help us determine whether any foods
are causing problems for our dogs and if
so, to then seek further help and advice
for them. However, a dog does need a
balanced diet, so whilst we can include
foods our dog likes and avoid foods our
dog don’t like, we still have the responsibility
to provide that balance in our dog’s diet.
I always use the example of my own love
of Belgian chocolates – the odd chocolate
or two can be eaten for enjoyment but eating
a whole box of chocolates for a meal
certainly isn’t a balanced meal!
WHAT CRITERIA SHOULD WE USE
WHEN CHOOSING A COMMERCIAL
DOG FOOD FOR OUR DOG?
The quality of commercial dog food varies
enormously and yet it is up to the owner
to decide which food is best for their dog.
The choice can simply be bewildering.
When deciding which food to buy, my own
advice would be to go for a premium brand
and look at the label (especially the small
print!). From the information on the label,
choose a food that has been designed for
the lifestyle, age and activity level of your
dog. Choose also a product that contains a
quality protein source – in the ingredients
list look for a named animal source such
as ‘Chicken’, or ‘Lamb’ in one of the first
three positions in the ingredients list of a
dry dog food or the first two positions in
the ingredients list of a canned or ‘wet’
dog food. Premium muscle meat sources
are more easily digested than cheap
animal ‘derivatives’.
Page 15
As for other ‘extras’ added to dog food
- such as colouring to make the food look
more appealing to the humans that buy
the food, or artificial flavourings to make
the food more appealing to the dogs, or
indeed herbs and other ingredients added
to ‘aid digestion’ – I would question the
need for the addition of such ingredients
and hence the quality of the food.
IN WHAT WAY MAY AN INAPPROPRI-
ATE OR POOR DIET BE THE REASON
BEHIND DOG BEHAVIOURAL PROB-
LEMS?
The answer to this question deserves a
whole article in itself! If the nutrients the
dog requires to live a healthy life aren’t
supplied to its body then the dog’s body
won’t be able to function at peak performance.
The correlation between diet and behaviour
seems blindingly obvious at times
- one simple example is if you feed a dog a
poor quality diet that the dog finds difficult
to digest and makes it feel unwell, then
this may cause it to display behavioural
symptoms which the average pet owner
may interpret as the dog being “naughty”,
whereas in reality the dog is really saying
“go away and leave me alone until I feel
better.” Or for a second example, take an
unsocialised dog who is struggling to cope
with learning all the things about the world
that it should have learned whilst still a
puppy; this type of dog is often stuck in
the acute stage of stress that is associated
with the body’s ‘flight or fight’ system. In
order to cope, the dog’s body utilises its resources
in a way that causes calcium and
magnesium to be excreted through the
kidneys as part of this flight or fight reaction,
and the dog often shows a high level
of sodium in its hair tissue. This abnormal
use of the body’s resources needs to be
supported both through the dog’s diet
(and supplemented by lifestyle changes)
and long-term, and if this doesn’t happen
then the dog will have a tendency to end
up with the early onset of an inflammatory
disease such as arthritis. On a behavioural
level this type of dog will also reflect the
lack of support in the diet and lifestyle
in terms of being hyperactive, high/low
energy levels, aggressive or volatile.
WE KNOW THAT, IN YOUR OPINION,
ONE OF THE FACTORS ESSENTIAL
TO THE GOOD HEALTH OF A DOG
IS A HEALTHY OWNER. COULD YOU
EXPLAIN THIS POINT OF VIEW?
Close your eyes and imagine yourself in
a calm, quiet place with people behaving
in a calm quiet way. Then contrast this
with being in a place/situation with people
you find threatening. Really take the time
to notice in each situation the effect on
your body – mentally, physically, emotionally.
Notice the differences in the effect of
each situation. Now think about how your
body would feel if the situations continued
unchanged, if these effects continued
long-term. Think about how the health of
your body would change long-term in each
situation. Then replace yourself in each
situation by a dog – how is the health of a
dog going to be affected? Consider also
that many dogs have no choice of escaping
or walking away from the bad situation
Book Reviews
We apologise that in last Newsletter we
printed the wrong cover of Nicole Mackie´s
book. The correct one is shown here.
raili
PDTE NEWS

PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
Humans & Dogs:
Interactions and Emotions
Anne-Lill Kvam, Norway
What is a dog? That is the first, primitive
and simple question I often ask, and most
of the time, wherever I am, I am met with
silence.
The basic, primitive answer is that dogs
are animals. They are pack animals, and
they are hunters. Not only do they run after
things that move, they also eat them. And
they are scavengers.
The next question is, What is a human
being? We are pack animals, absolutely.
These days most people live in very small
packs, but packs nonetheless. We used
to be hunter-gatherers, and our instincts
from that time are virtually intact. Later
we became farmers, and once we started
keeping animals and managing every
aspect of their lives from birth until death,
something in us changed. A Norwegian
vet attributes our ability to keep animals to
an “empathy switch” that has to be turned
on or off in our relationship with animals.
Keeping caged animals in the fur trade, for
instance, requires an absence of empathy
for the suffering of these animals or the job
would be impossible.
AND THEN WHEN WE STARTED INTER-
ACTING WITH OUR ANIMALS
What is interaction with an animal, or
with another live being? It is communication,
playing, talking, and trying to get the
message across. For example, putting on
a leash or taking it off is definitely a form
of interaction, and there are nice and notso-nice
ways of doing it. Training definitely
involves interaction, and there are many
nice ways of training dogs also.
I once had a monkey, and this little animal
taught me a lot. One day he wanted to
play with a young, rather exuberant
Labrador but was a little scared of all the
bouncing and barking. So he kept his
distance and approached ever so slowly,
and eventually the dog understood and lay
down. Finally the monkey came all the way
up to him and they ended up having a nice
time together with a piece of cloth. It was
really a gift to observe how this monkey
could communicate with dogs, pigs and
humans. He was the best trainer I ever
had.
EMOTIONS
Darwin observed that humans everywhere
on the planet, irrespective of what language
we speak or what country we come
from, have the same facial expressions
to express certain emotions. Wolves and
humans use the same facial muscles to
express anger. So do dogs, but depending
on the breed it may not always be as
evident.
Removing the first letter from the word
emotion gives motion — something we do,
an action we take. The emotions are produced
and processed in a part of the brain
called the limbic system, which is identical
in dogs and humans. What it means in
practice is that dogs and humans have the
same emotions. What many experts try to
explain away as mere instinct is anything
The best little trainer I ever had.
A nice way to train a dog.
Wolves and humans use the same facial
muscles to express anger.
but. If we relegate emotions like sorrow,
jealousy and grief in dogs to pure instinct,
then we can feel free to treat them as we
please. The moment I started to absorb
that my dog has exactly the same emotions
as I do, it made me think differently
about what I was doing, had done, and
could do in the future. The awful realisation
about all the things I had done in the
past, now that I saw them through my
dogs’ eyes, numbed me for several days.
A particularly interesting finding is that
the limbic system is linked to the part of
the brain that deals with rational thought,
technical skills and making wise decisions
— the cerebral cortex. This connection is
inverted, which means that when strong
emotions are activated the ability to think
rationally is inhibited, and vice versa. We
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should be aware of this when dealing with
humans and dogs. We cannot teach an
animal that is fearful. It may learn something,
but not what we desire — it could be
associating a negative emotion with the
training.
THE SENSES
The senses are our means of receiving
information and acting (or not acting)
on it. Some of the senses are older and
more primitive than others. According to
a Norwegian vet, the brain simply is an
enhancement of the olfactory sense (the
sense of smell). The earliest animals had
to distinguish between safe and dangerous
food before it entered the body and did
any harm. In order to sniff, smell and remember
the various foods the brain had to
grow accordingly. Thus the olfactory sense
is linked directly to this old, primitive,
emotional part of the brain. Many people
remember smells from the past that bring
a warm, pleasant feeling like buns baking
in the oven. Or perhaps a tune reminds
you of your first love. As soon as you smell
the buns or hear the tune, you are back
there in your mind.
at far end depression. Animals can be
depressed. I once met the owner of a cat
called Moody Cat and it’s true: some animals
are really more moody than others.
One of the saddest little dogs I ever saw
was my puppy on the day I got him and he
had just left his family and the only home
he had known. But everything worked out
great in the end.
