PDTE 2010 June Newsletter

PDTE NEWS
JUNE 2010 ● ISSUE 15
www.pdte.org
Photo:
Adelaide Lönnberg, Finland 2009

MESSAGE FROM the PRESIDENT
Dear members of the PDTE,
Things are happening in the dog world all around Europe, and it is very interesting to
see. Many European countries have forbidden el-collars, even though they can still be
sold in some of them. Wales was the most recent country to forbid them. Holland has got
two representatives from the National Dog Party into Parliament! It has also reversed the
ban on certain dog breeds. In Vienna they are now working on establishing an Institute
for Human-Animal Relationships. We do not yet know what that will actually mean, but it
sounds interesting and promising.
I urge our members to find out the exact wording of the animal laws, and especially laws
about dogs, in their own countries. This will be a great task for our Country Representatives
— but all of you can help collect this information. The Ethical Committee — Cristina
Muro, Chiara Gentileschi and myself — are working on compiling this and really need
your help. It will be used as background information for contacts, plans, and things we do
not yet have the full overview of, but we feel it can be important for us in our future work.
Best wishes to each and every one of you, and may you all do something nice for your
dogs today!
Turid
President
Dear Readers!
MESSAGE FROM the EDITOR
It’s summer again — at least in Finland — and I plan to enjoy it with all my heart. I’ll
hopefully be doing all the things I never had time for during the winter. I’ll spend time with
my husband, our dogs, friends, garden...
I’ll be travelling to Poland, Holland and Spain, partly as part of my work but for fun, too.
Having lectures and workshops in different countries is so rewarding. I love every minute
of it.
My first plan of action has been to get the Newsletter ready for you to enjoy during your
holidays.
You may notice that this Newsletter is less international than we would like it be, because
this time around I haven’t received enough articles from around Europe. So please
send me material so that our readers can also enjoy an insight into other countries than
Finland!
The Board has had a busy time this winter. We have had lot to do but we are delighted
with the results. The most important of these is that our new website is ready and we
hope you will have a chance to visit it at www.pdte.org. We would love to receive your
comments and feedback.
Our Country Representatives have done a great job and we have new members as
result. Thank you!
However, the biggest event of all this year is PDTE weekend and AGM in Bilbao, Spain,
on 25-26 September and an extra seminar 27 September. There are excellent speakers
with highly interesting topics, and loads of other things to enjoy. If you haven´t registered
yet, do it now! We want to see you all there.
I wish you all a very relaxed and
sunny summer. Enjoy your life!
Raili
Newsletter Editor
raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
CONTENTS:
BOARD´S CORNER 3
WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS 5
WHAT´S UP IN 2010? 7
NETWORKING:
MY FUN DAYS IN FINLAND 12
HOME STORIES:
LIFE IN OUR SIX-DOG FAMILY 13
NEW FINDING PUTS THE ORIGIN OF
DOGS IN THE MIDDLE EAST 14
DOMINANCE, OR IN OTHER WORDS 15
ALPHA WOLF? 16
THE BOWEN TECHNIQUE 17
PDTE AGM 2009 LECTURES
CONTINUED:
TRAINING SITES 18
FIGHTING DOGS 21
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING 24
PDTE 2009 WORKSHOP
CONTINUED
WALKING NICELY WITH
YOUR DOG 26
ENRICHING YOUR DOG´S
LIFE WITH FOOD AND
NOSEWORK 28
INVITATION TO THE AGM 2009 34
Next newsletter
DECEMBER 2010
Please send materials by 1st October at
the latest to raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
Advertising prices
1/4 page €20
1/2 page €50
1/1 page €100
For more information, reservations
(latest 1st October) and originals
(latest 15th October) contact
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
After what seems a long and dark winter, the
spring is finally coming and summer is in sight.
Certainly my dogs seem to feel that spring
is in the air and everything is more exciting
and interesting. With the change in seasons
comes many changes for dogs as they enjoy
the smell of the new growth in the ground, the
taste of new spring grasses, and many more
people and wildlife to share open spaces with.
In London I’ve already changed where and
when I walk to avoid the busiest times and the
huge increase in people playing sport, running,
cycling, picnicking etc. — to make sure that
my dogs have the best possible time and don’t
have to cope with too much on a daily basis.
Spring and summer are definitely a time to
review what we do with our dogs to ensure
their comfort and safety at all times. My
puppy is nearly 8 months now and is seeing
a lot of activity in the parks that he’s never
experienced before: people lying about on the
ground, many cyclists and runners — many
of which can be potentially hazardous — so
the socialisation and learning experiences
continue, which is lovely to see.
Spring, I think, is a time to get out, and
there are a wealth of courses, workshops
and seminars to attend, and with the lighter
evenings I certainly feel that I have more time
available. Recently I have been to a range of
different courses which have challenged me,
taught me many new things and broadened my
knowledge, and most importantly renewed my
enthusiasm and joy of living and learning. Too
often I hear people say that they don’t have
the time or money to go and learn more — but
there are half-day or evening talks available
which are often very reasonable. I actually
found myself feeling very inspired on a cookery
course — stepping out of my life with dogs
gave me new perspectives and benefited me
in many ways. Although the course was for
human cooking I thought up a new recipe for
healthy treats for my dogs — learning doesn’t
always have to be specific to dogs to be of
benefit to all!!
We have the PDTE AGM & Seminar coming
up and I can only encourage you to come
Turid Rugaas
Boks 109, 3361 Geithus, Norway
Phone: +47 (0) 32 780 987
E-Mail: turidrug@frisurf.no
Website: www.turid-rugaas.no
CHAIRMAN
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
Miegersbach 34, 85235 Odelzhausen
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 8134 558785
E-Mail: geng.ulrike@t-online.de
Website: www.hundeschule-geng.de
along — you will have a truly great time and
meet many other like-minded people and make
new friends. If you do just one thing this year
— come to Bilbao!
The Board of the PDTE have continued to
meet monthly to keep on top of ongoing
projects and consolidate new plans. Our
meetings are always interesting and enjoyable.
We are looking for a couple of members to
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
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
volunteer, if they have the time and inclination,
as the position of Treasurer is currently vacant.
Please do get in touch if you feel that you can
help with these exciting positions.
Wishing you and your dogs a lovely summer.
Winkie
Chairman
PDTE NEWS Page 3

BOARD’S CORNER
A BIG THANKS To SALLY HOPKINS
For sponsoring the PDTE!
The Board would to thank you wholeheartedly, Sally, on behalf of all PDTE
members, for printing and distributing 2000 copies of the PDTE flyer at Crufts.
As a result the PDTE has become much better known.
Wales has become
the first part of
the UK to outlaw
the use of
electric shock
collars to train
cats and dogs
The ban, passed by assembly members,
means that anyone caught using the
devices faces a fine of up to £20,000 or six
months in prison.
Animal welfare groups such as the RSPCA
and the Kennel Club supported the move.
The Electronic Collar Manufacturers’ Association
said it feared the ban could lead
THANK YOU :-)
to an influx of unmanageable pets into dog
shelters.
The collars are sometimes used to train
dogs and cats by giving an electric shock
when the animal is deemed to have
behaved badly.
Wales’ Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones,
who announced plans for the ban last
month, said she was “very pleased.” “It
is important that owners are aware of the
ban, and that they now take appropriate
steps to comply with the law,” she added.
“Today, Wales has proven that it is truly
leading the way and we hope that the rest
of the UK will follow” said Caroline Kisko
of the Kennel Club. “I’m pleased that as a
Country representatives
Austria
Denmark Turid Rugaas turidrug@frisurf.no
England Ali Zaffar zaffarmeister@gmail.com
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
SCOTLAND Max Muir info@action4dogs.co.uk
Spain Cristina Muro muro.cristina@gmail.com
Sweden Turid Rugaas turidrug@frisurf.no
Switzerland Susi Roger relosuga@bluewin.ch
government, we are taking a proactive approach
to promoting the welfare of animals
by banning the use of such electronic
training devices in Wales.”
The RSPCA said it believed there was no
place for shock collars in modern animal
training and recommended the use of
reward-based methods instead.
Kennel Club members staged a display
outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay before
the vote.
Its communications director Caroline Kisko
said: “This is a historic day for animal
welfare in Wales and we are absolutely delighted
that so many AMs voted in favour
of the regulations.
“Today, Wales has proven that it is truly
leading the way and we hope that the rest
of the UK will follow by example to outlaw
these cruel and unnecessary devices.”
‘Bad idea’
But manufacturers said the devices helped
to successfully train dogs not to chase
livestock, or attack other pets or people.
Duncan McNair, of the Electronic Collar
Manufacturers’ Association, said: “It’s a
bad idea because more dogs will die, more
dogs will have to be re-homed and more
owners will have to be distressed at having
to give up their pets.”
He said there were around 500,000 of the
collars in the UK and said, at a rough estimate,
there were around 20,000 in Wales.
“I wouldn’t dream of suggesting that
people disobey the law, everybody will
be making their own decision about what
they do, but what I do think is that if a
large number of people who use them stop
using them, there will be an influx of dogs
into dog shelters.”
there are STILL A few countries without
representatives. If you are interested please
contact Turid turidrug@frisurf.no
Page 4
PDTE NEWS

WElCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS
ERIKA VOTA
ITALY
I’m an Italian dog trainer and I work in my
training centre called Family Dog. After 10
years as a volunteer at the local dog shelter
I realized that many people very often
abandon their dogs only because they are
not able to manage them appropriately
and they begin to meet problems. So I
decided to study and inform myself in
order to help them build a correct relationship
with their dogs so that they’d never
think of abandoning them. Since then, this
has always been my aim, so I attended
various courses, first to become a dog
trainer at a school in Milan, and then various
seminars and courses on agility, dog
behaviour problems and communication in
order to reach my goal.
Finally, I met Turid Rugaas who, with
her complete course on dog and behavioural
problems, gave me most of
the answers I needed to reach my goal.
I really hope to continue improving in
helping people build the correct relationship
with their dogs, and I’m very interested
in behaviour and communication
in dogs, because I think that only with
in-depth understanding of a dog and his
behaviours can we do the best for him.
.
MONICA
GRÖNKVIST-
CARLSSON
SWEDEN
I am married with three adult girls and
four grandchildren. All all my life I loved
animals, and as a child I had cats, Guinea
pigs, hamsters, and aquarium fish. As with
many other young girls I loved horses and
riding. I got my first dog when I was about
12 years old. I did not get to handle him
and my parents were not interested either,
so we had to relocate him. Thank goodness,
because the dog was a Pointer and
definitely not suited for us.
He went to live with a hunter and had a
good life. This is a typical example of what
NOT to do. It’s always the parents who
must take responsibility for the dog. Dog
No. 2 was not until I was about 22 years
old and had a family. He was a Great Dane
who was 3 years old and needed a new
home. He turned out to be a run-away dog
and we could not keep him when I got our
second child.
I did not know much about dogs at this
time. He went to a riding school and also
had a very good life.
But it was frightful to do that.
I missed him so much.
Then I was several years without a dog!
In January 1984 we get our little Standard
Poodle puppy, who reached the age of
14. In 1986, our female Irish Wolfhound
joined us and lived for 8 years. In August
1995 we got a male Irish Wolfhound male.
He lived for nearly 6 years before dying of
heart disease.
In 1997 I went visited the House of The
Dog in Stockholm for a theme day for
dogs. In 1998, I educate myself to become
a dog trainer, followed in 1999 by a course
to become a dog psychologist, and I
completed a deeper education on breeds
with Agnetha Geneborg in 2000. I studied
depth ethology with Lasse Fäldt in 2001,
extra clicker training with Marie Fogelqvist
in 2000 and a weekend with Carolyn
Clarke in 2001. I attended 3-4 workshops
with Anders Hallgren, in 2005 and 2007,
both elsewhere and at my place.
I organized a seminar with Kerstin Malm
and Runar Naess in 2005 and attended a
seminar with Runar elsewhere in 2007. I
spend two days at a workshop in Malmo
with Sheila Harper in September 2007.
Then in 2007 I attended an update course
with Turid rugaas. In 2000 I started a company
here in Nora called the Dog Owner
School. I run courses and offer private
training, problem investigations, lectures,
and invite guest speakers, guest instructors,
etc. At the Dog Owner school I also
run a small special course called Communication
Without Words. It is our own
concept and has become very popular. We
teach that you can communicate with you
dog without a lot of words and nagging.
The course is available with us here and
we visit other clubs to educate instructors
and dog owners.
In the spring of 2001 I got my current dog,
a Rhodesian Ridgeback male, and that
summer I attended a week-long problem
dog camp with Turid Rugaas. And I was
sold. I am a student of her first Swedish
International Dog Trainer School. I also
attended her reunion and updated my
contact with her. She is now holding her
third Swedish Dog Trainer School here
with me in Nora at my Dog Owner School.
Turid is “my mentor,” she sits on my shoulder
and whispers amazing things in my
ear. Since 2000 I have been a professional
dog trainer.
My special interests are working
with problem behaviours (especially
aggression), working with old German
herding dogs like “Harzer Fuchs”, “Tiger”,
“Schafpudel” etc. and any kind of nosework.
I find nosework fascinating!
PDTE NEWS Page 5

WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS
Ali Zaffar
England
Natalya verhoeven
Netherland
Leonard Cecil
Switzerland
Hello everyone - my name is Mr Ali Zaffar, I
am 38 years old and live in London, England.
I am currently unemployed. In summer 2007, I
acquired my 1st dog, Leo, a lovely bull mastiff.
He is my 1st dog and is the apple of my eye! I
love him to pieces - and spoil him lots!!!
Unfortunately he developed an auto-immune
disorder called ‘mastication myositis’ last year,
but thankfully is in remission following a 6-
month course of steroids. Being a rescue dog,
Leo’s main problem is nervousness of various
things, and so i was recommended training
classes with Ms Winkie Spiers, who lives in my
neighbourhood and is Chairman of the PDTE.
I am so glad I found out about Winkie — I am
learning a lot, Leo has benefited tremendously
in all aspects of his training, and thankfully, I
am no longer practising the classical ‘I need to
be dominant over my dog’ philosophy — which
is still so prevalent in London! Well done to
Winkie for spreading the message that the
dominance theory is wrong!
By becoming an associate member, I am
hoping to become an administrative assistant
to Winkie as she lives near to me, and is very
busy with numerous canine commitments.
Through being an admin assistant to Winkie, I
will fulfil my desire to contribute to the welfare
of dogs in my small way — and also through
the PDTE I plan to keep abreast of current
thinking regarding owning our lovely dogs.
I am Natalya Verhoeven, 19 years young,
and fond of dogs for as long I can remember.
I was not a very good student in high school
but my dream was working with animals. Two
years ago my father asked me if I would like
to become a dog trainer and work with him. I
immediately said yes and I attended several
instructor/trainer courses. My father introduced
me to a dog training school for a practical
trainee period and allowed me also to help him
training dogs with behavioural problem. He
taught me also to observe dogs differently. I
read the books by Turid and others, and started
to observe calming signals and stress signals
to comprehend behaviour. I have finished my
trainee period at the dog training school and
now teach puppy and advanced classes.
In February this year my father decided I was
ready for a big test. He was asked to train and
resocialise a very traumatized dog on Cyprus.
Instead, he sent me. I was very proud that he
trusted me.
The same month I visited Raili Halme in
Finland to learn more about the stress-reducing
programme she works with. I learned so much
from her regarding day care, obedience, a doggy
swimming pool and a lot of other subjects.
My next big step in becoming a dog-friendly
trainer is attending Sheila Harper’s IDBTS next
autumn. I look forward to it. I enjoy very much
getting acquainted with all PDTE members to
learn from their experiences and knowledge.
I own two dogs myself, a Labrador Retriever,
Nanook, and Husky x Tervueren Shepherd
Minie.
I grew up with dogs, although training
played no real role other than teaching an
occasional “sit” until we (my wife Susanne
and children David and Barbara) adopted
Luna, a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog
mix. “Modern” methods were just getting
started in 2000 so rewards and praise
were mixed with the leash pops, loud
louder and loudest commands and alpha
rolls. Luna was, in spite of all that, a super
dog, but left much too early at the of age
8 1/2.
Then came Vela, our first pure-bred
(all others had been rescues) - a Flat-
Coated Retriever. Vela is a beauty but
because of her character, she forced
me to seek other, gentler methods and
I stumbled across clicker training and
haven’t looked back. I do our version of
Canine Freestyle with Vela while wife
Susanne does dummy work with her.
Page 6
PDTE NEWS

What‘s up in 2010?
PDTE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & WORKSHOP
BILBAO - SPAIN 25th to 27th September 2010
Welcome to Spain for the 12th Annual General Meeting of the Pet Dog Trainers of Europe!
Both PDTE members and non-members are welcome.
The event will be hosted by AEPA Euskadi (Cristina Muro and Iñaki Linaza).
Contact Cristina Muro for more information or visit
http://www.aepa-euskadi.org/PDTE-AGM-BILBAO-2010.htm
PDTE Events, Courses, Seminars, Workshops...
These events, courses, seminars and workshops have been accepted by the PDTE Board. Part of the income contributes
to the work of the PDTE. If you would like to organize a PDTE event, contact Raili Halme raili@rakkaathaukut.fi .
ORGANISED BY CALMING SIGNS
For more information on the events below,
contact Nelis Verhoeven at nelis@calmingsigns.com
or visit www.calmingsigns.com
Raili Halme, Finland
FRIDAY 27.08.2010
13.30 WELCOME
14.00 GOOD LEADERSHIP
HOW TO HANDLE LEADER
SHIP PROBLEMS
17.00 BREAK
18.00 PRACTICAL WORK AROUND
LEADERSHIP MATTERS
21.00 WORKSHOP ENDS
SATURDAY 28.08.2010
10.00 WELCOME
10.30 STRESS IN DOGS
13.00 LUNCH
14.00 HOW TO LOWER STRESS
IN COURSE SITUATIONS
AND AT COMPETITIONS
17.00 WORKSHOP ENDS
SUNDAY 29.08.2010
10.00 STRESS-FREE OBEDIENCE
13.00 LUNCH
14.00 STRESS-FREE OBEDIENCE
CONTINUES
17.00 WORKSHOP ENDS
Netherlands
Hi,
My name is Nelis Verhoeven from Calming Signs, and I am very pleased to
announce for the First time in Holland a three-day PDTE Workshop with Railli
Halme. On the left is the programme for both events. We offer PDTE members
up to 50% discount to attend the workshop/seminar. free lodging overnight
(sleeping bag, tent or mattress) and breakfast, lunch or dinner at cost prices. If
you interested please contact me at +31620013299.
Railli Halme has over thirty years’ experience with dogs, their training and their
behaviour. She is the author of numerous articles and has lectured to international
audiences on a range of topics including stress, fear, calming signals, and
dog-oriented training. Her breadth of experience has helped train veterinary staff,
dog shelter assistants and new trainers, instructors and behaviourists. She is
the founder of two organizations in Finland (Rakkaat Haukut - Happy Dog and
Parempi Elämä Koiralle - Better Life for Dogs) and serves on the board of the
Pet Dog Trainers of Europe (PDTE). Her passion for dogs continues to inspire
friends, students, clients and audiences alike.
Prices for non-PDTE members:
Friday 27th August afternoon/evening seminar € 50.00
Combined Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th August € 125.00
Combined Friday, Saturday, Sunday € 175.00
Prices for PDTE members:
Friday 27th August afternoon/evening seminar € 15.00
Combined Saturday 28th Sunday 29th August € 45.00
Combined Friday, Saturday, Sunday € 75.00
Breakfast, Lunches or dinner are not included.
Breakfast € 5.00
Lunch € 10.00
Dinner € 15.00
Overnight lodging (tent/sleeping bag or mattress/sleeping bag) is free.
PDTE NEWS Page 7

What‘s up in 2010?
KRAKOW
PDTE Events, Courses,
Seminars, Workshops...
ORGANISED BY PSIA WACHTA
Further information on the events
below: www.psiawachta.pl/seminaria-ikursy
or info@psiawachta.pl
Raili Halme, Finland
JULY 2nd
LECTURE: GOOD LEADERSHIP IS
PARENTHOOD
JULY 3rd and 4th
RUNNING A DOG-ORIENTED
DAY CARE FOR DOGS
SATURDAY 03.07
10.00 DAY CARE FOR DOGS?
- TRADITIONAL DAY CARE
- DOG-ORIENTED DAY CARE:
WHY, WHAT, WHEN, HOW...
13.00 LUNCH
14.30 A NORMAL DAY AT A DOG-
ORIENTED DAYCARE
17.00 DAY ENDS
SUNDAY 04.07
10.00 WHO CAN TAKE CARE OF
DOGS AT A DOG-ORIENTED
DAY CARE?
HOW TO HANDLE
SITUATIONS AT A DOG-
ORIENTED DAY CARE
13.00 LUNCH
- LEARN TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT A DOG IS AS AN
ANIMAL
- LEARN TO READ THE DOG
14.30 HOW YOU TO MANAGE AT A
DOG-ORIENTED DAY CARE
CONTINUES
- LEARN TO UNDERSTAND
WHAT STRESS MEANS
- LEARN TO REACT
BEFOREHAND
17.00 DAY ENDS
Page 8
Poland
WARSAW
ORGANISED BY DOBRYPIES.
Further information on the events
below: www.dobrypies.pl
or agnieszka@dobrypies.pl
Raili Halme, Finland
FRIDAY 06.08
DOG-ORIENTED OBEDIENCE
10.00 LECTURE: HOW TO LOWER
STRESS IN LEARNING
SITUATIONS
11.30 PRACTICAL WORK 1.
–DOG-ORIENTED OBEDIENCE
12.00 VIDEO FEEDBACK FROM
PRACTICAL WORK 1
13.00 LUNCH
14.00 PRACTICAL WORK 2.
–DOG-ORIENTED OBEDIENCE
14.30 VIDEO FEEDBACK FROM
PRACTICAL WORK 2
15.30 PRACTICAL WORK 3.
–DOG-ORIENTED OBEDIENCE
16.00 VIDEO FEEDBACK FROM
PRACTICAL WORK 3
17.00 WORKSHOP ENDS
SATURDAY 07.08
HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH
DOGS
10.00 LECTURE: DOGS’ LANGUAGE
AND CALMING SIGNALS
13.00 LUNCH
14.00 PRACTICAL WORK:
LEARNING TO READ AND
UNDERSTAND CALMING
SIGNALS
VIEWING VIDEO FOOTAGE OF
PRACTICAL WORK
17.00 WORKSHOP ENDS
SUNDAY 08.08.
10.00 DOGS’ VOCAL LANGUAGE:
BARKING, HOWLING…
13.00 LUNCH
14.00 LECTURE: BODY LANGUAGE
HUMAN / DOG
15.00 PRACTICAL WORK: LEARN-
ING TO USE YOUR OWN BODY
SO THAT THE DOG WILL UN
DERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN.
VIEWING VIDEO FOOTAGE OF
PRACTICAL WORK
17.00 WORKSHOP ENDS
Other Events,
Courses,
Seminars,
Workshops...
Austria
Contact Judith Utner:
judith.utner@hunde-forum.at
INTERNATIONAL DOG BEHAVIOUR
& TRAINING SCHOOL (IDBTS)
In-depth theory and practical study foundation
starting 2010 and 2011
Further study required for independent
OCN accreditation.
Teacher: Sheila Harper
Guest speaker: Sally Askew
Working towards a nationally recognised
accreditation. Module Topics: Canine
Communication and Handling, Training,
Canine Behaviour and Instructing Dog
Training Classes. Including: Applied learning
theory, ethology, stress, canine body
language, psychology, shaping, problem
solving, creativity, instructing, puppies and
adolescents, behaviour modification and
health & nutrition. In-depth case studies
with students’ own dogs.
Date: Start 2nd September 2010
Further study required for independent
OCN accreditation
Venue: near Vienna
Contact: Judith Utner:
judith.utner@hunde-forum.at
PDTE NEWS

