Department to sponsor dog
training workshop
Instructors to teach psychology
of dogs; training methods
By Jenny Jones
Summer
Reporter
From June 16th to the 20th students at Purdue will
be learning the techniques of sit, stay and fetch.
The department of veterinary medicine administration
will be sponsoring the third annual DOGS Seminar.
During the dog extravaganza veterinarian technicians,
dog trainers and wannabe dog trainers will study the techniques of dog
training and learn positive responses to behavioral problems.
"It's the only seminar of its kind in the country,"
said Julie Shaw, animal behavior technologist and instructor of the
seminar.
Attracting people from across the country the seminar
instructors receive hundreds of applications from interested individuals,
however, only 40 participants are selected for the course Shaw said.
The seminar is open for public participation. If
selected, however there is a fee of $700 which includes banquets, t-shirts,
notes, lecture and hands on training with the dogs.
"Over 100 people already want to know about next
year," Shaw said.
This year's seminar will be broken down into different
sections, lectures and workshops, over the five-day period.
The first day will consist of a lecture in the
Class of 1950 covering the psychology of dogs. During the lecture participants
will learn how dogs think, feel and why they behave the way they do.
The second day of the seminar participants will
be given dogs that possess behavior problems, such as darting out the
door, apprehension about having their feet handled and uncontrollable
urination. Applying what they learned in lecture the previous day, participants
will attempt to control these problems.
After dealing with the troubled dogs, participants
will head back to the lecture to learn about puppy training and problems
when attempting to train.
"(We're) using that early window in life so they're
not fearful," said Andrew Luescher, associate professor of veterinary
medicine and instructor of the seminar.
On day three participates will each be given a
puppy from the Humane Society to apply what they have learned about
puppy handling and instruction.
The following day will be spent in a lecture about
aggressive behaviors, such as jumping on humans and attacking other
dogs. Participants will learn how to change unwanted behavior patterns.
During this period they will also view videos and take on hostile dogs
of their own.
The final day of the seminar will be spent working
with problem dogs. At the end of the day participants will present their
cases to the class, stating what difficulties occurred while handling
the dogs and how they attempted to correct them. They will also include
the approaches that worked and those that failed.
After completing the course, participants will
be administered a closed book exam.
When the results of the examinations are calculated,
participants will receive a certificate of completion and will be referred
to individuals in their area who seek training assistance for their
dogs.
"(We want) to preserve the human, animal bond,"
Luescher said.
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