Fear is a basic emotion everyone agrees
on. Again there are different degrees
of fear: anxiety, nervousness, concern,
dread, fright, terror, and at the extreme
end phobia and panic.
Joy and happiness, relief, delight, even
sensual pleasure are a central part of life
for dogs also. When we eat something
good, or play a nice game, it makes us feel
good. It’s the same with dogs. And dogs
enjoy it when we laugh.
Love is another basic emotion everybody
agrees about. Love also occurs between
animals and is not mere instinctive
behaviour. Acceptance, friendliness, trust,
kindness, affinity, devotion, and adoration
are all synonyms of love. We could go on
Animals fall in love, too.
With sight, however, things are different.
Vision is much more recent and is connected
more to ration and reason than
to emotions. You may, for instance, be
walking down a street far from home and
suddenly you are dead certain you saw
your neighbour. However, you know him to
be at home thousands of miles away. Or
you see a brown shape in the grass and at
first glance you jump back because it looks
like a snake. Then your mind registers that
it is, in fact, a stick. This time lapse during
which your eyes “play tricks on you” does
not exist with scent. That is because the
message from the eyes passes through
no less than five synapses in the nervous
system, and each synapse is a potential
source of error.
THE CORE EMOTIONS
Scientists broadly agree on a list of core,
or primitive emotions in animals that we
will look at briefly here.
Anger is definitely one of the most
primitive emotions. Fury, outrage, wrath,
indignation, and at the extreme end hatred
and violence, all come from anger.
No one could doubt that these two are having loads of fun.
discussing love forever; there is so much
to describe it. Also elephants fall in love,
and it is very visible. Even in animals that
we don’t feel we know very well, some
emotions we do understand because they
manage to express it so clearly.
Surprise is another emotion that I often
see in dogs. Synonyms include wonder,
amazement, astonishment, at the bad end
shock.
Sadness and its other forms include
grief, sorrow melancholy, loneliness, and
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A sad little pup on his way to new home
– mine!
Disgust is very clearly expressed sometimes.
The dog in this picture was sup-
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posed to learn to love the contents of the
cup but the training had probably been
going on for too long, or the person’s
attitude was wrong. What we see here is
more like distaste, and I doubt the dog
learnt anything except aversion.
Shame also has many names: guilt,
embarrassment, humiliation and regret. In
one case I know of, a little dog who would
normally have defended his possessions
quite fiercely allowed an older Retriever to
take his bones from him. You could literally
see the disappointment and humiliation
on his face, but he didn’t attack her. As it
turned out, the Retriever was seriously ill
and died a few weeks later; the smaller
dog seems to have understood.
Curiosity. Without curiosity animals would
not survive. In her book Animals in Translation,
Temple Grandin calls this emotion
the need to seek. Seeking is an important
emotion for animals — all animals, not
only hunters but also prey. Searching for
something is far more stimulating than
finding it, not only for wolves and dogs but
also for horses. Many people think, “Oh,
poor dog; at least he should get his food
for free,” so they give the food in a bowl.
But this is wrong when we know how the
brain works, because the dog is much
happier if you hide the food from him so he
has to work a little for it. It will make him
happier.
A touching moment. Dogs understand more than we think.
EMOTIONS CAN BE LEARNT.
Dogs learn by association. When a dog is
looking at a person and bad sound scares
the dog, you risk the dog fearing this
person because of the sound, even though
the person is always very nice to the dog.
In puppies, for example, a good example
of learnt behaviour is the scent of the
mother’s teats, which is something they
remember as warm and safe. This is why
the pheromone preparation known as DAP
can be effective in helping dogs in stressful
situations, like fireworks or thunder.
These, then, are a few of the main emotions
we share with other animals. In your
relationship with your dog, always try to
remember that he is able to feel exactly
the same emotions as you do. It is amazing
how much more valuable and rewarding
you relationship will be — and the dog
will love it, too.
Both dog and owner are curious about something, but neither has any
idea what planet the other is on.
(Photograph: Gerd Koehler)
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THE POWER OF COOPERATION
My life with dogs
TURID Rugaas, Norway
My parents knew absolutely nothing about
dogs. So when I was ten years old, they
gave me an adult Boxer with a traumatic
background and lots of issues for me to
take care of. It was a crazy thing to do, but
I loved that dog to pieces and she loved
me back. We went everywhere together
and did everything together, and in those
days no one talked about obedience training
or classes or competitions. The dogs
were simply around, living in the community,
and this was very lucky for Bonnie because
nobody demanded anything of her.
I wanted to do everything with her and I
did it the only way I knew — I showed her.
We had a very large garden with many
interesting places, and when I jumped
over something, Bonnie jumped. We
crawled under things and over things and
into things and she simply did everything
I did. I will always remember how it felt to
discover that we could do things together
because she trusted me, and I trusted her.
I was a kid, and I didn’t know anything else
about dogs. Sometimes it is a blessing not
to know too much. It’s when we start learning
that things go wrong. It was an incredibly
powerful lesson about cooperation that
I took with me into the rest of my life.
The first great love of my life.
THE POWER OF CREATIVITY
I got my next dog twenty years later. During
my school and student years life could
be rather unpredictable and I didn’t want
to mess up a dog, so I waited until life
became a bit more stable. In the meantime,
dog schools and classes had popped
up everywhere and suddenly everybody
was attending dog clubs. Dogs were no
longer just a part of family life. One didn’t
see them just walking around enjoying life;
people had taken away the simple happiness
of being together with their dogs. Humans
were starting to “have control,” and
that’s when things started to go wrong.
When Tulita came into my life, she was
too smart for everybody. I started doing a
few things with her, like letting her work a
little because she wanted to. I decided to
attend a dog school with her, and the first
thing they told me to do was jerk on her
leash to make her walk to heel. I looked
at Tulita and thought, “What, tug on that
neck?” We walked right out and never
looked back. I have never been to a dog
class since.
I wanted Tulita to be able to use her
nose, but back in 1969 there was no such
concept as nosework or tracking. There
was nobody to tell me how to do things.
But after my wonderful experiences with
Bonnie I was confident I could find ways
of training Tulita without hurting her or
making her feel sad. And I learned a new
lesson — the power of being creative.
Because I succeeded, that has been part
of my training ever since.
So we now have two very powerful tools:
cooperation and creativity.
THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP
Some of the methods I came up with were
funny and even quite ridiculous. I wanted
to teach my dog to retrieve, but how do
you do that when you don’t have a clue? I
threw the object and went and retrieved it
myself. Believe it or not, after a very short
while Tulita got the idea and we started
competing to see who would get the object
first. That dog became the best retriever
I ever had. She could retrieve anything
anywhere, no matter what the conditions.
One day during a completely crazy moment
I signed up for a national obedience
competition in Oslo. Tulita was a teenager
— completely impossible. If there was anything
a dog could do to be a nuisance, she
did it. Anytime we tried to do some work,
she forgot it as soon as she had learnt it.
Everybody thought I was nuts to sign her
up for any obedience contest, forget a
national one. But I didn’t care; all I wanted
was experience.
The day before the competition, Tulita
woke up and decided she had finished
being a teenager. We went out there and
won the competition. Out of a possible 220
points she got the full 220. To be honest,
that doesn’t happen very often and I was
shocked, but it taught me a lesson — you
can achieve anything with a dog if you use
nice methods, if you are your dog’s best
friend, if you are cooperative and creative.
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Later Tulita learned a lot of other things
including tracking and searching. She
taught me how easy it is to find lost animals.
When a sheep got lost I just showed
her some of its wool and she found it in a
matter of seconds.
People want recipes for training their dogs,
but dogs are much smarter than that. Trust
them, and you can do anything. Never be
afraid of trying out something new. People
who work with me know that I have done
this all my life. It’s not dangerous to try
new things out, but be sure it’s not harmful
to the dog.
With me, the troubles started later when I
got into more training. Unfortunately like
most people I also let myself be influenced
by all these new systems and ways of controlling
dogs and being in charge. I never
got into the leadership thing; I was never
that stupid, but I was influenced by a lot of
things. It took me a few years to understand
that the only thing one achieves with
these methods is to make the dog sad and
frustrated. Dogs are unbelievably clever
at finding out about things if you let them.
The strangest day of my life: winning the
national obedience competition.
They need to be able to use their brain
and make choices. For our part, we have
to be better at reading them.