FINLAND
ORGANISED BY
RAKKAAT HAUKUT / HAPPY DOG
More information:
Raili Halme, raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
Tel. +358 50 504 2109
Courses are held in Finnish but will be
interpreted into English if needed
14.8 – 19.12 (6 weekends)
INSTRUCTOR COURSE
- Lectures + practical training
The origin of dogs, and the
dog as an animal
Good leadership is parenthood
Learning in dogs
Using your body in teaching
Planning your own courses
Breeds
Enrichment for dogs
Stress behaviour in dogs
How to train people
The language of dogs and
calming signals
First aid
Marketing and advertising
Practical work
Homework
Planning and keeping your
own courses
Practical exam
Graduates of the instructor course
may attend the following:
22.1 - 11.12.2011 (12 weekends)
PROBLEM SOLVING AND CANINE
BEHAVIOUR COURSE
- Lectures + practical training + case
studies covering all topics + homework
Good Leadership is Parent hood
Stress and Calming Signals
(revision)
How pain, illness and heredity
affect behaviour in dogs
Instinctive behaviour
How a dog’s breed affects its
behaviour
How dogs move
Puppies and young dogs
Adult and old dogs
How feeding affects behaviour in
dogs
Fear behaviour
Barking
How to activate and enrich a dog
the right way
“Aggression”
Practical work, case studies and
homework
Practical exam
What‘s up in 2010?
Presented by Winkie Spiers
AN INTERESTING & INFORMATIVE TALK ON STRESS
How It Impacts On Us And Our Dogs In Daily Life
And What We Can Do About It?
Stress has become something of a by-word and something we read about all the time but
how does it really relate to us and our dogs? As with humans, stress may be a factor in many
behavioural problems, an inability to concentrate and learn and can be a contributory factor
in ill health and energy levels. Visits to the vet, groomer or a stay in kennels can be upsetting
for some dogs and can lead to a change in their behaviour in the short or long-term.
Sometimes just being left alone can result in distress and unwanted behaviour. We will look
at how to recognize the symptoms and causes of stress, how to reduce them and how to
make ours and our dogs lives, easier, healthier and more enjoyable.
There will also be a range of quality dog treats and toys available for sale, including many
special offers. This is a great opportunity to enjoy an entertaining and interesting seminar
and learn more about stress and your dog!
Saturday 16 October 2010
Venue: Sway Village Hall, Middle Road, Sway, Lymington Hampshire, SO41 6BB
Registration: From 9.15am – Start 10.00am – Close Approx 4.30pm
Cost: Only £35.00 per head to include Coffee on arrival; Mid-Morning Tea/Coffee
Ploughman’s Lunch & Afternoon Tea/Coffee with special CDT Cake!
Organisers: Chrissy & Barry Gough APDT Members 00653 & 00893
Cara Dog Training “Heathers”, Gilpin Place, Sway, Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 6EU
Tel: 01590 683 529 * Email: caratraining@ic24.net Website: www.caradogtraining.com
Your presenter Winkie Spiers is an Association of Pet Dog Trainers Member (00804), Chairman of the
Pet Dog Trainers of Europe (F036), Association of INTO Dogs Member, a human & canine Bowen
Therapist and has extensively studied dog behaviour, training, communication, care and health. Winkie
has attended many dog related courses; completed a 2 year OCN course (International Dog Behaviour
& Training School) and continues to expand her knowledge and skills. She speaks here in the UK and
abroad on a wide range of dog related subjects and her first book ‘How to Handle Living With Your
Dog’ was published last year. Winkie’s website: www.winkiespiers.com
.
Please reserve (Number of tickets) ………………………. for Winkie Spiers Seminar 16 October 2010.
Name:……………………………………………….. Address: …………………………………………….......................
………………………………………………………Tel:…………………………………Mobile:….....…………............
mail: ……………………………………………………………………………
Payment: Cheque attached for £…………….…… payable to “Mr & Mrs B Gough” please.
England
Courses by Winkie Spiers
DOGS: A WALK IN THE PARK
- WHAT YOUR DOG REALLY WANTS
FROM A WALK
(July 17th 2010 morning event. Taking
bookings. Details)
STRESS IS NO JOKE!
16 October More information from up.
Courses by Sheila Harper
Sheila Harper is running the following
courses in 2010.
For further details contact:
info@sheilaharper.co.uk or visit
www.sheilaharper.co.uk
17 - 18 JULY 2010
THE CANINE NUTRITION WORK-
SHOP
Speaker: Sally Askew
PDTE NEWS Page 9

What‘s up in 2010?
Other Events, Courses, Seminars, Workshops...
Venue: Little Haywood Village Hall, Staffordshire,
UK
6 - 10 AUGUST 2010
CANINE ACTIVITY HOLIDAY WITH
DOGS: EXPLORING YOUR DOG’S
NATURAL ABILITIES
Venue: Cannock Chase, Staffordshire UK
13 - 17 AUGUST 2010
CANINE ACTIVITY HOLIDAY WITH
DOGS: EXPLORING SOCIAL SKILLS
AND NOSEWORK
Venue: Cannock Chase, Staffordshire UK
20 - 24 AUGUST 2010
PROBLEM DOGS: AN IN DEPTH WORK-
SHOP TO OFFER QUALITY
SOCIALISATION FOR DOGS WITH
(OR WITHOUT!) PROBLEMS
Venue: Cannock Chase, Staffordshire, UK
8 OCTOBER 2010
MY DOG’S NOT COPING! (AND
NEITHER AM I!) AN INTRODUCTION TO
STRESS IN DOGS
Venue: Calverleigh, Tiverton, Devon, UK
(evening course)
9 – 10 OCTOBER 2010
ON-LEAD AGGRESSION AND CANINE
COMMUNICATION - PRACTICAL
WORKSHOP
Venue: Calverleigh, Tiverton, Devon,
UK
23 OCTOBER 2010
WHAT OUR DOGS REALLY LEARN
IN CLASS
Venue: Rake, West Sussex, UK
24 – 25 OCTOBER 2010
IDEAS FOR TEACHING DOGS IN
CLASS – PRACTICAL WORKSHOP
Venue: Rake, West Sussex, UK
12 NOVEMBER 2010
CAUTIOUS DOGS, FEARFUL DOGS
- HOW TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Venue: Little Haywood Village Hall,
Staffordshire, UK
Page 10
13 – 14 NOVEMBER 2010
CAUTIOUS DOGS / BUILDING RELA-
TIONSHIPS - CONFIDENCE BUILD-
ING - PRACTICAL WORKSHOP
Venue: Little Haywood Village Hall,
Staffordshire, UK
Germany
Ulrike Geng is holding the following
events (all events are in German):
The following events are being held
near Munich - please contact Ulrike
directly: www.hundeschule-geng.de
16 MAY 2010
THE LEASH - DREAM OR NIGHT-
MARE?
Contents: The walk on a leash - How
to build it up. Why is walking with a
dog on leash such a horrid experience
for so many people, and how can we
change it?
20 JUNE 2010
COMMUNICATION WITH DOGS
Contents: The basics of dog language,
the different connections, how to handle
daily life, calming signals and their
meaning in the life of a dog, recognizing
them and returning them
18 JULY 2010
BEHAVIOURAL DISORDERS
Contents: How do disorders develop?
What can we do to make things better?
Finding solutions. Please note: there is
a maximum of 6 participants!
Hundeschule dogcom
NUTRITION
EVENING LECTURE WITH ANKE
TROBISCH IN JULY 2010.
Language: German
PROBLEM SOLVING
2-DAY SEMINAR 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 Heidelberg
and Stuttgart.
Netherlands
International Dog Behaviour & Training
School (IDBTS)
In-depth theory and practical study
foundation starting 2010 and 2011
Further study required for independent
OCN accreditation
Teacher: Sheila Harper Guest speaker:
Sally Askew
Working towards a nationally recognised
accreditation. Module Topics:
Canine Communication and Handling,
Training, Canine Behaviour and
Instructing Dog Training Classes. Including:
Applied learning theory, ethology,
stress, canine body language,
psychology, shaping, problem solving,
creativity, instructing, puppies and
adolescents, behaviour modification
and health & nutrition. In-depth case
studies with students’ own dogs.
Date: Start 9th September 2010
Further study required for independent
OCN accreditation
Venue: Natuurcentrum Veluwe, Ede
Gld, Netherlands. Contact: Jane Bouwens:
Info@puredog.nl
PDTE NEWS

What‘s up in 2010?
Other Events, Courses, Seminars, Workshops...
Poland
ORGANIZED BY PSIA WACHTA
Further information on the events
below: www.psiawachta.pl/seminaria-ikursy
or info@psiawachta.pl
Turid Rugaas, Norway
JUNE 2010
INSTRUCTOR COURSE - START
Cristina Muro, Spain
NOVEMBER 2010
AAT
SCOTland
Canine Health Conference
Edinburgh – venue TBA
6th & 7th November 2010
See more on the right...
Switzerland
Contact: Nicole Froehlich:
info@footstep.ch
Speaker: Sheila Harper
18 SEPTEMBER 2010
HELP! I CAN’T COPE!
Venue: NF Ausbildungszentrum, Maienfeld,
GR, Switzerland
19 SEPTEMBER 2010
HOW TO HAVE A CALMER DOG
- PRACTICAL WORKSHOP
Venue: NF Ausbildungszentrum, Maienfeld,
GR, Switzerland
International Dog Behaviour & Training
School (IDBTS)
In-depth theory and practical study
foundation starting 2010 and 2011
Further study required for independent
OCN accreditation
Teacher: Sheila Harper Guest speaker:
Sally Askew
Working towards a nationally recognised
accreditation. Module Topics:
Canine Communication and Handling,
Training, Canine Behaviour and
Instructing Dog Training Classes. Including:
Applied learning theory, ethology,
stress, canine body language,
psychology, shaping, problem solving,
creativity, instructing, puppies and
adolescents, behaviour modification
and health & nutrition. In-depth case
studies with students’ own dogs.
Date: Start 1st October 2010
Further study required for independent
OCN accreditation
if you would like your events to appear in the
next newsletter in December, please send your
information by 15 November to raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
PDTE NEWS Page 11

Networking...
My FUn days in Finland
natalya veerhoeven, Netherland
From February 23 through February 27,
I visited Raili’s Rakkaat Haukut – Happy
Dog company, observing their training in
Finland. I was also interested in their way
of running a day care.
To Finland. I left on Tuesday, February
23 by plane from the Netherlands, arriving
around noon. Railli and Hessu were
already waiting for me and I was happy to
see them again because we had enjoyed
their earlier visit to Holland. Hessu had
some business to attend to in Helsinki, so
I could explore a bit of the city, although
there was not much to see because of the
large amounts of snow. I could see what
the houses looked like, which was quite
different from the Netherlands. I had never
seen so much snow in my entire life! In
the afternoon when we got hungry, they
took me to a cafeteria where you could eat
hot meals. I had wonderful deer soup and
grilled fish the Finnish way. After dinner
we went to their home, where I got a warm
welcome from their lovely dogs.
The second day. In the morning I visited
the day care to see what they do there.
Edit explained a lot about how they work
and what they do during the hours that the
dogs are there. The most important thing
she told me is that the dogs are calm and
have minimum stress. That is also what
I noticed while observing and watching.
The dogs were nice and quiet, displaying
almost no stress. There was a young dog
who occasionally liked to play after she
had slept. The dogs were allowed to play.
I noticed how important it is to remove any
annoying factor to ensure that the stress
level goes back down. It was fun to see
how important something can be and how
Page 12
fast it can develop. My first good learning
point in Finland! In the afternoon we
enjoyed a walk.
In the evening Hessu had a puppy class
and I went along to observe. It was very
nice of Hessu to explain to me in English
everything he was doing. Again I observed
the importance of puppies resting between
exercises, because when things get a bit
much, their stress levels shoot up. That
night I also met Emppu and Maari. I visited
Emppu’s shop and explored the surroundings.
They were both very kind.
The third day. On Thursday morning
I returned to the day care and noticed
new things, because this time there was
someone else and she had slightly different
methods. However, also there the dogs
were all quietly sleeping or just enjoying a
Kong. What I also liked was that the owners
could take the dogs in and out themselves.
Working that way keeps the stress
levels down, because the dogs do not
have to cope with lots of different people at
different times. Lesson learned!
On Thursday evening there was a monthly
get-together of the “VIP” group. It was very
interesting to see their methods and the
exercises they did. The first thing I noticed
was the different areas they set up in the
room. Raili explained that this also keeps
the stress down, because the dogs cannot
see each other and therefore remain
quiet. Emppu kept the VIP event, unfortunately
not in English, but by watching what
people did I was able to understand the
content. It was fun to see!
In the evening after the VIP meeting I went
to dinner with Maari and Emppu for dinner
followed by bowling. I had a lovely time
with the ladies!
The fourth day. This was a really quiet
day. Raili and Hessu took me to a swimming
school for dogs. We were given a
tour and could see which exercises they
did. The way they interacted with the dogs
was not so pleasant, but the idea of a
swimming pool for dogs I found very nice.
Then we had Lunch and Railli took me
shopping.
My last morning in Finland. We popped
in to the dog school for a quick visit, where
I observed Emppu holding a course to
a number of clients. Although I couldn’t
understand the language, it was nice
to watch. Also here, the classroom was
divided into sections to minimize stress
among the dogs. I said goodbye and then
had to leave for the airport.
Raili and Hessu, thanks for letting me stay
at your place. I enjoyed my time with you
and learned a lot! I hope I didn’t eat too
much. I’ll be back! Hugs, Natalya
We have opened a new topic
in the Newsletter
– Networking –
The idea behind this is to tell members how
great it is to network with people in your own
country and in others.
You see a lot, and you learn a lot
from each other.
Try networking this summer and
write us an article about it. Other members
might be inspired to do the same!
PDTE NEWS

