Hi Dee,

Hope you had a nice drive home. Wanted to thank you once again for coming to Ottawa with your workshop. Definitely picked up some ideas to bring back to our operation. I am hoping that the timing will be right to take advantage of your being here in April to do something at our facility. At minimum, I would love to show you our place. As I mentioned before, if you are driving, we would be on the way.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to send you some pictures to remember us by (see above).

I am looking forward to receiving your book (autographed!!) in the mail. Also, you asked that I remind you to send the instructions for the fun game you described where you lure the dogs in accordance with the word written on circles you throw on the ground. I'm sure there is a much easier name for this to go by!! Anyway, any other fun games or information in general you care to share would also be greatly appreciated.

Give Dazzle a treat for me.
Thanks, Debbie Moffat
www.keshetkennels.com

Hello Carolyn, and Dee

First of all - I found it very informative - the first day was very much a review and confirmation of body language, signals etc. which was great, though some of the girls found it way beyond them and were frustrated. I was very impressed with the way Dee worked with the handlers and with the techniques she used with the dogs - I will certainly be adapting some of her techniques - Dee just "steps it up" a bit. One of my bugbears with trainers is that after so many years of teaching they forget how much the student has to take in. It can be confusing, overwhelming and frustrating. The thing that impressed me the most about Dee was the way she handled the "handler". Always patient, ready to ask or explain again, guiding them through - something we can all do well to emulate.

I did purchase Dee's book, and like her seminar, found it well organized, easy to follow, informative - a very workable format and great reference guide. She doesn't hold anything back - admirable.

As I have always worked with sighthounds, relaxing, calming and diverting techniques have been the best tools for me. You simply cannot work with them with traditional methods without the dogs "shutting down". So they have served me well and I have learned alot from them. I do use clickers with great success, and particulary like them for distance work, but find as a "classroom" tool clickers are a bit too confusing for clients - we use "yes" as a marker. Many of our clients come in still stuck in the "old method" of training, and resist a softer approach - but as they see the results they are conformed!

I would certainly attend again and recommend that others do so…

I will plan to attend the CAPPDT one in the spring come what may!

Thank you Carolyn for all the hard work and organizing that I know goes into these events and to your wonderful helpers who made things run so smoothly. It was very nice to meet you and to see a few familiar faces from TPOC.

Gwenneth