THE POWER OF REINFORCEMENT
I also love other animals. My first love
before I even got a dog was a family of
hedgehogs. I took care of them in our garden
for years. We had rabbits, chickens,
pigs and cats, but the next thing I really
The art of loving, physical contact can’t be overdone.
wanted to be involved with was horses.
However, it took a long time before I could
do that. I lived beside a racing stable
but girls were not allowed in stables. My
chance came later when the Norwegian
military cavalry was shut down. Fortunately
for me, they spent the last two years
educating civilians in the art of riding,
instructing and handling horses. I lied and
cheated my way onto that course even
though I had never been on a horse. I discovered
that when you train a horse, he’s
too big and strong for you to use force so
you have to cooperate. That was fantastic.
I got back my childhood beliefs about
relationships and cooperation. I learned a
few other things too: the leash programme
I use for dogs nowadays I first used with
horses. If you have a horse that pulls on
the leash you have no choice but to get
pulled along! I learned another powerful
lesson during those years, that all animals
are very much alike and we can use the
same methods. Lions and rhinoceroses,
and elephants and horses cannot be
pushed and pulled; the only way to work
with them is by reinforcement — helping
the animal do what you want and reinforcing
with praise, treats, or whatever the
animals likes.
THE POWER OF LOVING PHYSICAL
CONTACT
When you use force and harsh methods,
at some point the system shuts down and
learning complicated things is impossible.
The relationship between stress and negative
emotions in the limbic system and the
ability to learn is inverted, so a stressed
animal — or human for that matter — cannot
learn. With some dogs you might get to
a certain level but no further. If you want to
get all the way, with a dog who is brilliant
in a certain area, you have to do it the
doggy way, which means cooperation, reinforcement,
understanding what is going
on, showing respect, and being creative.
I love smart dogs. I really enjoy it when my
dog outsmarts me. I can always deal with
dogs that do that. I am not afraid of being
the stupid one. I think that a lot of people
who use force and heavy-handed control
do so because they are afraid of losing
control. Don’t be afraid of losing control; if
you have a good relationship with your dog
he will be there with you and for you. You
won’t need control. My two last dogs have
never learnt commands like sitting or lying
down or anything like that, but I would be
very surprised if they didn’t come when I
wanted them to.
Be open-minded and willing to use your
emotions. It is not dangerous to use emotions
with animals. They have emotions
and they understand emotions. They love
contact, touching and stroking. Horses like
being hugged; dogs do not. But horses,
like many working dogs, are almost never
touched. The only thing people do is pat
them, which has nothing to do with gentle
touching, stroking and close physical
contact. And yet it is so important. The art
of loving and physical contact cannot be
overdone. Cooperation, creativity, respect,
reinforcement and loving physical contact
will get you a long way in your relationship
with animals.
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Training the working dog
— with or without force?
A dilemma or a matter of attitude?
TURID Rugaas, Norway
BUILDING BLOCKS TO SUCCESS I
— A PROPER JOB DESCRIPTION
WHAT IS A WORKING DOG?
A working dog is a dog with a job, with
work to do. But what exactly is work?
If we look at a pack of wolves in the wild,
do they work? Yes, they do. Genetically
they have been born to do an extremely
important job — raising their puppies,
feeding the pack, staying out of trouble,
and defending themselves and their area.
This is a serious job and nobody has to
tell them how to do it. They are very good
at it, which is why they have survived for
millions of years.
When we started using dogs for various
purposes we gave them all kinds of jobs
like hunting, guarding, helping people,
herding, and some dogs are versatile and
could do combinations of these. Being a
pet is a very demanding job too.
If we are going to make a dog work for us,
first and foremost we have to define the
job he is going to do. It is unfair to let a
dog do all kinds of jobs without ever having
a proper job description.
The job description can be very, very
different for different dogs. When I talk
about working dogs and training, people
immediately tend to think of police and
military dogs. However, that is only a tiny
part of the jobs dogs do. It is perhaps also
the most square and limited job one could
think of. There are a few standard procedures
that are easily taught, and the dogs
have no chance of doing it by themselves
or being creative or using their intelligence,
so it’s not a big job.
POLICE DOGS
— LETTING THEM DO THE JOB
What do police dogs do? They specialise.
Some are specialised in tracking, finding
thieves and gangsters or lost people.
Some are specialised in scent discrimination,
such as finding drugs. Some are
taught to catch and hold people who try
to run from the police. There is not much
A dog that feels threatened will defend itself or its owner without
the need for practice.
more they are supposed to do. These are
simple, straight jobs that are easily taught.
Tracking, for example, is easily done; any
dog can do it. I have seen many different
ways of training this around the world,
and some of the methods are completely
bananas. Some people try to make the
dog track using obedience and commands
such as Search, Left, Right, Go this way.
This is really not for a dog. When you put a
dog on a track he starts to work by himself
through instinct, interest, and inborn
motivation. The last thing one should do is
to distract him from the job. And of course
the results will not be what people want, so
they start to use force. They might manage
to some degree, but they will never get really
good trackers. A lot of footage of police
work shows the dog trying to track with a
collar and a short leash while the handler
runs beside him, and the dog is barking.
Of course that dog is not tracking.
If one teaches a dog the natural way, letting
him pick up the scent and follow the
track, provided we keep quiet and let the
dog work, he will probably find what he’s
on the track for. We tend to disturb and
distract the dogs rather than letting them
get on with the job.
Scent discrimination is also quite a simple
job that requires no more than a little
systematic training.
The hardest part with police work might
be protection or standing before crowds
of people who are acting aggressively.
However, one does not need to practise
it. It is not necessary to force dogs to
stand against such crowds, because when
people start yelling and screaming and
throwing things at them, they will naturally
go into defensive mode. Any dog would
do the same. They do this because they
are afraid or even terrified, not because
they are “brave and tough.” I do not like to
put them in such situations, and in most
cases it is totally unnecessary, but in a
case where it does become necessary the
dog will do it. One does not need practice
or force, or anything at all. The dog will
simply do it. I had a Collie that was ever so
gentle and sweet, but when a man tried to
hit my daughter the dog became absolutely
furious and grabbed him. Dogs should
not be made to stand against big crowds;
it is pure cruelty. There are better weapons
to use in such situations.
TRUST YOUR DOG
We underestimate our dogs to a very high
degree. They are much more capable of
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making decisions, thinking, solving problems
and doing the right thing at the right
time than we realise. Through the years,
my dogs have saved my life at least three
times — not because I ordered them to do
anything, but because they saw what was
needed and did it. I could do nothing to
help whatsoever to hep the situation, but
they knew exactly what to do. If we control
our dogs all the time, they lose the ability
to think and take the right actions when
needed because we teach them to be passive
and helpless.
what the job description is. For instance, if
I wanted him to be a good tracker, I would
need to start from beginning, letting the
dog discover the wonderful kingdom of
scent. I would let him discover for himself
how wonderful it is to find things and follow
tracks. I would then build up this natural,
completely natural motivation.
We never need to push a dog. If he is able
to do something from the very beginning
and is allowed to do it, there is no limit to
how much he will work later, provided it is
DOGS SHOULD NOT BE MADE TO STAND AGAINST BIG CROWDS;
IT IS PURE CRUELTY. THERE ARE BETTER WEAPONS
TO USE IN SUCH SITUATIONS!
When I was attending an instructor school
in Oslo many years ago, one my fellowstudents
who had a Rottweiler had just got
married to a girl who also had one. After
moving in together, he said that he now
understood how the way you train your
dog can really affect it. When they came
in from a walk his dog would calmly walk
around the home, drink a little water, find a
nice spot, and go to sleep. His wife’s dog,
however, would stop inside the door and
stand there waiting for someone to tell him
what to do. That is the result of control.
When we control dogs all the time they
lose the ability to think for themselves.
That dog would never have survived in the
wild.
One of the worst things we do with dogs
is controlling and taking command all the
time. We are depriving them of the ability
to think, solve problems and survive, all of
which they are very good at.
One thing I have a hard time convincing
people when we are training is to be quiet,
step and trust their dog. In many cases
the dogs know better than we do. We fuss,
control, take command and screw it up
completely.
Of course we need a little control now and
then, but we overdo it. Many people are
afraid or losing control because it makes
them feel uncertain and vulnerable. Perhaps
we should be working on ourselves
instead. We simply have to let go.
BUILDING BLOCKS TO SUCCESS II
— LEARNING TO COPE WITH LIFE
If I were getting a dog that had to do a
certain kind of job, I would need to know
built up correctly. However, this is a process.