My husband Hessu and l live with six
dogs, all together under the same roof.
Our dog pack is a rather individual mix
from very different backgrounds and with
varying character and appearance. Three
of them (Idefix, Teddy and Chicca) were
adopted by us from the streets of Spain.
Ellie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel,
came on a stress-free break from the
overwhelming city sounds of Helsinki, and
stayed. Olli, a Manchester Toy Terrier who
bit everything that moved, was saved in
the nick of time from the vet’s needle. And
last but not least, our other Manchester
Toy Terrier, Wälkky, is the only dog who
has been with us since puppyhood. The
group includes males and females ranging
in age from two to ten years — all in all,
you could say it’s not an easy pack.
However, in this pack we live harmoniously
together. In our home, Hessu and I are
responsible for the “pack” — we are
the parents of our canine family. We let
our dogs play and interact freely. If we
see signs of stress, we intervene. The
most important part of living in multi-dog
family is to understand the way dogs
communicate and be able to interpret their
language, especially their calming signals.
When you understand these, you can stop
unwanted behaviour in a calm and positive
way well before the situation gets out of
hand. Acting in good time helps prevent
growling and the eruption of fights. Dogs
never, ever want to fight; they do it as a
last resort. They want exactly the same
peaceful outcome as we do, and we can
achieve it when we act early enough to
prevent a situation from becoming too
difficult for them. Dogs want a calm and
relaxed life just as much as we do.
In our family we never use punishment or
loud demands (or in fact demands of any
kind), and most certainly we never resort
to physical violence. Such behaviour uses
fear as a tool, and with fear you never get
good results either with humans or with
animals. If a dog is afraid of you, you will
never develop a good relationship with it.
And without a good relationship there is
no trust. A dog should know that you will
Home stories...
LIFE IN our six-dog family
raili halme, Finland
Time for meaty bones! The plate is the whole garden...
never, under any circumstances, hurt it or
do anything unpleasant to it. The better a
life we can offer our dogs, the better our
co-operation will work. When a dog wants
to work with us, and we do not force it into
anything, things work out just fine.
Nor are we bosses or leaders who push
dogs down under our feet. We have to be
parents who take good care of our dogs’
welfare. When dogs feel good they do not
need a pack hierarchy. Such hierarchies
do exist — in animals and humans alike
— but only when they feel insecure and
generally bad. If we see to it that our dogs
feel good we won’t have to worry about
so-called leadership problems, or any
other problems for that matter. Our dogs
have learnt that we are responsible for
everything that happens around them, and
if a conflict is brewing they even come up
to us and ask us to resolve it. What better
way to avoid difficulties?
Our days with our dogs pass calmly for
the most part and are generally relaxed.
For us this is easy because we live in the
country and the dogs have lots of space.
In the garden they have the possibility
to engage in all the activities that are
important to canine species — sniffing,
digging, chewing, searching out small
animals, tracking etc. They also eat most
of their food outside, searching for it as
canines do in the wild. The garden also
lets them run and play together in safety.
Inside we aim to be calm and relaxed. We
do not go for walks on the leash every
day, and when we do they are very happy
about it. They love exploring scents left by
other animals, and in the forest they are
allowed to run freely and discover new
things. Trips to the city are fascinating for
them also.
In our family we talk a lot — among dogs
PDTE NEWS Page 13

Home stories...
and among humans and between dogs
and humans. If there is a problem and
voices are raised between the dogs,
usually somebody is defending something
like a bone, a toy, a sleeping spot or
personal space. We solve these problems
by offering enough bones and toys and
setting up things so there is enough space
for the dogs to enjoy them in peace; then
there is no need to defend anything.
When voices are raised between people
it usually means there is breakdown in
communication, and it’s the same with
dogs. Thinking these situations through,
finding out why they arose and how to
prevent them in future helps the dogs feel
good without them having to raise their
voices.
Therefore, among our dogs there is no
pack hierarchy because their life is good.
It’s quite simple really: the dog that goes
out first is the one with the biggest need
to do so. We all eat at the same time. We
even all share the same bed! And all the
dogs play together. They walk on loose
leashes. The one that walks ahead is the
busiest one, and that position changes
continually. The dogs are balanced and
happy, they feel good, and so do we.
Of course stress levels do rise
occasionally, but whose don’t? In such
cases we do less, and we organize
activities that lower stress levels. We
have to know how to balance out stress
levels during the course of our daily life.
When life has been stressful, we relax and
calm down before doing something more
stressful again. That’s how canines live in
the wild, and this ability to relax between
the events of life is what makes them
free of ulcers and other stress-related
diseases.
Our aim is to live a balanced and relaxed
everyday life with our dogs. It goes
splendidly when we remember to respect
each other as we are — dogs as dogs
and humans as humans. In nurturing our
dogs’ own welfare we take care of our
own. When a dog feels good, so does its
human.
We have started new topic to Newsletter
– HOME Stories –
A couple of months after I had written
this, Olli went to dog heaven. Now he
eats bones without pain, with
all our earlier dogs. We miss him a lot.
The idea of this topic is to share how we live with our dogs. We all have our own way of living
and it is very interesting to see what we do in different countries.
So start writing and send your article with photos to the editor raili@rakkaathaukut.fi.
Soon others will follow suit :-)
New Finding PutS THE Origins
of Dogs in THE Middle East
Article Review
In an article published recently in the
New York Times, it is reported that researchers
now believe dogs were probably
first domesticated in the Middle
East. This contradicts earlier suppositions
that dogs originated in East Asia.
It also fits in better with archeological
evidence. Geneticists have now been
able to reconstruct the whole history of
the dog, from its first relationship with
hunter-gatherers some 20,000 years
ago, to the creation of many of today’s
breeds by Victorian dog lovers. The
findings of the research team, led by
Page 14
Bridgett M. vonHoldt and Robert K.
Wayne of the University of California,
Los Angeles, appeared in the journal
Nature in March.
Dr. Wayne believes that wolves began
following hunter-gatherer bands to
feed on the wounded prey, carcasses
or other refuse. At some stage a
group of wolves, who happened to
be smaller and less threatening than
most, developed a dependency on
human groups, and may in return have
provided a warning system. This could
have helped the hunter-gatherers settle
without the fear of being attacked.
Thus dogs may have preceded cattle
as being the first major items of inherited
wealth. People eventually began
intervening in the breeding patterns of
these animals, selecting features such
as small size.
To read the article in full, visit
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/
science/18dogs.html
Adelaide Lönnberg, Finland
PDTE NEWS

Dominance, in common language
Nelis Verhoeven, NetherlandS
The original article can be found on www.calmingsigns.nl
I hear it from dog owners on a daily
basis, and I read it on forums or in other
media about dogs: my dog or that dog is
domineering. He fights with other dogs,
shows aggression towards people, chases
cyclists and joggers, is aggressive towards
me, is not listening to me, does not like
visitors, humps me or my children, etc.
The term ‘dominance’ is nearly always
used within a negative context.
MY ASSERTIONS ARE:
These statements do no concern
domineering dogs, but insecure
dogs.
A domineering dog is able to take
the lead and to accept leadership.
A domineering dog does not feel
the need to fight.
A domineering dog is calm and
has a good overall picture.
In my view, harmonious coexistence would
not be possible without dominance. Not
between people amongst each other,
not between dogs amongst each other
but also not between people and dogs
amongst each other.
individuals concerned – whether they are
people or dogs. One is leading, or is being
guided by the leader, depending on the
personal capabilities in combination with
the situation in hand. This can only take
place if leading as well as being led is
accepted, which forms a crucial difference
compared to ‘being forced to’, like in a
dictatorship or an authoritarian regime, or
in a family which is lacking balance. From
this perspective, accepted dominance
has nothing to do with becoming and
remaining the boss of the dog or likewise
between dogs amongst themselves. Being
dominant in the sense of exerting influence
is something that every boss does
- or should be doing. Instead of ‘boss’ you
can also read the own employer or manager,
or perhaps even the own partner. A
good employer has authority yet is not a
bugbear; there is acceptance from the employees.
When a domineering boss is confronted
with professional knowledge of an
employee, and this boss does not possess
the expertise concerned, s/he will accept
and even stimulate it. A non-domineering
boss will cultivate disagreements and feelings
of discontent, and their decisions will
not be accepted by the employees. This
applies to dogs too, on a one-to-one basis
amongst them, and also to the relationship
between the owner and the dog.
What is the definition of dominance -
a positive genetic trait which is (hereditary)
present in all living species.
This hereditary positive characteristic
allows for the ability to lead, as well as
to accept leadership. As a consequence,
physical conflicts may be prevented. Dogs
generally avoid conflict. In essence, people
do this too.
It is about dominance over one another,
but also the ability to acknowledge the
dominance displayed by the other, and the
capability to handle this in the appropriate
social manner for both situations.
Taking the lead, or accepting leadership,
automatically means that a form of
cooperation is established between the
When we translate the above to undesired
behaviour displayed by dogs, such as pulling
on the lead, aggression etc., I can only
conclude that at that given moment there
is not a situation of good leadership (read:
dominance). This stimulates insecurity
and results in the dog attempting to take
over the lead. The moment the relations
regarding dominance are in balance, and
subsequent clarity within the relationship
has been established, the undesired
behaviour shall decrease.
PDTE NEWS Page 15

Whatever Happened to the Term
ALPHA Wolf?
Article Review
“In much popular writing the term is
still in use today. However, keen
observers may have noticed that
during the past few years the trend
has begun to wane… What gives?”
Thus writes renowned research scientist
and wolf expert L. David Mech in his introduction
to the excellent article Whatever
Happened to the Term Alpha Wolf? in the
Winter 2008 issue of International Wolf*
According to Mech, the last few years
have seen an important shift in the way
we think about wolf social behaviour.
Instead of viewing the wolf pack as a
group of animals with a “top dog” that
has fought its way to the top, we are now
beginning to understand that the wolf
pack is a family.
A pack begins, for example, with a maturing
male finding a maturing female in a
neighbouring pack, moving off with her
and producing a litter. The pups grow
under the guidance of their parents,
eventually accompanying them away from
the den and learning their way around.
The parents fall into the leadership role
automatically. As the pups reach about 1
year of age, the parents produce another
litter or pups, which become the
younger siblings of the earlier pups. As
in any human family, the older pups take
the lead over the younger ones. Just as
older brothers and sisters might guide the
younger siblings, there is no battle for the
top. The parents continue to guide the
family and the leadership role naturally
stays with them.
According to Mech, given this natural history
there is no more reason to refer to the
parent wolves as alphas than there would
be to refer to the parents of a human family
as the alpha pair.
“The issue is not merely one of semantics
or political correctness,” Mech writes. “It
Some of the older siblings in a wolf pack leave around the age of 1 or 2 years to
find a mate elsewhere. In some packs where resources are plentiful they may
remain for as long as 3 years. (Photograph: Cristina Muro)
is one of biological correctness such that
the term we use for breeding wolves accurately
captures the biological and social
role of the animals.”
So where did the concept of “top dog
fighting its way up” come from? Several
decades ago, scientists desiring to study
wolf behaviour, and not then understanding
how packs are formed, collected
individual wolves from various zones and
placed them together in a captive colony.
It was not a family set-up, and whenever
one puts a random group of any species
together, they will naturally compete
and eventually form a type of dominance
hierarchy.
In his concluding remarks, David Mech
stresses, “Hopefully it will take fewer than
20 years for the media and the public to
fully adopt the correct terminology and
thus to once and for all end the outmoded
view of the wolf pack as an aggressive assortment
of wolves consistently competing
with each other to take over the pack.”
The article is well worth reading in full
and can be found here: http://www.wolf.
org/wolves/news/iwmag/2008/winter/alphawolf.pdf
*Mech, L. David: Whatever Happened
to the Term Alpha Wolf? International
Wolf, VOLUME 18, No. 4, WINTER 2008,
pp 4-8. http://www.wolf.org/wolves/
news/pdf/winter2008.pdf
Adelaide Lönnberg, Finland
Page 16
PDTE NEWS

