This year, I have resumed giving multi-day seminars in the States. During the course of my protracted (ten-year) retirement from the US seminar circuit, I gave my very first last multi-day seminar in Orlando way back in 2001. Between 1998 and 2008, I gave only five multi-day seminars — three of them in Orlando and each one billed as my very last and final US retirement seminar. But now I’m back…
Between1986 and 1997, I gave hundreds of dog behavior and training seminars all over the States and around the world. During that decade, I averaged over 200 nights a year in hotels. The schedule was a bit grueling and my pets at the time, Phoenix, Oso, and Mittens thought I was a stranger.
We all know that there are too many dogs and cats in too many shelters across the country. There is an army of volunteers trying to take care of these animals. There are pet owners constantly adopting. There are those of us with full houses who give our time and money to support shelters and adoption. Yet, the animals keep coming in.
Monday night I had the great pleasure of talking to Kelly Gorman Dunbar about Open Paw on my weekly podcast. It's my feeling that Open Paw is a truly unique program.
Open Paw seeks to not only help those animals in the shelters, but address the problem BEFORE a dog or cat is relinquished by educating the pet-owning community and those who are thinking of becoming pet owners.
My husband and I recently adopted a fourth(gasp) dog. He is a yellow lab, presumably of full breed, that was found alone on someone's doorstep in rural North Carolina in the middle of the night. Whether he escaped from a yard or was dumped, we'll never know. He was around 6 weeks when found, now he is coming up on 10-11 weeks. They grow up so fast..but I digress. We have named him Dexter. He is adorable (that's his picture on the left). So adorable, in fact, that I cannot control myself sometimes with the amount of puppy squishing and nuzzling I feel compelled to do. Dexter, however, feels there should be a set limit to the amount I am allowed to actually do, which brings me to my blog title topic.
Do you know about DARF? Oh are you in for some fun!!! They make board games, card games and dice games that you can play with your dog! I know, right?? How fun does this sound?
Funagle: The new BOARD GAME people and their dogs play together. Friends and family huddle aroung a board game giggling while they match wits trying to get their dogs to "Moonwalk" or "Do the Wave." DEFINITION OF FUNAGLE (pronuciation:fuhn-ney-guh-L), to fitness a dog into performing an activity using treats, verbal and gestrual communication.
While it's usually summertime when I'm inundated with new puppy training, somehow the word is getting out that doing The 7 P's (proper prior planning prevents piss poor performance) is a great way to help individuals, couples or families acquire the right make and model of puppy to be the dog of their dreams, whatever their dreams may be. And so I'm being inundated with a flurry of pet and service dog candidates that are selected based on a fantasy wish list compiled by all family members to define the wants/needs based on lifestyle, environment, goals, experience, etc.