A dog that is going to do serious work
should not do it until he is an adult. Many
dogs start too early and things go wrong.
It’s the same with people. You cannot take
a young teenager and imagine him or her
doing a really responsible job. There are
physical reasons for this. The ability to understand
the consequences of our actions
is one of the very last things to develop in
the brain and can develop as late as 21-
25 years. This is also true of dogs. They
have to reach adulthood to understand
the consequences of their actions, which
is probably around two years of age but
nobody knows for certain.
Therefore we have to build up their ability
step by step during the first two years,
until they are adult and mature enough to
carry out responsible hard work. Training
should also be systematic but we also
need to read our dogs, see their emotions,
and make sure that we don’t go too far. If
we push ahead too quickly the dog starts
to fail, may develop negative feelings
about the training, and we could very well
destroy the whole process. It is better
to progress a little too slowly so the dog
always feels encouraged and happy that
he can do what is asked of him. Self-confidence
and the ability to succeed will make
the dog capable of doing almost anything
once he is an adult.
Most of the training is therefore learning to
cope with life and building self-confidence
in what the dog is doing. A self-confident
person can do almost anything. A self-confident
dog will do virtually anything and be
good at it. The training itself is only a small
part. Our attitude is what counts.
BUILDING BLOCKS TO SUCCESS III
— NATURAL MOTIVATION
THE RIGHT DOG FOR THE RIGHT JOB
The best tracker I ever had was a little
Scottish collie. She didn’t do much in the
way of other things but she loved to track.
When she was four months old we were
out in the forest one day when she just
started tracking. I followed her because
she was so small I could do that without a
leash. She stayed on the track for 2 km, all
the way back to the farm. It turned out that
my daughter had taken that exact route in
the forest two days earlier. That was when
I knew that this dog would be a tracker,
and she became one. She could track
anything, no matter how old it was, in any
kind of terrain. On a couple of occasions I
had to take a break because walking on a
track for five hours is more than most people
can do in rough terrain. When I could
no longer walk I had to force her to take a
break. She never gave up. She could find
turtles, bugs, anything.
I tried at some point to see whether she
could do a little obedience work. She didn’t
mind, but it wasn’t anything she was really
happy with. I put her in for a competition
once just for fun and she did it, but I think
she got fewer points than anyone. I didn’t
mind. We then went for another competition
a couple of weeks later because I had
signed her up for two at the same time.
She went into the ring, looked around, realised
she had done it all before, and just
turned around and left. That told me she
was not an obedience dog. And that was it;
we didn’t do it again.
Dogs have talents, things they love to
do, and we have to look out for that. You
cannot just buy a dog and decide that this
dog is going to be in obedience competitions,
because he might be totally uninterested.
Dogs, like people, have talents and
interests and things they really like to do.
Sometimes it may not be that easy to see,
but some dogs show it very clearly.
Some breeds are better at certain tasks
than other breeds, but they also have
other traits. For example, guarding dogs
who become very strong in that task are
also extremely vulnerable, sensitive and
touchy. People think they are tough, but
they are not.
Therefore, whatever you are planning to
do with a dog, you need first to know the
job description, and then whether the dog
is good at this kind of job and whether he
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wants to do it. The motivation has to be
natural and then built upon until the dog
is adult, mature, and has learned to cope
with all the things he needs to cope with
when he does the job.
This is one of the reasons things often go
so very wrong, because the dogs do not
have enough time to learn what they need
to do. They are put to work before they
are mature enough. This takes away their
self-confidence and ability to work and
think and do a proper job by making them
helpless and passive.
again, where they have to do it too fast,
too much, too hard, and under control
and force. These dogs never develop the
ability to think. It’s the same with people.
If we never had the possibility for mental
stimulation, learning new things, looking
around us and being social, we would
become completely helpless.
Some years ago, pictures were taken of
the brain of an 11-year-old girl who had
spent her life captive in a cellar without
mental stimulation or skin contact. The
pictures showed that the part of the brain
To recap, if we want a dog to be clever, to
be able to cope with the world around him,
to be social and nice, and to be able to do
his job, we have to give him not only the
training, but all the other things as well.
The first two years of the dog’s life should
be more of that than actual training.
I am all for systematic training. When I do
train a dog, I do it very systematically. I
know how important that is, but it is not the
most important. All the other ingredients
have to be there as well.
A family life and social relationships are fundamental to the success
of every working dog.
Look for your dog’s natural talent.
USE THE GOLDEN MOMENTS
I have a friend who for years complained
that she had never succeeded in training
her dog to find mushrooms. Suddenly, one
day the dog started to bark every time it
was near mushrooms. The dog had simply
learned this all by herself, because every
time her owner found a mushroom the lady
got really excited. If you use the golden
moments when a dog does exactly what
you want it to do on its own, praise and
reward it and the dog will go on doing it.
That could be all it takes.
WITH OR WITHOUT FORCE?
It is not necessary to use force, but you
have to know how to train and build up the
dog so he can do his job. I am one hundred
percent sure that I could train a dog
to do absolutely any job on earth if he had
some talent for it, and if I could train him
systematically and build him up for it.
Working dogs need a relationship
All too often, police dogs are deprived of a
family life. They are usually out in kennels
and are taken out for training now and
Page 23
relating to emotions was tiny compared to
a normal brain. This child had no emotions
because she had not had any mental
stimulation. She was adopted by a couple
who gave her a lot of physical contact
without demanding anything from her, and
very gradually built up her ability to socialise.
Two or three years later, new images
of the brain showed that the shrunken part
had grown to almost normal size.
It is possible to build up an animal’s brain
the same way, but they need the same
things whether they are working dogs or
not. They need relationships, and social
and skin contact. They need closeness
and mental stimulation. They need selfconfidence
in doing normal things. The
child who had been in a cellar all her life
didn’t even know how to turn on a tap or
use a bar of soap. A lot of dogs are more
or less like that also. They know nothing
about what to do in different situations.
They have just been controlled, forced to
do things, and learnt to carry out commands
without using the brain at all. If we
took pictures of the brains of such dogs,
I’m pretty sure they would show the same
kind of underdevelopment.
TIME OFF IS IMPORTANT
Every working dog needs time off and
holidays in addition to a social life. If you
worked and worked and never had time
off to have a social life or see friends, you
would become pretty depressed. Dogs
have the same need. They need time to
be dogs, just doing silly things, meeting
others and having a social life. This is
hugely important. They need to feel that
they are not only accepted but also loved,
that somebody really cares for them. Dogs
sense very quickly when someone in their
environment doesn’t like them. That is just
as important as the training itself.
With that kind of environment and systematic
training, you can teach a dog to
do virtually anything short of eating with a
knife and fork.
Don’t be afraid to help your dog towards
success. You will, quite honestly, be
amazed.
PDTE NEWS

1a
In accordance with the AGM Agenda the following is a record of the AGM 2009 held in Krakow, Poland.
The meeting was chaired by Sonya Hoegen from Germany
Register of those present
1. Karolina Bednarer 2. Dorota Byczkowska, Poland 3. Elli Gaitatzi, Poland
4. Ulrike Geng, Germany (FM) 5. Raili Halme, Finland (FM) 6. Esther Herrera-Kivijärvi, Finland/Mexico (AM)
7. Sonja Hoegen, Germany (AM) 8. Olga Kajarskaia, Russia 9. Andrea Knoblauch, Switzerland (FM)
10. Anne-Lill Kvam, Norway (FM) 11. Heikki Lindqvist, Finland (FM) 12. Adelaide Lönnberg, Finland (FM)
13. Marja-Kaisa Mähönen, Finland 14. Cristina Muro, Spain (FM) 15. Christina Nicolaus, Greece
16. Agnieszka Nojszewska, Poland (AM) 17. Helmi Pesonen, Finland (FM) 18. Dimitra Pontikaki, Greece
19. Zula Przybylinska, Poland (AM) 20. Susi Roger, Switzerland (FM) 21. Turid Rugaas, Norway (H)
22. Line Skaugerud, Norway 23. Winkie Spears, England (FM) 24. Emilia Tolonen, Finland (FM)
25. Chrysostomos Tsikourlis, Greece 26. Magdalena Urban (AM) 27. Nelis Verhoeven, Netherlands (AM)
28. Paulina Ziółkowska-Radomiak, Poland (AM)
(AM): PDTE Associate Member / (FM): PDTE Full Member / (H): PDTE Honorary Lifetime Member
1b
PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
Minutes of the AGM 2009
Apologies for absence
Apologies were received from the following members who were unable to attend:
Yiannis Arachovitis / Pennie Clayton / Nicole Froehlich / Sally Hopkins / Gerd Köhler / Heidi Krisa / Nicole Mackie / Undine
Nickerl / Gosia Rokicka / Anette Schneider / Richard Seaton / Doris Vaterlaus / Heike Westedt
2 Minutes of the last AGM
The minutes of the 2008 AGM had been sent out in advance. The only comment returned before the AGM was from Gerd
Koehler, whose name was missing from the list of apologies for absence. The minutes were accepted by the membership.