The Bowen Technique
Winkie Spiers, EnglanD
How I came to The Bowen Technique.
For many years I suffered with a painful
back, intermittent frozen shoulder and
various physical issues as a result of a
car crash over 25 years ago. I had tried
a great many different therapies with
varying amounts of success but nothing
seemed to make a lasting difference.
Whilst on a weekend learning about
health in dogs with Sally Askew (ww.
caninebowentechnique.com) she spoke
about The Bowen Technique, so I booked
myself and my dogs in to try it. We all
enjoyed our treatments and I felt that it
was the right therapy for me and was
so impressed that I decided to become
a Bowen Therapist myself. Primarily
I wanted to become a Canine Bowen
Therapist as I could see how respectfully
it was practised on dogs and how effective
it was, but before learning Canine Bowen
Technique I had to learn the Bowen
Technique on humans, which I think is
great – practice on the people first rather
than the animals! My physical pains are
now a thing of the past and I have a top-up
Bowen session about every 4 – 6 months.
What is it? The Bowen Technique is a
soft tissue, hands-on, remedial therapy.
Following assessment and taking a
medical history, it involves a series of
gentle rolling type moves on different parts
of the body which are effective, relaxing
and enjoyable. Humans generally lie on a
treatment couch and a session generally
lasts for about 45 minutes and for dogs
it’s done on the ground in a comfortable
setting.
The Bowen moves can promote healing,
help to re-balance and re-align the body
and reduce pain for a variety of muscular
& skeletal conditions. The Bowen
Technique is not a substitute for proper
medical/veterinary care and for dogs only
available on veterinary referral (in the UK).
What types of condition can it help?
Firstly, the Bowen Technique treats the
whole body and not just named conditions
or symptoms. It can help alleviate a wide
range of problems including: joint pain
and stiffness, breathing difficulties, tension
and stress. In addition it can enhance
sports performance, aid recovery from
surgery or illness, muscular strains &
sprains, auto-immune disorders and
can contribute to overall good health,
which may help to reduce the likelihood
of injury or illness. I have used Canine
Bowen Technique with success on a
great many dogs with a variety of issues;
dogs recovering from injury, rescue dogs
suffering with extreme stress, elderly
dogs with mobility/incontinence problems,
agility dogs to keep them as healthy and
mobile as possible, giant breed puppies
as they grow, and my own dogs ask for
Bowen whenever they want it. Many
human and canine clients have a regular
Bowen treatment as a general tonic and to
maintain good all-round health.
Is it safe? The Bowen Technique is very
safe as it’s so gentle and can be practised
at all stages of life, during pregnancy, post
pregnancy and on babies. Canine Bowen
Technique should only be practised by a
therapist qualified and trained specifically
for dogs. Certified therapists (human and
canine) should be fully qualified, insured
and must attend annual CPD (continued
professional development) courses to
remain up-to-date.
Interestingly with animals there is no mind
over matter or placebo effect: either it
works or it doesn’t!
For more information:
www.winkiespiers.com
www.caninebowentechnique.com
www.thebowentechnique.com
www.bter.org
PDTE NEWS Page 17

PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
continue...
TRAINING SITES
Sonja hoegen, Germany
For the past few years I have been running
a dog school in the South of Germany
near Heidelberg. A phenomenon that I
have observed is that people take their
dogs, say on a Saturday, to a training facility
but when they get home the problems
are just the same.
LOCATION DEPENDENCY
Dogs learn location dependency. They
show different behaviours related to the
place and situation they are in. I cannot
count how often I have heard that a dog
will do every task perfectly at the training
yard. But at home it still runs off, jumps
at the owner, and so forth. Funnily, it is
the same with children in kindergarten.
My mother is a kindergarten teacher and
she tells me that when they are at the
kindergarten, the kids eat spinach and
other vegetables without complaint, even
eagerly. But at home, they spit it out!
That dogs learn location-dependency has
been known for years, but as is often the
case, knowing something does not necessarily
mean doing it. The knowledge must
be put into practice.
then go to a small forest that is poor in
prey. From there we work up until we are
satisfied in a big forest that is full of wild
animals. Of course, safety and calmness
are paramount, so we never set a task that
neither dog nor owner can handle.
EXPLORING THE WORLD
With puppies but also with older dogs, visiting
a farm is great. We frequently use a
farm that has a big variety of animals, such
as chickens, goats, horses, pigs and cattle.
Particularly the geese are very popular
when there is a Border Collie in the group!
A word about puppy groups: we have them
on a Monday morning at nine o’clock.
Some years ago we had them on Saturday,
but people do so much on Saturdays
in addition to a puppy class, it was just too
much for the puppies and I had a bunch
of exhausted puppies in class. So we
switched to Monday morning. The results
were immediate and excellent. A puppy’s
brain is freshest in the morning.
It is always better to do delicate training
together, rather than just telling the owner
how to do it himself. In every book about
socialisation there is a chapter about
Therefore we should have different training
locations depending on what the dog and
the owner need at the time. At my training
school, when working on basic commands
and proper daily behaviour we don’t use
the practice yard at all, because there
are no fences in the real world. In the real
world there are bicycles, Nordic walkers,
buggies and elderly, oddly-moving people
with sticks and walkers. Therefore we plan
a route where we will encounter many
bicycles or playing children. There are
routes with lots of birds, or a forest nearby.
Some of our walks take us along cornfields,
which are very interesting as many
small animals live there.
Puppies do best in the morning when their brain is fresh.
When working on controlling unwanted
hunting behaviour, for example, we build
up the desired behaviour in an easy area,
Page 18
PDTE NEWS

PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
continue...
farms or suchlike – and still the owners
do it all wrong. They go too near to
the animals, they don’t watch their dogs
closely enough, they praise at the wrong
moments, and they stay too long. We
therefore decided to offer this training,
even if it requires a lot of effort to organise.
Usually we do it in one-on-one-training,
so we can concentrate best. Yet this kind
of training also works well with a well-balanced
group. They feel strong together.
With puppies we make sure to have a
relaxed adult dog with us.
THE SAME GOES FOR CITY TRAINING
People living in the countryside never
take their dogs into cities – until they are
on vacation and walk their dogs down
Hollywood Boulevard. We start by going to
a very small, quiet town where the only human
traffic is from the nursing home to the
drugstore. No cars, no crowds. As we walk
along, we explain how all the scents and
noise affect the dogs’ senses. We explain
how a cobbled pavement feels under their
paws, how the wind blows between the
houses, and we tell the owners that the
dogs actually hear what is going on inside
the houses. They smell what is being
cooked. We tell the owners that this assault
on the senses is extremely strenuous
for the dogs. If they still want to walk their
dog in a city, we show them how to do it
best. With clients it is just like with dogs.
Never say NO! Better to tell them what to
do!
Exposure to cities should start with short visits to a small, calm
environment like a village street.
Dogs can live well in a city when the owner
knows how to handle the environment.
With a close eye on the stress level it can
be okay, even fun. There are many interesting
smells, other dogs – and properly
handled, it can be great. But dogs are like
people who suffer from autistic disease.
They cannot shut out new environment
and feel fine, like healthy people are able
to do. They see, smell, hear, and feel
absolutely everything. This holds particularly
true for puppies. With experience and
learning they are able to shut the environment
out, but never as well as a human.
Humans are masters at not seeing things.
This is why we can live in a world full of
distractions and abounding with stimuli.
Of course some humans can’t do this and
they either go to Australia or go nuts. I
think many dogs would like to buy a ticket
to Australia.
Sometimes you see a dog in the midst of
a crowd, lying there but not relaxed. That
dog is anything but relaxed. The stress is
far over the top that the dog shows one
of the strongest calming signals: freezing.
By being very still, it hopes the environment
will calm down eventually. Dogs do
not like crowds, with unfriendly, insensitive
strangers. Never, ever take your dog along
on a four-hour sightseeing tour in a big city
full of strangers!
TRAINING YARDS
We have two training yards, a small and
a big one. The small one is fenced and
breakout-safe. There is some equipment,
but not much. The bigger yard is not
fenced. There we can simulate a normal,
easy walk. The dogs are free to pee and
defecate in both yards. They need to
relieve themselves when excited, and it
stresses the owner to try to prevent it,
which in turn stresses the dog.
The smaller yard is mostly needed for
puppy groups and dog-dog problem solving.
It is rather wild and un-cleared. It gives
PDTE NEWS Page 19

PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
continue...
the dogs plenty of opportunities to hide.
They usually don’t, but to have the possibility
calms them down. Entrances are also
important. There are three, so everyone
can leave when needed. Sand is much appreciated;
the dogs like to dig and work off
their stress. It is also cool in summer and
warm in winter. For puppies and shy dogs
it is good to offer a variety of surfaces they
can feel around for themselves. Young
and wild dogs calm down on a moving
object. They have to balance, which again
balances them in the mind as well. The
trampoline in the yard has proved to be a
big hit! Small dogs rest under it and the
bigger ones enjoy the accommodating
surface.
All the equipment is used to strengthen the
dog’s health and self-confidence. Climbing
up a small step or jumping from one bale
of hay to the next gives them self-esteem,
bonds the owner to the dog, improves the
dog’s physical skills, and calms it down
— when done properly. It is not an agility
course. The idea is to do these things
slowly, which sharpens the concentration.
The small yard is also good for dog-to-dog
problems. This is one of the most sought
after classes. Here we teach a dog to be
social again around dogs or at least to
pass by without getting hysterical. The unsure
dog stands in the yard with its owner,
and the trainer is outside with the assistant
dog. The distance is great enough for the
dogs to feel comfortable. The fence also
gives the dogs a feeling of reassurance.
Plenty of water is provided; there is even
a small pool the dogs can stand it to cool
down in summer.
It always amazes me that when people arrive
for a dog-to-dog problem session, they
tell me that there are dogs everywhere and
they can’t avoid them. Once they know
what to do and start seeking out dog contacts
to practise with, they come back and
tell me all they can’t find a dog anywhere!
Their perception has changed. Before,
they where afraid of meeting dogs and
stressed over the possibility of confrontation,
just like their dogs. Now that they
know what to do and look forward to meeting
dogs, they feel there aren’t any. I am
sure there are just as many dogs as there
were before, but when a person is afraid of
spiders, they see them everywhere.
Because dogs learn location dependence
and show different behaviour in different
places, as trainers we have the responsibility
to arrange things carefully. Dogs
learn every minute of their existence. What
an opportunity! What a responsibility!
As educated people we have the responsibility
to give our best to the people and
dogs who come to us so trustfully. We
need to make plans, and we need to be
able to skip these wonderful plans when
something has changed. We need to be
like the dogs we do all this for: make the
best of every situation.
Make your
Lecture,
workshop,
OR seminar
A PDTE-EVENt
AND you CAN
ADVERTISE IT
FOR free in THE
Newsletter
and ON OUR
website
More information:
raili@rakkaathaukut.fi
Page 20
Memory formation
in the dog
Amber Batson
Bilbao, Spain
aepa.euskadi@gmail.com
PDTE NEWS
27th September 2010

PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
continue...
This is not about dogs that fight, but about
breeds that have been used or bred to
fight in the past and how they are as
modern world pets.
Sadly there have been many animal fights
throughout history — dogs set against
other animals like bears, bulls and hogs,
but also against other dogs and even humans.
Many of these breeds were initially
created to catch large prey, but when
people saw how they sometimes had to
struggle with the prey, the idea emerged
of doing it for people’s amusement.
Although they are no longer used for their
original purpose, many of these breeds
have found their way into our homes as
family pets. Yet we must be aware of their
history, and to call them anything else but
fighting dogs or fighting breeds is to deny
their past. People need to be enlightened
not only as to the origin of the name, but
what these dogs are like today. This is especially
important because of the misunderstandings
that have led to laws against
certain breeds, like the Dangerous Dogs
Act in the UK and similar legislation
elsewhere. Some breeds are required to
be muzzled in public, while others have to
be sterilised. More would be achieved by
educating people than by issuing blanket
bans against certain breeds. Fortunately
we do not at present have such laws in
Finland.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The breeding of fighting dogs started in
Ancient Rome as part of the arena games
culture. Various animal fights were held
as entertainment and dogs were certainly
a part of it. Later came bull and bear
fights, which were very popular across
Europe. When public animal fights were
finally banned, dog fights became the
FIGHTING DOGS
- ANCIENT GLADIATORS
AS MODERN WORLD PETS
emppu Tolonen, finland
sport of choice and people started organising
them in their homes.
ABILITIES THAT CAN BE BRED
There is a difference between abilities
that can be bred into these dogs and the
myths that surround them. One ability that
can be bred for is speed. Fighting breeds
are generally quite fast, and they are also
very strong and powerful. They have broad
jaws and heads and often have excellent
stamina. They often have a short and
thick coat and some breeds have a lot of
loose skin. Size, of course, is another thing
that can be bred some people preferred
their dogs smaller and faster while others
wanted something bigger and more powerful.
SOME OF THE BREEDS
BULLDOG & TERRIER MIXES
Bull Terrier
Staffordshire Bull Terrier
American Staffordshire Terrier
American Pit Bull Terrier
BULLDOGS
English Bulldog
American Bulldog
Victorian Bulldog
Old English Bulldog
Alapaha Blue Blood Bulldog
MASTIFFS
Neapolitan Mastiff
Afghan Mastiff
Cuban Mastiff
French Mastiff (Dogue de
Bordeaux)
OTHERS
Canary Dog (Perra de Presa Canario)
Ca de Bou (Perra de Presa Mallorquin)
Akita
Tosa
THE MYTHS
Note that there are three things I have
not mentioned above: aggression, “lock
jaws” and a high pain threshold. These
cannot be bred into a dog. In fact, as I will
describe below, these dogs are no more
aggressive than any other dog. Fighting
breeds have no such thing as “lock jaws”,
whereby the jaws clamp down and will not
open. There is no special technology that
can be bred into them to make it happen.
And although it is true that many of these
dogs are more tolerant to pain than others,
it is absurd to claim that they feel no pain.
Of course they do. They may be able to
function under pain a little better than other
breeds, but I can assure you from personal
experience with one of my own dogs that
they do feel pain every bit as much as any
other breed.
FORCED TO FIGHT
It is a complete myth to think that fighting
breeds are always looking for a fight.
These dogs don’t want to fight any more
than other dogs. People have to do terrible
things to them to make them fight,
because they will only do so in abject
self-defence. These animals are abused
and mistreated from the time they are
born, used as training tools for other dogs
and stressed to the utter limit. They are
fed a highly protein-rich diet and trained
to grab and hold, to strengthen the jaws
and other muscles. These dogs are highly
stressed and have no other experience of
other dogs than their being a direct threat
to their own life.
THE REALITY
It is difficult to describe in words how loving
and gentle and completely “regular”
these dogs are as family pets. They enjoy
PDTE NEWS Page 21

PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
continue...
sniffing around in the woods, playing with
other dogs, and being social. They enjoy
touching other dogs, and being close to
and having physical contact with humans
— just like any dog. They love soft,
comfortable beds and sofas, sleeping and
resting and generally being peaceful. They
love exploring and investigating the world
around them, and they can be great with
children, which is often the case. They can
share a bone quite happily.
One thing you do have to watch is their
fun-loving boisterousness when they are
young. When they are adolescents they
have a powerful, energetic body full of hormones
but not a lot of sense to go with it.
They don’t understand their own strength
so they do have a tendency to run at you,
through you, over you and even under
you given half a chance. And they do the
same to furniture! That means one should
be a little more careful with small dogs and
children and elderly or frail people. As they
grow older they learn to be more careful,
as any dog would.
It may come as a surprise to some that
dogs with short coats need to wear a coat
in winter — even the fighting breeds. At
least in Finland the winters can be very
cold, and the kidneys being close to the
back are vulnerable to cold.
ENRICHMENT
As with any other breed, fighting breeds
need plenty of enrichment. Every breed
has certain things they like to do more
than others. For example, fighting breeds
do enjoy testing their strength. One good
way to satisfy this need is to allow them
to pull something, like a child in a sled.
As long as the harness is well fitting and
they are allowed to build up to it without
pulling too hard, these dogs will enjoy it
immensely. They can also engage in a little
tug of war with another dog, but they do
have to trust each other. Playing with dogs
of a similar type is something they take a
lot of pleasure in. You may have noticed
this with other types of dogs; each type
— sight hounds, for example — have their
own favourite kind of play. With the fighting
breeds it is roughhousing, and as with
Page 22
These couch potatoes have no more desire to fight than any other family pet.
Adolescents can be a bit boisterous
until the brain catches up with the body.
everything else this requires supervision. It
is best to ensure that the play sessions are
short and under control.
Tracking is great for fighting breeds as
with any dog, especially if they can play
with the “prey” at the end of the track. This
can be hung on a tree or hidden in a hole,
or tied to a tree trunk so the dog really has
to pull and tear at it. This mimics killing,
dragging and tearing the prey, and they
thoroughly enjoy it.
And what can be more fun than tearing up
a cardboard box full of goodies! Especially
the terrier-bulldog mixes have a terrier
aspect that loves ripping things apart.
Dealing with boxes is a problem-solving
exercise that smart dogs enjoy.
A MEDIA-FED MYTH
At least in Europe, the media have been
having a field day in recent years in regard
to “dangerous dogs”. We’ve all seen the
headlines: “Vicious Pit Bull Mauls Tiny
Child,” or something similar. This is feeding
the myth that such dogs should not be
allowed, and unfortunately the American
Pit Bull has received the brunt of it.
PDTE NEWS

PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
continue...
The more the media feed the myth, the
worse it gets, because all the wrong
people decide to get these dogs for all the
wrong reasons. Some men who want to
appear tough buy a breed that they consider
will enhance their fearsome image,
and they get a Pit Bull that weighs 15 kg
and ends up wagging its tail at everybody.
The poor dog is rejected because it didn’t
“perform.” Sadly, these don’t make the
media; only the ones that are stressed
beyond their limits do.
I used to have a large American Bulldog,
and people often asked me whether he
was a Pit Bull. When I told them that a Pit
Bull is only about one third his size and
really quite small, they were amazed. The
image they had got from the media is that
a Pit Bull is a massive, snarling chunk of
meat that is always ready to fight.
There are many fighting dog breeds in the
world. We have to accept that they exist,
and we have to accept their history. But
that doesn’t mean they were bred to be
aggressive. It doesn’t mean they will fight
other dogs for the sake of it. It doesn’t
mean that you can’t have more than one
of these in your home. Of course you
can. The only reason these breeds have
survived through the centuries when their
actual purpose was removed is that they
are such wonderful companion dogs.
Allowing a dog to use its strength in a proper way brings lots of enjoyment to
both the dog and the family.
The only reason the fighting breeds have survived through the centuries
without their original purpose is that they make such wonderful companion
dogs.
PDTE NEWS Page 23

PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
continue...
Classical Conditioning
Cristina Muro, spain
Many of my students have some experience
in training dogs. However, when I
ask them what they understand by classical
conditioning, these are some of the
answers I get:
Is this really relevant to
our job??
Isn’t it merely a historic
background to operant
conditioning? It’s so
ancient.
Isn’t it just the first steps
to operant conditioning?
Is it really necessary
when you understand
operant conditioning?
I can’t think of any examples
except Pavlov’s
dogs.
Operant conditioning was recognized already
two thousand years ago as the way
an animal learns when you punish it for
failure and reward it for success. Contrary
to what many people believe, knowing
about operant conditioning is not nearly
as important as understanding classical
conditioning. Classical conditioning is a
lot more than ringing bells to make dogs
salivate.
Classical conditioning is about reflexes,
but it’s also about feelings, sensations,
and emotions. It is an inherent part of our
everyday life and that of our dog.
IVAN PAVLOV: A BELL AND A DOG
As many people know from their studies
in school, Ivan Pavlov won the Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1904
for his work on the physiology of digestion.
But he is better known because of
the “conditioned reflex”: when they rang
a bell in front of a dog, nothing hap-
pened. But over a period of several days,
every time the bell rang (they also used
metronomes, lights and other equipment
as well) they presented the dog with food.
Very soon, when the dog heard the bell he
would salivate even though no food was
present. There was a lot more to it than
that, but the bottom line is that the stimulus
(sound or light) would create a response.
A good example of classical conditioning is
in my own life. As a child in northern Spain
I attended a French school where pupils
were regularly told off and punished, although
there was no physical punishment.
Even though I was a good student, when
one child misbehaved the whole class was
punished. As a result, I seriously dreaded
going to school and would get a stomachache
every morning. When the time came
to put my own son in school, the methods
had radically changed, so I sent him to
the same school because I wanted him to
learn French. The day I brought him to the
school, twenty-five years after I had left, I
got a stomach-ache. Had I been happy in
school, I probably would have felt happy
bringing my son there. This is classical
conditioning.
In order to elicit a response, there has to
be a stimulus. If I enter a room with a sizzling
hot pizza and a person in that room
loves pizza and is hungry, that person will
start to salivate. But if I enter with a plate
of sushi or some other unfamiliar food,
there will be no such response in that
person. It is an automatic response only
in part, because the association has to be
there.
A FEW TERMS WE SHOULD
UNDERSTAND
There are a few words it is helpful for us to
remember.
To summarise the above:
Food
Salivation
with food
Bell
1) A bell on its own doesn’t
make a dog salivate.
2) [Bell + food] over several
days…
3) The bell makes the dog
salivate!
= Unconditioned
Stimulus, US
= Unconditioned
Response, UR
= Neutral Stimulus, NR
Bell associated with the unconditioned
stimulus (food) produces a Conditioned
Response, CR
The bell is now a Conditioned Stimulus,
CS
Some other words we need to know are:
To reinforce: To strengthen the association
between an unconditioned stimulus
and a conditioned stimulus.
To extinguish: To make the association
between an unconditioned stimulus and
a conditioned stimulus disappear as the
response disappears.
Spontaneous recovery: The response
reappears after it has been extinguished.
Generalising: The same response appears
when a new stimulus is similar to the
original one.
Page 24
PDTE NEWS

