I am pleased to be able to announce that I have introduced Outdoor Training Courses at Saunderton Lee on a Thursday Daytime. These are open to anyone who has completed a course with PWDTS previously or has had a course entry assessment. The Course is run in my fully dog proofed field which is on a working farm with plenty of distractions around. The course is designed to help you achieve a high level of obedience with your dogs in outdoor locations and whilst the focus is on recalls and emergency stops, a range of exercises are taught. This course is taken by Emma Thornley using the Pauline Whittaker training methods.
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My website is looking fantastic thanks to my wonderful website designer (and partner!) Andrew H. Cooper. Please check it regularly for new features and updates. We now have interactive maps, a dog news feature which updates daily and a dog video gathering service.
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In addition to the above changes, we now have a secure area of the site for dog club members. In the secure area you will be able to access booking forms and handouts on a range of subjects. There is a password required for this area, if you haven't received that by email, please contact me and I will give it to you.
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I also now have an on-line book store which links to Amazon. People regularly ask me for advice on which books to buy. All those featured on the website are books that I have read and recommend.
Visit My Bookshop
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As PWDTS expands, there will inevitably be changes within the clubs. From Christmas Hannah Lyon will be taking all the courses at Amersham using the Pauline Whittaker methods.
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I now have a long waiting list for people wishing to join the agility courses. If you want to have a go at Agility in the future I recommend putting your name on the list now! I have a couple of groups who have now been training with me for over a year and although I train for 'fun' rather than for competition, I took a group to the Aylesbury Agility Competition in the summer to have a go at the real thing! Everyone did very well and was pleased with their dogs. I would especially like to congratulate Victoria and Benji who came home with a rosette for a clear round. Benji is a partly deaf rescue dog who has overcome some behavioural issues and a bad start in life and is now a very happy pet dog who loves his agility!
There is also a new agility video on the website featuring Susan and Lacey. Lacey is a Labrador working cocker spaniel crossbreed.
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I am pleased to welcome to the clubs Susan and Liz who are my new assistants. Susan Berryman is the Manager at Stokenchurch Dog Rescue and is now assisting at the Bledlow Ridge Club. Liz Shipley is helping at the Amersham Club. Both Susan and Liz would like to become APDT qualified in the long run. Welcome to you both.
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I have recently attended two seminars run by the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors (APBC). One focused on Children and Dogs and one was on aggression. see my published articles on the website. As a dog trainer I am regularly asked to help once a problem with a dog has occurred i.e. a child has been bitten or a pet dog is showing aggression to people or other dogs. There are always ways in which a situation can be helped or managed once this has occurred however, the seminars reiterated to me the importance of making sure a dog never has to feel the need to use aggression in the first place, keeping both children/people and the dog safe. I usually only see dogs after they are 12 weeks of age, by then half of the 'damage' can be done. A huge amount of responsibility lies with the Breeder and requires them to not only select and breed the right types of dogs to go into pet homes but also carry out a huge amount of socialisation prior to the dog going to its new home. The owner must then continue this socialisation. Furthermore the importance of understanding your dog's communication signals is critical so that you can identify when it is communicating stress, or fear which may lead to an aggressive response. This all comes down to educating owners prior to them getting a dog as well as once they do own one. As a result, I am intending to put together a talk on children and dogs which initially I will carry out at one of the dog clubs one evening but if that proves to be successful, I hope to then to be able to take it into schools. If anyone has connections with a school or youth group and thinks that they may be interested, please could you let me know. The talk will be for parents rather than for the children and there will be a small charge for the talk - i.e. £5.00 per person.
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People occasionally ask me for my opinion on the use of electric collars and electric fences which are designed to keep the dog in an unenclosed garden area. I am totally against the use of these collars for many reasons. Firstly they use pain in the form of an electric current to train or change the behaviour of a dog. As a trainer who uses only positive methods for training it is totally against my beliefs. There is enough evidence now to show that positive training gains much better and quicker results than coercive or negative training methods. Secondly there is evidence of physical damage being done to dogs through the use of these collars which if they malfunction can cause serious burns. Thirdly, especially with the use of electric fences, the dog often won't initially understand why they are receiving a shock - it is an invisible barrier - and will associate the pain with whatever they are focusing on at the time which could be another dog, person or livestock etc. I know of one case where a dog became scared to go into its garden because it didn't understand why it was being shocked, this dog also became scared to go into the kitchen of the house after it had malfunctioned and accidentally gone off in the house. The owner of this dog initially contacted me because she had a recall problem with the dog. Actually the owner had no relationship with the dog because of the use of the collar and the fact that it was nervous and stressed all the time. Please think very carefully before using these collars and contact me regarding alternative ways to change behaviour. The link below gives you more information if you are interested.
http://www.advocatesforanimals.org/pdf/electricshockcollars.pdf
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| Monday evenings at Bledlow Ridge | |
| 6.30 pm | Puppy Course |
| 7.30 pm | Pet Course |
| 8.30 pm | Advanced Course |
| Tuesday Daytimes at Saunderton Lee | |
| 9.30 am | Agility Course |
| 10.30 am | Agility Course |
| 12.00 pm | Agility Course |
| 1.00 pm | Agility Course |
| Wednesday Daytimes at Amersham | |
| 9.30 am | Puppy Course |
| 10.30 am | Pet Course |
| 11.30 am | Advanced Course |
| 12.30 pm | Fun Obedience |
| Thursday Daytimes at Saunderton Lee | |
| 11.30 am | Outdoor Course |
| 12.30 pm | Outdoor Course |
1-2-1 lessons are available with Pauline on Monday mornings, Wednesday afternoons and Thursday daytimes.
Recall workshops will take place either Wednesday or Thursday daytimes.
Clicker workshops are held occasionally.
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Children are very welcome at the dog clubs and I encourage them to learn how to handle the dog correctly and be involved in the training. They must however be supervised by an adult at all times to ensure the dog is under control (and the child! For small children it may be best to bring a game or book for them to sit quietly with. Do not allow children to touch any dog which it does not know without checking with the owner first - even puppies.
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If you are not on the email list and would like to receive future newsletters please send an email to pauline@paulinewhittaker.co.uk and you will be added to the mailing list.
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Pauline Whittaker
Tel: 01844 342334
Email: pauline@paulinewhittaker.co.uk
Website: www.paulinewhittaker.co.uk
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