3 Chairman’s report – Winkie Spears
I’d like to welcome you all to the 2009 AGM, and it’s lovely to be here in Poland and to see so many members here.
For those of you who don’t know, the PDTE was started in 1999 with the aim of improving the welfare of dogs and developing
and promoting the best practices possible in dog training. We are an organisation of highly motivated people who
continue to develop and increase our knowledge of dogs in all areas. The aims of the PDTE are to share ideas, knowledge,
experiences and information to improve the relationships between dogs and people and bring awareness of positive training
methods. This is something that I personally take very seriously, along with the rest of the Board.
The past year since accepting the position of Chairman of PDTE has been extremely interesting. It’s the first time that I’ve
been involved in an organisation in this way and it’s been great fun and a huge learning curve. I have to thank the rest of
the Board for making things run so smoothly and for the time that they each give voluntarily to making the PDTE what it is.
It’s no mean feat; everyone here gives up a lot of their time, and they also have busy lives.
During the past year I think that our newsletter has gone from strength to strength, and it’s wonderful to see so many
members contributing to it; it’s a joy to read and beautifully put together, and that’s thanks to Raili and all her helpers. As a
Board, we have discussed having a smaller online bulletin that comes out on a more regular basis – the first one came out
to you all in September.
We constantly look at new ways to promote the PDTE, and soon you will see that we will have a new website up and
running, which is really exciting. Ulrike has been working hard on this and I think it will make a huge difference and be a
place where events can be added, information found and will put across our aims, ethics and future plans more clearly and
professionally.
Throughout the year we meet online every 3 weeks to discuss new membership applications, which Andrea deals with, and
all sorts of different PDTE business with the aim of keeping things running smoothly, progressing and growing. All matters
that have been brought to our attention have been dealt with quickly and the lovely thing is that we have extremely good
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PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
meetings online during which we get a lot done but also enjoy the time we spend online together. Our meetings are something
to look forward to and I feel that we get an awful lot done and are very productive.
Going forwards, we hope to increase awareness of the PDTE, and encourage members to continue to increase their knowledge
and share that knowledge – it’s wonderful to be able to network and share experiences with like-minded people. When
I first started my own dog business I felt quite isolated in London, surrounded by fairly traditional trainers, but being part of a
larger dog community really makes all the difference.
Don’t be afraid to get involved with any aspect of running the PDTE; in the beginning I felt that everyone else had greater
knowledge and was a little afraid to get involved or have an opinion but we only learn when we push ourselves forward and
share ¬— the rewards are great in terms of experience, new friendships and increased knowledge.
I thank the Board and others for all their hard work over the past year and look forward to next year’s AGM in Bilbao already
– it’s always such a lovely experience. Thank you.
4 Secretarial reports
MEMBERSHIP – ANDREA KNOBLAUCH
There are now a total number of 76 members from 15 countries:
25 full members, 47 associate members, and 4 honorary lifetime members.
New full members:
Heikki Lindqvist, Finland / Adelaide Lönnberg, Finland / Helmi Pesonen, Finland / Emilia Tolonen, Finland.
New associate members:
During the past year 19 associate members joined from the following countries: Finland (1), the Netherlands (1), Scotland
(1), Spain (1), Switzerland (1), Greece (2), Poland (2), Germany (3) and England (7).
Andrea Knoblauch pointed out that of the 76 members, only half have returned their membership renewal forms this year.
She asked for a renewed effort by members to send both these and their photographs, which are needed in order to print
the membership cards.
The Membership Secretary’s report was accepted by the meeting.
MEETINGS – RAILI HALME
Board meetings
No face-to-face meeting was held by the Board during the year in order to save costs. The Board met before the AGM and
plans to continue meeting both before and after the AGM every year.
During the year the Board met in a dedicated online chat room every 2-3 weeks, totalling 14 meetings, and communicated
extensively by email.
ACTION POINTS
- Business plan
- Official Assistant: Adelaide Lönnberg continues as official assistant to the Board.
- Banking arrangements
A new German account has been opened and will be the principle PDTE account in future. The PDTE’s official currency will
change from Pounds Sterling to Euros. The British HSBC Bank account will remain active for members from the UK.
- PDTE Committees
The past year has seen various PDTE committees get off the ground, particularly the Education and Ethics Committee.
Education and Ethics Committee – Turid Rugaas
The principle aim of the Committee is to aid and encourage the further development of PDTE members. The Committee
members are Turid Rugaas (Norway), Cristina Muro (Spain), Chiara Gentileschi (Italy) and Heike Westedt (Switzerland).
The Committee meets by email exchange the first week of every month, and all PDTE members are welcome to submit
ideas, comments and suggestions. The Committee also met face-to-face two days before the AGM.
The Committee desires to encourage members to arrange PDTE workshops and is prepared to give advice and assistance
(contact: Cristina Muro).
Page 25
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PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
Marketing and Meetings Committee(s) – Raili Halme/Ulrike Geng
The Marketing and Meetings Committee has been split into separate entities. Raili Halme is responsible for the Meetings
Committee and Ulrike Geng for the Marketing Committee.
- Country Representatives
This is an entirely new position in the PDTE and still needs time to develop. The contact person is Ulrike Geng. Current
CRs are as follows:
Sweden, Denmark & Norway: Turid Rugaas
Finland: Raili Halme
Netherlands: Nelis Verhoeven
Spain: Cristina Muro
Switzerland: Susi Roger
Italy: Chiara Gentileschi
Greece: Yiannis Arachovitis
Poland: Zula Przybylinska
England: Deirdre Long
By the close of the AGM, representatives were still being sought for Austria, Germany and Ireland. One application was
submitted for Germany.
Job description: The Board stressed that this is a new position still under development and is not intended to be a full-time
job. Possible activities could include: 1) Organising, if possible, an annual meeting for the country, perhaps in the spring, as
many participants are unable to travel to the main AGM abroad. 2) Serving as the main contact person for members in the
country; contact could be made through the PDTE website. 3) Giving advice on trainers in the member’s neighbourhood or
area who are accepted by the PDTE. 4) Assisting the Board by e.g. providing information on country laws or other issues
relating to the welfare and wellbeing of dogs. 5) Bringing the members in the country closer together through workshops or
networking and organisation of seminars, workshops and/or other activities.
Other meetings
- Annual seminar: No major PDTE seminar will be held in 2010 due to the global economic downturn. This will be revised on
a yearly basis.
- Workshops: Two PDTE workshops were organised by Cristina Muro in Spain and proved very profitable for the PDTE.
The Board extended their thanks to Cristina for her excellent effort.
- Meetings: The Board is considering how to develop new kinds of meetings for members. Suggestions from the membership
are welcome.
- Application forms
Work is being done on the membership application form to make it more user-friendly.
- Board meetings
Travel costs: As mentioned above, interim board meetings have been cancelled in order to save costs. Instead, meetings
will be held before and after the AGM each year. Board members and the official assistant will receive remuneration for
travelling costs up to 300 Euros each. The Election Committee’s two members will share the 300 € if both of them travel to
the AGM.
Video conferencing: Dave Marter suggested that the Board use video conferencing as opposed to online chats. The Board
decided against it for now for practical reasons.
5 Future plans for the PDTE – Raili Halme
Membership
At the same time that the PDTE is seeking to increase its membership, the main focus is on quality rather than quantity. The
aim of the PDTE is to promote dog-oriented attitudes and skills both outside the organisation and among its members.
Improved information network
Continued efforts are being made to develop better and more efficient communication between the Board, country representatives
and members.