PDTE AGM MEETING In Poland 26 – 27 September 2009
continue...
LET ME GIVE AN EXAMPLE TO
ILLUSTRATE ALL THIS.
If I ask Jane to sit on a chair and I say the
word Adelaide, nothing happens. She just
looks at me. Adelaide is a neutral stimulus.
Now I want to condition her to close her
eyes when she hears the name Adelaide.
For that, I need an unconditional stimulus
that will make her close her eyes despite
herself. To achieve that, I blow in her eyes
at the same time or half a second after
saying “Adelaide”, and they snap shut.
I do this again, and again, and again at
short intervals, and within a very short time
when I say Adelaide Jane shuts her eyes
even though I don’t blow in her face. The
word Adelaide now means “Close your
eyes.” The association is created in the
brain.
To reinforce this, after 10 minutes I say
Adelaide! and Jane automatically closes
her eyes. I do it 30 minutes later and the
same thing happens.
To extinguish it, over several months I
either say something vague like, “Oh
Adelaide it’s a beautiful day” or something
equally neutral, or I don’t use it at all, and
Jane will not react. The association in her
brain is extinguished.
But say that 20 years later Jane suddenly
hears the word, “Adelaide!” and she involuntarily
closes her eyes. This is known as
a spontaneous recovery.
Let’s say then that I say the word “Akelay”.
It’s not Adelaide but it sounds very similar,
and Jane will make the association and
close her eyes. This is called generalising.
Classical conditioning in humans
There are many examples of classical
conditioning in humans, mostly in publicity.
The desire of the promoters is to associate
some commercial products with our
feelings. The well-known Marlborough
Man sitting on his horse on the Canadian
prairie means freedom and happiness if
you smoke a Marlborough cigarette. Joyful
youth on a beach consuming Coca-Cola
represent a carefree life. Many cleaning
products advertise the virtues of being a
good mother. Ikea’s furniture means order.
A Volvo car depicts class and distinction.
It’s about feelings all the time. Eventually
I might believe that if I buy a Siemens
phone or washing machine, it is certain
to be good. That is another example of
generalisation.
Another example of classical conditioning
in humans includes nausea associated
with chemotherapy, where a person starts
feeling ill several hours before treatment.
Classical conditioning in animals
Animals can be conditioned in regard to
fear, taste aversion, and a limitless range
of other things. But we can also use it
to make our dogs feel better. For example,
the well known product DAP, or dog
appeasing pheromone, is a commercial
diffuser that discharges the same pheromone
as a bitch releases when she is
nursing puppies. This has a calming effect
on a dog because it associates the scent
with comfort and safety, even when it is
an adult. We an also use songs, words,
routines or household sounds to make a
The table below illustrates the basic concepts.
ORGANIC LEVEL
CELLULAR LEVEL
MOLECULAR LEVEL
ARE THERE IMPORTANT NEWS AT A
BEHAVIOURAL LEVEL? THE ANSWER
IS YES.
Emotional memory and specific motor responses
arise from largely different neural
circuits. Even the specific mechanisms
that produce memory at the cellular level
are different.
2. Learning and gene expression are so
intimately related that the old nature-nurture
distinction is of little value.
Conclusion
We have seen that classical conditioning is
very much a part of our everyday life.
dog feel good when it associates these
with pleasant moments.
ASSOCIATIVE LEARNING
The biology of how the nervous system
works explains how real, physical changes
happen in our brain during learning.
Neurotransmitters are, simply put, chemicals
that relay, amplify and modulate signals
in our body. Synaptic connections are
specialised junctions through which the
various parts of our nervous system signal
to each other using those neurotransmitters.
In associative learning (learning by
association), our nervous system releases
more neurotransmitters and creates new
branches in our synaptic connections.
It is helpful if we can understand associative
learning (conditioned stimulus — unconditional
stimulus — neutral stimulus
— reinforcement — extinction) in terms of
circuits, neurons, synapses, and neurotransmitters.
What are the brain circuits that mediate
between external stimuli and acquired
behaviour?
2. Within those circuits, what synapses must
undergo modification for learning to occur?
3. What intracellular events occur at the
synapses to reorganise the synaptic efficacy
that underlies the formation of a new memory?
This is important to communicate to our
clients and dog owners, and it is much
more important than operant conditioning.
We should understand how associative
learning works in order to avoid problems
and to solve those that have developed.
Science has an important part to play in
our work with dogs. Perhaps we could
design new techniques that are helpful
for our dogs, particularly if we know what
glands or parts of the nervous system
come into play. At the end of the day, our
greatest desire is to make our dogs happy.
muro.cristina@gmail.com
AEPA-Euskadi, Spain:
www.aepa-euskadi.org
PDTE NEWS Page 25

PDTE Workshops In Poland 28 – 30 September 2009
continue...
WALKING NICELY WITH YOUR DOG
Raili Halme, Finland
ENSURE COMFORT
Knowing how to walk with your dog is
extremely important. Dogs feel pain just
like humans do. So if your dog has a very
thin collar this will hurt it a lot more than a
wide one. Metal collars and choke chains
are terrible and cause massive discomfort.
People who think a dog won’t pull when it’s
on a choke chain are badly mistaken.
Mostly, dogs pull because it hurts to
walk on the leash. It can also be a learnt
behaviour but this is another matter. A dog
tries to avoid pain by moving away from
it. So the more the collar hurts, the more
the dog pulls. Therefore, in order to walk
nicely with a dog it is important to have
good equipment. The wider the collar, the
more comfortable it is for the dog. If you
have nothing better to do some evening,
try wearing your dog’s collar and leash
and get another person to hold the leash.
Tell them to keep it nice and taught, and
to give it a good jerk once in a while. Or
perhaps they can drag you around for a
while.
A well-fitting harness is by far the best
option for a dog. But the wrong harness
— one that stretches across the soft base
of the throat — can be just as painful as
a collar when the dog starts to pull. The
best kind of harness is one that forms a v-
shape across the chest, where the pulling
point is on the breastbone rather than the
throat. There is a stomach part that prevents
it sliding up to the throat. At Rakkaat-
Haukut – Happy Dog we have designed
a three-part harness with interchangeable
modules that can be tailor-fitted to suit
every dog. For example, if the dog has a
very short back but a broad chest and a
big abdomen, he might have a size L chest
piece, a size XS back piece, and possibly
a size XL stomach piece. It fits snugly and
won’t come off the dog. In many cases
owners have reported that their dog either
pulled a lot less or even stopped pulling
altogether when they got the new harness.
Another advantage of the Happy Dog
harness is that it doesn’t require pulling
over the head, something that many dogs
dislike. This removes the initial stress of
shoving something over the dog’s head,
and the walk starts in a more relaxed
manner.
The better the dog’s harness, the less he
will feel leashed. Remember that a dog
is also a prey animal and needs to feel
he can escape danger. A loose leash and
comfortable harness give him that feeling
of security. We have to take our dogs
out at least three times a day, and doing
so on a tight leash with a painful collar is
very stressful for the dog and often for the
owner, too.
Even when we have learnt to walk with
our dog on a loose leash, we have a
tendency to jerk or drag him around. That
is one thing we all should learn: a dog can
normally hear us when we ask him nicely
to follow us. One of the most fundamental
rules of dog behaviour is that dogs learn
by association. Therefore, if something
painful happens to a dog, it will associate
the pain with whatever else is going
on at that moment, like seeing a person
or another dog. If every time he shows
interest in another dog or a child he gets a
painful jerk on his throat, he will think the
dog or child is the cause, not the idiot on
other the end of the leash. It won’t take
long before he is afraid of dogs or children
and starts to show what people interpret
as aggression.
Many countries in Europe have very short
leashes, which is very limiting for the dog
because it prevents him from sniffing
things that are slightly off to the side. The
range of smells on either side of the pavement
or path is vast, and it is important
to let a dog explore them. A good leash
length for daily use is about 3 metres (10
feet).
An excellent addition is a shock absorber
that fits between the leash and the harness
or collar. In our Happy Dog range
of products, this stretchable extension
is either separate and comes in different
strengths, or is fixed to the end of the
leash. The elastic shock absorber should
be a fairly short separate part of the leash,
not the whole leash, as the latter makes it
difficult to control how far the dog can go.
A shock absorber is not only comfortable
for the dog; it is easy on the owner’s hand.
DON’T TALK TOO MUCH
Possibly the most difficult thing for us
when we walk our dog — even more difficult
than not jerking — is to be quiet. Con-
Page 26 PDTE NEWS

PDTE Workshops In Poland 28 – 30 September 2009
continue...
stantly gibbering away both with someone
else and at the dog is very confusing for
the dog. If you are talking non-stop with
someone and then in the middle of a
sentence say to the dog, “Hey, don’t do
that!” how on earth will he know you are
talking to him and not your companion? Or
if you are constantly telling your dog, “Do
this, don’t do that, come here, go there,”
and suddenly tell him to sit, the chances
are he won’t. He is not being disobedient;
he simply didn’t distinguish the command
from everything else. It is a guaranteed
way to frustrate your dog. It is much nicer
for him if you walk along quietly, and then
he will listen when you say something,
such as asking him to follow you. It makes
it much easier for both dog and owner to
curve around or walk away from difficult
situations.
TAKE IT EASY
We all know how stressful it is to be in a
hurry. Charging out for a one-hour walk
or run with the dog before work in the
morning is highly stressful for both and
owner. By the time we leave for work he is
over the top with excitement and will find
it much harder to relax. By contrast, taking
a short stroll during which the dog can
sniff around and calmly do his business is
beneficial to both of us, and a great way to
start the day.
Jogging may be wonderful for the owner,
but it is never good for a dog. The only
dogs one can really run with are Dalmatians,
because they were bred to run
alongside carriages and wagons. Remember
that the dog is a prey animal as well as
a hunter; so running alongside the owner
or bicycle without the chance to see what
is going on can be very frightening. Of
course if you are in the forest and the dog
is free, that is different because he can
choose his own path and is free to stop,
escape or hide if needed.
For the same reason, jogging is not even
good for sled dogs. Their work is to pull
and run long distances, but the difference
is that they are doing it together, as
a pack. They are out front, and they are
doing a job.
SHOULDERS FIRST!
When we are walking with our dog, we
should be aware of what we are telling him
with our body. Often we don’t have the foggiest
idea what we are doing. We start and
stop, turn and swivel and face this way
and that or walk around in circles, and the
dog is completely confused. Try keeping
your shoulders facing in the direction you
plan to go. You’ll be amazed how well your
dog understands it!
REWARD GOOD BEHAVIOUR
Remember, it’s really important to praise
and reward your dog when he is walking
nicely and everything is fine. If you have
a good relationship with your dog, he will
love it when you praise him; you don’t
have to stuff treats in his mouth constantly.
But remember: when you praise your dog
or give him a treat, you are reinforcing
what is in his mind at that moment. If he
is afraid, giving him a treat can make the
fear worse. I have seen many courses
with frightened dogs, and what people do
is give them all kinds of goodies to try to
make them feel better. But what they are
doing is rewarding the fear.
LET YOUR DOG HAVE A GOOD SNIFF
Last but not least, let your dog have a
good nose-around. Exploring different
smells is guaranteed to make your dog
more tired than a long jog or a fast walk.
He has to use his brain to process and assimilate
all the smells his nose encounters.
What about a dog that eats everything
it finds? Some dogs that were starved
as puppies are desperate for food, even
when well fed. First of all, muzzling a dog
is unkind because he will feel trapped and
he can’t get close enough to the smell
to explore it properly. Nor does it help to
give the dog a command to leave it alone,
because more often than not we will see it
too late. But we can teach him an alternative
behaviour, and this is where the
owner’s imagination comes in. The owner
needs to find something that is more
rewarding to the dog than what it finds on
the ground. It may take some time, but that
treat does exist somewhere. Then the dog
can learn that whenever it finds something
edible on the ground, if it goes to the
owner instead, it will get its favourite treat.
A dog will always do what is most rewarding
for it. Therefore the reward the owner
gives has to be much more attractive than
what the dog finds on the ground.
Walking with your dog does not have to be
a chore. It can be a pure delight for both of
you and reinforce your relationship rather
than jerking it apart. Have fun!
PDTE NEWS Page 27

PDTE Workshops In Poland 28 – 30 September 2009
continue...
ENRICHING YOUR DOG’S LIFE WITH
FOOD AND NOSEWORK
Raili Halme, Finland
Understanding our dogs — how they are
made up, what their needs are and why
— is crucial to developing a lifestyle that
will satisfy both our dogs and us. Doing so
will help provide a healthy, happy relationship
throughout our lives together.
THE DOG AS AN ANIMAL
Predator
Most people know that the dog is a predator,
but often it stops there. However, it is
precisely because the dog is a predator
that it is so important to enrich its life. All
dogs have natural needs that need to
be met for the dog’s wellbeing and ours,
yet we are often uninformed about those
needs or choose to ignore them. Many
people also do not realise that a dog, although
a predator, is essentially very polite
and will avoid confrontation at all costs.
The role of a predator is to hunt for its
food, and this instinct kicks in the moment
the animal leaves its home. The first thing
a hunter does is stop and look. This sometimes
happens so quickly it goes unnoticed
by humans, but the animal will be looking
for any sign of movement that could be a
source of food. Seeing nothing immediate,
the animal then listens, and if it hears
nothing, it starts to use its nose. All our
dogs do this if they get the chance, which
is one of the many reasons they should
never be dragged along on a tight leash.
Once a predator locates a potential target
with its nose, it follows the scent along
the ground and/or sniffs the air until it gets
close enough to chase the prey. If it manages
to catch it, it kills it and then eats it,
and the eating and digestive process can
take a very long time. During this time, the
stress levels engendered by the chase and
possible struggle start to diminish and with
Page 28
time disappear altogether, well before the
need to hunt again.
Since our dogs are predators by nature,
all of the above applies equally to them.
When we take our dog out for a walk,
there will inevitably be a little stress.
Remember that even good excitement is
stressful. The dog will look, listen, try to
locate something interesting, and possibly
see a hare or a bird or a jogger. There
will hopefully be lots of interesting smells
along the way. But when we come home,
the last thing the dog needs is a rowdy
game of tug or chasing a food ball. What
it needs is something to chew or work on
for as long as it likes. This can be a bone
or a rubber Kong or other kind of food
enrichment, but it is important to simulate
the after-chase relaxation that a predator
would get in the wild.
Prey
One thing about our dogs we seldom
— if ever — think about it that the canine
animal is also a prey to other predators. A
prey animal is easily frightened and very
shy. Although this has nothing to do with
enrichment, it is crucial to understanding
our dogs as a whole and especially to
solving behavioural issues. For example,
when we take our dog to a new place the
first thing he wants to do is look around
to make sure nothing is going to attack it.
If we let him take his time, it will help him
enter the premises with more confidence.
A dog often pauses at the door of a room
to see what is going on inside. Next he
listens, and if that reveals nothing threatening
he then starts to sniff around.
Therefore, if you are organizing a work-
PDTE NEWS