More benefits for members
The PDTE plans to offer more to its members, including reductions, education, seminars, lectures, knowledge-changing
PDTE NEWS Page 26

PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
systems, a book- and picture library, and more. This is one of the tasks the various committees will be looking at during the
coming year.
Sponsors
The PDTE is still looking for reliable and appropriate sponsors. Suggestions from members are welcome. This includes
sponsors both within (e.g. members’ firms) and outside the PDTE.
New visual image
A new website has been prepared and will be up and running shortly.
Materials
Other materials will include a PDTE flyer that can be handed out at seminars, courses etc. Winkie Spiers has designed this
and two copies were circulated at the AGM. It was generally agreed at the meeting, although not formally voted on, that flyers
and leaflets can be translated into different languages in order to promote the PDTE. These will state, however, that the
official language of the organisation is English. The website will not be translated on the site itself, but links will be provided
to the websites of Country Representatives where a translation can be found if this is available.
Logos
The PDTE wants to encourage full members to use the PDTE logo, which they are entitled to do, wherever possible (websites,
marketing, flyers etc). In Finland this has been done extensively and has raised awareness and inquiries about the
PDTE. Associate members may not use the PDTE logo but are encouraged to talk about their membership of the PDTE in
their materials.
PDTE events
PDTE members are welcome to organise events in their own countries and invite speakers from the PDTE to share their
knowledge. There is a lot of knowledge within the organisation from which members can benefit. PDTE events and other
information about various countries will be mentioned in the newsletter.
Members are welcome to share their ideas. Please contact the Meetings Secretary (Raili Halme) with any suggestions you
may have for the future of the PDTE.
Raili Halme’s report was accepted.
6 Correspondence report — Turid Rugaas
Only two formal letters were sent by the Board this year. Both addressed complaints by several members in regard to practices
by two other members that run contrary to the PDTE Code of Ethics. One member did not wish to amend their practice
and the membership was rescinded. The other member agreed to make some changes and this is being followed up.
The report was accepted by the meeting.
7 Treasurer’s report — Ulrike Geng
A new account was opened during the past year in Germany. This will be the principle PDTE account and the PDTE
currency will be Euros. The UK account will remain open for UK members and will continue to be managed by Dave Marter.
8 http://web.me.com/adelaidelonnberg/Board_2010/Home Election
of the Board / Sub-Committee
Candidates for nomination to the Board
The following members were proposed and accepted unanimously for the Board positions:
President – TURID RUGAAS, Norway
Chairman – WINKIE SPIERS, UK
Treasurer – ULRIKE GENG, Germany
Membership Secretary – ANDREA KNOBLAUCH, Switzerland
Meetings Secretary – RAILI HALME, Finland
Board Understudy – CHRISTINA MURO, Spain
Page 27
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PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
The following members were proposed for the Election Committee and have agreed to stay on for another year:
ANNE-LILL KVAM, Norway
SUSI ROGER, Switzerland
[Addendum: Although it was agreed for the Election Committee to continue unchanged, a vote was not taken from the
membership during the AGM as this was mistakenly thought be a Board matter.]
Anyone wishing to nominate candidates for committees is asked to send an email to the meetings secretary (Raili)
9 Board / Members’ Proposals
The fees for 2010-2011 will remain unchanged and are as follows:
Payment received before or at the AGM
Full members € 35.00 £ 30.00
Associate members € 47.00 £ 40.00
Payment received after the AGM
Full members € 47.00 £ 40.00
Associate members € 58.00 £ 50.00
Date of the AGM
One member proposed a change of date. However, in previous years when this was voted on there was no support for
a change of date. It was agreed to continue holding the AGM during the last weekend of September. Of the 18 members
present no one voted for a change of date.
10 Venue/date of the next AGM
Only one proposal has been put forward for next year.
The next AGM will be held on 25th-26th September 2010 in Bilbao, Spain
11 President’s Closing Remarks – Turid Rugaas
Turid thanked the members for a good and efficient meeting. She expressed her pleasure at having worked with a stable
and effective board and felt that much has been achieved in the past year. The Board were thanked for their efforts.
Magda Urban, Paulina Ziółkowska-Radomiak and Dorota Byczkowska were thanked for their hard work in arranging and
hosting this year’s AGM weekend. Turid presented them each with a gift on behalf of the PDTE.
Page 29
PDTE NEWS

PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
As dog owners it is important for us to
understand about canine social skills and
how to keep them current throughout the
life of the dog. Many of us live in cities,
without the benefit of wide open spaces
where dogs can run around freely. Living
in a city has its own particular challenges
and I look at them briefly here.
WHAT ARE SOCIAL SKILLS?
The majority of social problems I see are
the result of not enough, too much, or the
wrong type of socialisation. It is important
always to remember that socialisation is
individual to each dog. Dogs carry on
learning social skills throughout their lives
in the same way we do. Do we ever stop
learning how to be sociable? I don’t think
so.
A social skill means any skill facilitating
interaction and communication with others.
Social rules and relations are created,
communicated and changed in verbal and
non-verbal ways. The process of learning
such skills is called socialisation. To
“socialise” means to behave in a friendly or
sociable manner.
In London we really do need dogs to be
able to be sociable with people and other
dogs as we’re surrounded by them all
time. Dogs with good social skills can go
anywhere, and it’s important for them to
learn about a variety of environments.
Canine Social Skills
Winkie Spiers, England
Short leads: Some people walk their dogs
on a ridiculously short lead. The dogs have
no choices, they can’t move away, and
they can’t use their calming signals. Dogs
on short leads tend to be quite tense in all
situations. Short leads also take away the
opportunity to communicate. Any attempt
to communicate with others, sometimes
even as little as with a head turn, is going
to cause a dog pain. Over a period of time
he will not even attempt to socialise.
interaction. It is a handicap to many dogs
to have an owner at the end of the lead.
Owner handling skills are really important
when it comes to teaching any dog to
socialize, wherever they are in the world.
Picking dogs up: It seems to be very
popular to have dogs that clearly can’t
walk and need to be carried everywhere.
This really has an impact on how the dogs
on the ground perceive the dog being
Some dogs spend their whole life in the
country so they don’t need to get used to
busy traffic and rush hours. That’s not the
case with city dogs. It’s lovely for them to
go out, visit other people’s gardens and
homes, and explore their environment
safely. They need to learn to be confident
to explore, go to lots of different places
and learn about a variety of things. The
more things they learn about and can
cope with, the better they will manage and
bounce back from things that aren’t so
pleasant. Also, all dogs need dog friends;
they are very social creatures and just living
with a human is not enough for them.
WHAT INHIBITS SOCIAL
INTERACTION?
I’ve come across a lot of things in my work
that inhibit social interaction.
Head collars or muzzles are increasingly
popular. A lot of dog clubs and training
clubs sell head collars for dogs because
they clearly can’t teach a dog how to walk
nicely on a loose lead. Head collars and
muzzles have an impact on how dogs socialise
with others. They can look threatening
to both dogs and people, who will treat
that dog differently just because it has
a “muzzle” on. Also a lot of people don’t
know the difference between a muzzle and
a head collar, and they think a dog has a
head collar on because it is likely to bite.
Owner handling skills are one of the
biggest problems when it comes to social
Having a dog that can cope anywhere is great.
picked up, and I’ve seen many situations
where people start to put their dog on the
ground with other dogs around, and they
will actually behave aggressively towards
that dog. A dog that has been picked up is
unable to use its calming signals to diffuse
a situation and communicate its friendly
intentions.
Too much excitement: Quite often in
London people think that because they live
in a city, their dogs don’t have a nice life.
Therefore they create too much excitement
for them, which definitely inhibits
social interaction. When I am too excited
and busy and stressed I am not very good
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PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
at socialising. I am probably quite shorttempered
and don’t handle situations very
well. It’s the same with dogs.
Ill health or pain: Being able to look at
your dog objectively or get someone else
to do so is important. Ill health is one of the
most common reasons dogs have problems
with socialisation.
Inappropriate play — e.g. ball play — is
something that I find increasingly difficult in
London. The “in” thing is chuckers or ballthrowers
for dogs. People drive their dogs
to the park, get out, produce the ball and
chucker, have the dog obsessively chasing
this ball for twenty minutes, then get back
into the car and go home. At no point are
the dogs socializing with other dogs, or
just being dogs sniffing and mooching
around. This activity leads to guarding
issues and anti-social behaviour.