PDTE Lectures and Workshops
In Poland 28 – 30 September 2009 continue...
shop or a class, ask the participants to
arrive early if possible and let them come
in at their own pace, one by one. This will
help the dogs reduce their stress levels
and feel at ease in a secure environment.
Also try to do the same if you are taking
your dog to such an event.
In the same way, if when you are walking
your dog he suddenly refuses to go on,
trust him; he has a good reason. He’s not
being naughty or trying to frustrate you.
He has noticed something that you cannot
see or smell or hear, but he believes it to
be dangerous. Some time ago a man in
Eastern Finland was walking his dog at
the regular time in the same spot as usual,
when the dog sat down and refused to go
any further. The owner tried everything
within his power to get the dog to move
along, but being unsuccessful he finally
gave up and took the dog home. A few
minutes later a neighbour called and
warned him to be extra vigilant, as a bear
had been sighted in the forest nearby.
Learn to trust your dog! Next time you see
your dog doing something odd, ask yourself
whether it might be reacting as a prey.
CONFLICT RESOLVER
Many people have the notion that dogs are
always looking for a fight. This is nonsense.
A dog never fights without a good
reason. Nor does it attack without warning
us first that it is uncomfortable and near to
breaking point. If dogs were natural fighters
they would have died out ages ago.
If we give a dog the opportunity to be polite,
it will be. Dogs are polite both towards
each other and towards people. Unlike humans,
you will never see a dog in a normal
situation walking straight towards another
dog. Dogs curve around each other. The
curve may be so small we hardly notice it,
but it’s there. A dog will always give other
dogs (and humans) the possibility to communicate
how they feel, and will do the
same — if we let them.
I have been asked whether a dog really
will never attack without warning. People
tell me they have seen dogs bite or attack
“out of the blue”. There are several
reasons a dog might do this. One is that
the fear is so extreme they can’t use
their calming signals in time. More often,
though, the dog has learned that calming
signals are useless because they are
consistently ignored. A dog has a ladder of
signals it gives to express its discomfort,
from a slight turn of the head or tiny flick
of the tongue through a wide range of
escalating warnings to bearing of the teeth
and, as a last resort, the bite. If the middle
stages are ignored or repressed, the dog
learns that the only way to be understood
is to bite. In this situation, “aggression”
becomes a learned behaviour and the dog
may seem to act for no reason, but there
will always be one.
NATURAL NEEDS
Sniffing
Sniffing is one of our dogs’ most important
natural needs, and we should give them
every opportunity to use their noses. Dogs
have an amazing sense of smell that we
have difficulty grasping. A dog can smell a
corpse in water at a depth of 1 km. Males
(and females) can smell a female on heat
at least 10 km away. Consider an area on
a fine sandy beach that is 50 cm deep, 50
cm wide and 500 m long. If you held two
grains of sand in your hand for a second or
two and threw them somewhere along that
beach, the dog would find them. Imagine
what an assault it is on our dog’s senses
when we splash ourselves with a few
drops of perfume!
When we lay a track for a dog, if he
doesn’t follow it we think he can’t smell
it. He most certainly can, but there will
be other reasons he doesn’t do what we
expect. He may simply not know what we
expect, or he may be tired or distracted or
unwell or stressed or whatever, but he can
always smell it.
PDTE NEWS Page 29

PDTE Lectures and Workshops
In Poland 28 – 30 September 2009 continue...
Chewing
Dogs need to chew a lot to help them
relax. This is very important because it
gives them something to do. Generally,
dogs need raw bones and meat because
this is what they would eat in the wild.
There are no meatballs or cooks to fill their
bowls; they have to hunt for their food,
and when they catch it they eat the whole
animal, including the fur and bones and
innards. This makes them chew for hours,
even days, and it removes the stress of
the hunt.
A word of caution: If you have never given
raw meat or bones to your dog, he will
need to be desensitized to these or he
may get an upset stomach. To begin with,
let him chew the bone for a few minutes
only, then wait and see how his digestive
system reacts. If nothing happens, he can
have it a little more the next day. A dog will
very rarely have diarrhoea for more than
the first day or two. Gradually increase the
time he can have the bone or meat until
his stomach no longer reacts; then he can
chew on it as much as he likes.
excellent for dogs, but we have to be careful
not to over-stress them.
In regard to agility, because it’s so much
fun, at Rakkaat Haukut – Happy Dog in
Finland we have developed a course that
is good for dogs as well as humans. In
normal agility dogs become extremely
stressed and this can be detrimental to
them. In our stress-free beginner’s agility
course we have a one-hour session per
week, starting with warming and stretching
exercises. Each dog then learns one
obstacle in a calm, relaxed manner. This
takes about ten minutes, after which owner
Digging
Digging not only is excellent, dogs love it.
It’s both easy and fun to bury a treat and
let the dog dig it up! In cities where many
of us live in blocks of flats, if you have a
terrace or a balcony you can equip it with
a sandbox. Or, if you don’t want sand landing
on the neighbour’s property you can
use shredded tree bark or mulch. Paper is
another alternative. Of course if you have
a garden, the opportunities are endless.
If you don’t want your dog digging up
Granny’s roses, you can give him his own
place. He will soon learn that everything
worth digging for is there, and he will leave
your flowers in peace.
Dogs are also social animals with a need
to meet people and other animals.
ENRICHMENT VERSUS ACTIVATION
Activation
In order to satisfy our dog’s natural needs,
there are two kinds of things we can do:
activation and enrichment. These are two
entirely different things that satisfy different
needs in the dog. Activation normally
involves a task that people want to give
the dog. Often it’s fun for the people but
not necessarily for the dog. This includes
e.g. teaching various tricks, obedience,
problem solving, and agility. Activation is
and dog simply laze around for a few
minutes before the next obstacle. Many of
them (owners included) in fact doze off. In
the more advanced stages, once the dog
really knows what to do and is happy with
it, we combine the obstacles into a course
but the owner does not run alongside the
dog. He or she stands in the middle and
the dog clears the obstacles at a happy
but relaxed pace. Some of them gain quite
a lot of speed and become very skilled,
but without stress. The results are quite
amazing.
Page 30
PDTE NEWS

PDTE Lectures and Workshops
In Poland 28 – 30 September 2009 continue...
Enrichment
Enrichment is whatever we do that satisfies
our dog’s natural needs. Enrichment
can involve food, which is in fact the
best and easiest way to fulfil a predator’s
needs. It also makes life much easier for
us, as it doesn’t involve training or skill.
Enrichment is something we can do in the
course of a normal day, as part of our daily
life, or we can extend it a little to things like
tracking or searching.
Enrichment tires a dog without causing
stress. The world we live in is pretty
stressful; we are always in a hurry and
often have tight schedules to meet. Dogs
observe everything an easily assimilate
our stress, so we have to pay attention to
lowering their stress levels. Many problems
with dogs originate from stress, and
can therefore be solved or at least significantly
improved when the stress levels are
reduced.
SOME IDEAS FOR ENRICHMENT
Kongs and “frozen burgers”
Rubber Kongs are a terrific way to occupy
and enrich your dog. Made of durable rubber
they are virtually impossible to destroy
and they give your dog’s mouth a good
workout. Kongs should be stuffed with soft
food, not solid treats, because the dog will
soon learn that bouncing the Kong around
spills them out. Anything mashed that the
dog loves will do, including cat food! And
to make it harder for the more experienced
dog, you can leave the filled Kong in the
freezer overnight and give it frozen. If you
prefer, you can do the same with an empty
marrowbone.
Another great idea is to use any kind of
container that is safe, like a yoghurt pot or
margarine tub or milk carton. Place a patty
of mashed food or a piece of meat inside,
and fill the container with water. Place it in
the freezer and offer it frozen. This is not
only very interesting for the dog, it is an
excellent source of cool water in summer.
Plaited rope
There is a much more relaxing way to use
a plaited cotton or rope toy than playing
tug-of-war with it. Insert small treats into
the plaits and let the dog pick them out, or
better still hide it somewhere and let the
dog sniff it out.
Boxes
Boxes come in all shapes and sizes and
consistencies and are huge fun for dogs.
Only your imagination is the limit with
these. You can fill them with treats, insert
boxes into other boxes, tie used kitchen
and toilet rolls together, and either let
your dog play with them in the house or
hide them all over the garden for him to
find. Remember to keep it simple at first,
so your dog understands what to do and
doesn’t get frustrated. Once it knows the
system, keep quiet and watch it resolve
the challenges on its own. You’ll be
amazed! Be careful to remove any staples
before giving your dog a box.
Publications
Never throw away a used telephone catalogue
or paperback. Give it to your dog to
read! Insert treats between the pages, but
not the kind that will roll out. Slightly sticky
ones or soft dog food work best.
Newspapers have many purposes too.
You can roll the spreads up one at a time
around treats, with something extra special
at the centre, like building up a Swiss Roll
with layers of pastry and jam. At first, just
roll the treats up in one sheet. Once the
PDTE NEWS Page 31

PDTE Lectures and Workshops
In Poland 28 – 30 September 2009 continue...
is what it should do. Once it has succeeded
in getting the treats out, have the bag
just one or two centimetres off the floor. It
will start to swing slightly as the dog works
with it. When he is comfortable, gradually
raise the bag to where he has to stand
on his hind legs to get it. He may have to
chase it a bit, but all the treats falling out
will soon make him relax. The paper bag
can be quite large with cardboard boxes
and other light containers inside. Again,
the possibilities are endless. You can also
hang the bag from a tree branch outside.
Hiding food
dog knows what to do, roll an extra sheet
around the first one, with a treat between
them, and continue building up layer after
layer, using tape if necessary. This is a
great Christmas present for your dog. The
final roll can be very large indeed, stuffed
with all kinds of goodies like chicken or
turkey or ham or whatever you have for
Christmas. Give it to the dog just before
your Christmas meal and you can eat in
peace while he busies himself shredding
his own personal gift. Some people even
wrap the roll in Christmas gift paper.
You can use newspaper or other paper to
build a “Lasagne” in a plastic container. Fill
the container with layers of paper containing
treats between them. It can be great
fun if the container is on wheels! Or you
can recycle your shredded paper the same
way.
Piñata
This is another fun idea based on a Mexican
children’s game. It involves a paper
bag filled with treats and hanging on the
end of a string or rope. The idea is for the
dog to grab it and rip it, and all the treats
fall out. However, it is extremely important
to start gradually, as dogs can be frightened
by this. Place a treat in a paper bag
on the end of a string that is attached to
something solid, but the bag should be
lying on the floor. The dog may try to walk
off with it and may start tugging at it, which
Page 32
You can hide food outside — in the bark
on tree trunks, between branches, among
stones or old car tyres — anywhere you
can think of. Or you can throw it in the
grass and send the dog out to search for
it. You can hide food inside the house as
well, a great pass-time for a rainy day or
when you leave the dog alone. Snow is
another excellent medium for throwing
treats in. The dogs have to locate and dig
for the food and it can be loads of fun.
Treats from the water
Not all dogs know how to fish! Some do it
naturally, but some don’t. I have a dog that
came from the streets of Spain, and after
many years he still doesn’t understand
how to pick out a treat from a container of
water. He tries digging under it instead.
However, with a dog who doesn’t do it
naturally, start by placing a tiny amount of
water in a basin or bowl along with a few
treats. Gradually add more water so the
dog knows what is expected. The more
water you add, the harder it is for the dog,
because dogs generally don’t like getting
their noses wet. When he can do that, you
can find any kind of food that floats and
throw it in a basin or lake or river for your
dog to retrieve.
Your imagination is the limit when it comes
to enriching your dog. Hopefully this will
have given you a few ideas, and if you
have any of your own, don’t hesitate to
contact us and share them with us!
PDTE NEWS

PDTE Lectures and Workshops
In Poland 28 – 30 September 2009 continue...
PDTE NEWS Page 31

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):
PDTE NEWS Page 35

Wishing you all a fabulous summer!
The PDTE Board