Attempts at over-socialisation – doing
too much: Many dog-training books stress
that by the age of 16 weeks your puppy
needs to have met hundreds of people and
dogs and everything else in a great many
different situations. That is far too much!
We need to look at ourselves and at our
own stress levels if we find that we are
doing much with our dogs.
Social isolation for long periods: In cities
people may have a dog that they leave
alone when they go to work. Sometimes
they might have somebody pop in during
the day, but this is not ideal for all dogs.
Other owners do take their dog out but he
never meets other dogs. Social isolation
from people and from other dogs is a big
factor in problem behaviour.
Large class size: Many socialisation
classes have up to fifteen puppies in a
group, because they think it’s good for
them to meet as many dogs as possible,
but that is way too many. In England,
when a puppy goes to a new home it may
not see another dog for 2-3 weeks while
it goes through the vaccination process.
Suddenly, their first experience of meeting
new dogs is a dozen or so puppies in a
socialisation class that is not very well supervised.
Often that will lead to long-term
problems because these puppies simply
can’t cope.
Bad/frightening experiences have a big
impact on how puppies grow up and on
how they learn to socialise with us and
with other dogs. Fear is something I see
Page 31
My terrier Dennis watches over playful puppies in the nicest possible way.
far too often. Quite often, dogs are frightened
because they have an idiot at the
end of the lead. Therefore, training owners
in the nicest possible way is really important.
Owners are the biggest handicap to a
dog growing up to be well socialised.
Inappropriate play: I mentioned ball play
above, but inappropriate play can also
be with other dogs. When dogs play with
other breeds or different shapes and sizes,
it can very quickly go overboard and the
dogs don’t know when to stop. My terrier
Dennis is excellent at splitting up over-exuberant
puppies in the nicest possible way.
Punishing training: Again this goes back
to some of the old fashioned books that
say that you have to train your dog to do
everything within the first 16 weeks of its
life. This is very hard on puppies. Also, using
harsh methods actually teaches them
to shut down and they will never socialise.
Over-tiredness is something I simply cannot
stress enough. We overtire our dogs
all the time. Even I do it, because my life is
so busy. Sometimes I look at my dogs and
realise they need a couple days off, just
like I do. We have to constantly adjust the
amount of exercise and stimulation that
we are providing our dogs. We also need
to be honest: am I doing something for my
dog or for me?
Stress is a huge factor in socialisation
problems, and I am not only referring
to stress in our dogs. Owner stress has
a big impact on our dogs and how they
cope with the world, and on how they
socialise. It’s all very well doing stress
reduction for your dog, but we need to do
it for ourselves as well if we and our dogs
are going to be able to be nice and well
socialised.
Equipment: There is a lot of equipment
that people buy and use for their dogs
that really inhibits social interaction. Joint
leads, for example, are something I deal
with all the time in London. People try to
save time by walking several dogs at once
on a single lead.
CHILDREN
Getting puppies used to children is good,
but one should really only to do it with
obedient children who are quite calm. Too
often I have seen puppies that are bought
in order to keep the children happy; they
are considered like toys and you see the
children running around playing with them.
Dogs are not playthings, and they are not
nannies or child-minders. This is something
I struggle really hard to get across to
people, how to behave appropriately and
get their children to behave appropriately
with dogs. One of the things I have started
doing over the last 18 months is visiting
schools and giving talks to small groups
of children. They are sometimes better at
learning than their parents, and they are
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PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
very good at understanding how to be nice
with dogs. I do not take my own dogs into
these situations, as they wouldn’t enjoy
it. I take a toy dog instead. If we can start
to teach children how to be nice and well
socialised around dogs, we have a chance
of making the future better for dogs.
REST
All dogs of every age need lots of rest in
between social experiences. I have people
who book one-on-one sessions because
when they go for a walk, the puppy just
stops and sits down and won’t walk. The
reason is simply that they’ve been doing
far too much with the puppy and he is
tired. If puppies don’t want to go out,
don’t take them. We need to put our dogs’
needs first and be honest with ourselves.
Different breeds need different amounts
of sleep. Some of the giant breeds need
far more rest than some of the smaller
breeds. The huge growth spurts they go
through seem to make them incredibly
tired, and when they are tired they are not
going to make good decisions or socialise
very nicely because they can’t; they are
just too tired. A lot of dog training is not
training dogs but owners.
However, in addition to rest our dogs also
need choices.
A CHANCE TO EXPLORE
In order to be nice and well socialised,
dogs need a lot of different things to
explore. Teaching them to be confident
by exploring new things means that when
they go out into the big wide world they
can cope better.
Enriched environments: For puppies that
can’t go out a lot during their vaccination
process, I get the owners to create enriched
environments at home and in their
gardens. Exploration is always good. Historically,
all dogs would have been social
eaters on many occasions. By giving our
dogs lots of things to explore we can make
it much easier and create confidence, so
that when they do go out they can cope
with the noise, the traffic, and in some cities
the vibrations from underground trains.
Other animals and dog breeds: Learning
about other species from an early age is
an excellent confidence-builder. This can
include sheep, horses, poultry, whatever
your dog can cope with. Often this just
involves sitting and watching.
Different surfaces: Dogs enjoy exploring
different kinds of surfaces. Cities offer a
very wide variety of these.
Different places: People in London like
to take their dogs to pubs and restaurants.
This is a great way to explore, but remember
that some dogs do not enjoy being
touched a lot by strangers. Watch for signs
of boredom or stress, and keep an eye on
the dog’s calming signals! Even in cities
you can find nice quiet places away from
the crowds. All you need is a little imagination.
When possible, allow puppies to explore
together, having a choice in what they
choose to explore.
Living with a dog simply means having
good times being out together and enjoying
each other’s company, with plenty of
rest in between and the possibility to make
choices.
Enriched environment – A variety of things to explore.
Summaries of Sonja Hoegen, Emppu Tolonen and
Cristina Muro in THE next newsletter in may!
PDTE NEWS Page 32

PDTE Lectures and Workshops
In Poland 28 – 30 September 2009
– 27 September 2008
Dogs, wolves and humans.
A comparison of inter-specific
communication
Workshop by Dr Ádám Miklósi, Head
of the Department of Ethology, Eötvös
Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
Summary by Cristina Muro, Spain.
On 28th September, after our PDTE AGM
in Krakow, we had a one-day workshop
with one of the more active scientific world
experts on behaviour, cognition and evolution
of dogs — Dr. Ádám Miklósi, Head of
the Department of Ethology at the Eötvös
Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.
The workshop, entitled “Dogs, wolves and
humans. A comparison of inter-specific
communication”, consisted of a series of
talks about the ability of dogs and wolves
to interpret human communicative signals.
After reviewing the five main evolutionary
hypotheses of the origin of this ability, Dr.
Miklósi presented the core arguments
of the approach adopted by his group at
Eötvös University, the so-called Synergic
hypothesis of domestication. The main
topics analysed both theoretically and
experimentally included a comparative
dog and wolf performance in visual communication
using human simple pointing
gestures or human gaze, wolf socialization
with humans (hand-raising), the mechanism
of social learning (dog imitation
of dogs and humans) and its cognitive
aspects, the effect of head shape on dogs’
ability to utilize human pointing cues, etc.
During the workshop Dr. Miklósi presented
a large collection of video clips and pictures
to support his theory.
In 1994, together with V. Csányi and J.
Topál, Ádám Miklósi founded the Family
Dog Research Project, the first research
group to study the evolutionary and
ethological foundations of behavioural
and cognitive aspects of the dog-human
relationship. They hypothesize that dogs
evolved to survive in an anthropogenic
environment, so the aim of their research
is focused on revealing the contribution
of humans and dogs to this long-standing
partnership cohabitation. They are thus
not only interested in the mental abilities
of dogs but in all aspects of human and
Page 33
dog behaviour that have strengthened this
bond, and may even expand it further. In
their experience, this research not only
reveals important insights on dogs but
also concerning us people. Still, it is the
largest group worldwide to have worked on
this topic, having published more than 75
papers in reviewed scientific journals.
As Dr. Miklósi likes to explain, Canine Science
has experienced two major revolutions
in the last 10 years: First, geneticists
have decrypted the canine genome and
dated the origin of dogs [2,3]. Second,
cognitive ethology has quickly delved
deeper in describing and analysing canine
cognitive abilities, especially in dog-human
communication, and in comparing the dog
with its ancestor the wolf [4-12]. Here Miklósi’s
group has undertaken a new ecological
approach to the understanding of dog
behaviour, demonstrating how dogs can
be the subject of rigorous and productive
scientific study without the need to confine
them to a laboratory environment [1].
The fascinating study of canid evolution,
behaviour and cognitive abilities is without
a doubt one of the more active areas in
scientific research, involving a fundamentally
interdisciplinary coordination of
academics and direct practitioners, including
genetics and ethology, but also, among
others, psychology, archaeology, comparative
physiology and zoology, behavioural
ecology, etc.
Ádám Miklósi is also prolific in the divulga-
PDTE NEWS

tion of these new perspectives on the canine
world (see his excellent book in Ref.
1), and in the promotion of initiatives. His
group organized the First Canine Science
Forum in Budapest in July 2008, where
participation included world-renowned
specialists like R.K. Wayne, J. Serpell, H.
Parker, P. Savolainen, K. Overall and M.
Bekoff, among others.
One of the recent and most challenging
interests of Miklósi’s group is the study of
the dog and wolf’s abilities to understand
human gestures [4]. Nobody doubts that
dogs – and wolves, but doubts are allowed
here – can understand human gestures.
But what is the origin of this ability? Has
it been shaped during domestication, in
such a way that dogs have been subject
to selective pressure to be able to understand
human gestures, and consequently,
wolves do not share this ability? Or is it, on
the contrary, an emergent cognitive ability
which arises from the combination of other
primary cognitive abilities, acquired during
pre-domestication, that are also present in
its (presumed) ancestor, the wolf?
Both proposals are supported by two separate
theories on dog evolution and social
cognition, producing an exciting debate
along a large number of scientific publications
([4-9] vs. [10-12]). The year 2009 has
seen dogs appear in some of the most
prominent journals like Nature, Science,
PNAS and others, and these examples are
widely used as an evolutionary paradigm
to study human species evolution.
We, as dog trainers and lovers, must take
advantage of the huge amount of ideas
PDTE Lectures and Workshops
In Poland 28 – 30 September 2009
– 27 September 2008
arising from this new way of understanding
dogs and dog behaviour. We should
exploit every possible result that could
allow us to help dogs, by using gestures
or “demo dogs” or, as Dr. Miklosi says,
the dog observational learning ability that
could make them able to deal with a wider
range of situations. Vice versa, we must
be participative in helping scientists keep
their research close to reality, suggesting
new ways of analysis, and offering them
the value of our experience.
The gap between academic knowledge
and daily practice is still very wide.
Experiments with robotic signals (humans
behaving like robots) seem not to be the
most appropriate way to test dogs’ ability
to interpret human intention; samples are
still (statistically) too small, and some conclusions
about evolution and the effects of
selection during domestication also seem
almost reckless.
When Dr. Miklósi told us about the debate
on human gesture comprehension, he
asked the audience, “Did you know
anything about this?” When no one in the
room answered, he said, “We live in different
worlds.”
But we should not live in different worlds;
we need science in our dog training world,
as it bring rigorous theoretical support to
the knowledge we are using. Science also
should ask us for our real experience in
daily work with dogs.
[1] “Dog behaviour, evolution and cognition”, Á.
Miklósi, Oxford Univ. Press (2007)
[2] “Multiple and ancient origins of the domestic
dog”, C. Vilà et al., Science 276, (1997) 1687
[3] “Genome sequence, comparative analysis and
haplotype structure of the domestic dog”, Lindblad-
Toh, Nature 438, (2005) 803
[4] “Use of experimenter-given cues in dogs”, Á.
Miklósi et al., Animal Cognition 1 (1998) 113
[5] “The domestication of social cognition in dogs”,
B. Hare et al., Science 298 (2002) 1634
[6] “A simple reason for a big difference: wolves do
not look back at humans, but dogs do”, Á. Miklósi et
al., Current Biology 13 (2003) 763
[7] “Human-like social skills in dogs?”, B. Hare & M.
Tomasello, Trends in Cognitive Science 9 (2005)
439
[8] “Comprehension of human pointing gestures in
young human-reared wolves (Canis lupus) and dogs
(Canis familiaris)”, Z. Virányi et al., Animal Cognition
11 (2008) 373
[9] “Differential Sensitivity to Human Communication
in Dogs, Wolves, and Human Infants”, J. Topál et al.,
Science 325 (2009) 1269
[10] “Wolves outperform dogs in following human
social cues”, M. A. R. Udell et al., Animal Behaviour
76 (2008) 1767
[11] “What did domestication do to dogs?”, M.A.R.
Udell et al., Biological Reviews, in press
[12] “When do dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) start to
understand human pointing? The role of ontogeny in
the development of inter-species communication.”,
N. R. Dorey et al., Animal Behaviour, in press
Links:
- Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University,
in Budapest:
http://etologia.aitia.ai
- Family Dog Project: http://familydogproject.elte.hu
A Summary of the PDTE Nosework
workshop HELD ON
29 – 30 September 2009
by Raili Halme, Finland, wilL be
published in THE next Newsletter
in may 2010.
- Canine Science Forum (Budapest 2008): http://
csf2008.elte.hu
- Canine Science Forum (Vienna 2010): http://
csf2010.univie.ac.at
- CompCog, an ESF Research Networking
Programme with title “Evolution of Social Cognition:
Comparisons and integration across a wide
range of human and non-human animal species”:
A programme that brings together 28 European
laboratories from 11 countries, and runs for 5 years
up to April 2013: http://www.compcog.org/
PDTE NEWS Page 34

25 th – 26 th September
Welcome to Spain for the
12 th annual meeting of the Pet Dog Trainers of
Europe
(PDTE members and non-members are welcome)
PDTE AGM 2010 venue
Gran Hotel Puente Colgante
María Díaz de Haro nº 2
48920 Portugalete
SPAIN
+34 944 014 800
www.granhotelpuentecolgante.com
This is a historical building,
located beside the impressive
“Bridge of Biscay”,
with marvellous views
over the Bilbao river.
Arrival:
By car: 10 km From Bilbao
http://www.bilbao.net
By plane: 10 km From Bilbao airport
By sea: P&B Ferries
http://www.portsmouthbilbao.co.uk/
Hotel reservations
Individual room*: 63
Double room*: 78
Triple room*: 104
Extra for dog: 4
* Buffet breakfast included
The Bridge of Biscay was the first shuttle bridge
built with a metallic structure in the world
It was inaugurated on 28 th July, 1893.
www.puente-colgante.com/
We have reserved some rooms until spring
2010. After this we have to
give up the rooms that are not required.
If you need accommodation, book your room
in advance!!
If you wish to make a reservation directly with
the hotel, just tell them that you are coming
to the PDTE meeting.
It’s possible to bring dogs, but you will have
to pay a little extra.
If you prefer you can ask us to book
your room for you.
The next PDTE AGM will be hosted by AEPA-Euskadi
(Cristina Muro and Iñaki Linaza)
www.aepa-euskadi.org
-------Enter for online registration-------
Page 34
PDTE NEWS

As this is an international event, please note that all talks will be held in
English
PDTE
members
Non
members
PDTE AGM 2010, 26th - 27th
September
Talks and coffee breaks
Registration fee
(Activities, meals and accommodation are not included)
60 120
Lunch on Saturday 20 20
Dinner on Saturday
20
20
Optional visit to Bilbao (bus + boat)
30
30
Optional visit to the Guggenheim museum 8 8
Tickets from the Tickets from the
hotel
hotel
Lunch on Sunday 20 20
Dinner on Sunday
20 20
Optional visit to the Bridge of Biscay
4
Tickets from the
hotel
4
Tickets from the
hotel
Monday 27th September
Workshop + Coffee Break
Registration fee
(Meals and Accommodation are not included)
To be
announced
To be
announced
Lunch on Monday 20 20
Dinner on Monday 20 20
Tuesday 28th September
A guided visit will be planned for those staying
on Tuesday. We will announce it soon.
Name and surname:
Arrival date:
Address:
Post code:
Country:
Phone:
e-mail address:
Are you a PDTE member?
Would you like to have a lecture?
If yes, 20 minutes or 40 minutes?
Departure date:
Are you taking a dog/dogs with you?
If yes, how many dogs?
Would you like us to book your room for you?
What kind of room?
Special requirements (vegetarian food or other):