hello from Canada!

[donnieo]

Hi Everyone;

My name is Donnie. I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada (just east of the Rocky Mountains, for anyone who doesn't know Canadian geography). I stumbled onto Natural Dog Training by complete accident. I am currently in the process of changing my career and becoming a dog trainer, and there is a "Natural Dog Behavior Training" company in Edmonton (just north of Calgary) that has a dog trainer course. Their website didn't have any real information about their methods, so I Googled "Natural Dog Training" and here I am. After reading most of the NDT articles on Neil's, Kevin's and Lee's websites and watching all the Quantum Canine episodes, I took another look at the course I was about to take: there was a lot of stuff about "re-establishing Alpha status" and this whole thing about how your dog needs a leader or they'll take over your house and all the other goofy notions that most traditional dog trainers have.

Other than the fact that NDT is a non-hierarchical approach to dog training and is rooted in emergence theory and energy exchange, what attracts me to it is the learning model. My mother was a special ed teacher on a Native reserve (what you call a reservation down south), where a lot of the kids barely knew what grade they were supposed to be in, let alone how to read or do arithmetic. She helped those kids develop their basic skills not by repetition or bribery, but by creating an environment where the kids wanted to learn. As I'm learning, play is the basic nature of the universe, and if we can show people this by helping with their dogs, perhaps they can learn how to apply this principle to their own lives.

I look forward to lots of good discussion and advice!

[Lee Charles Kelley]

Hi, Donnie.

Welcome! It sounds like you may have a lot to teach us!

LCK

[neilsattin]

You're right that "Natural" is actually a pretty ambiguous term - most trainers out there believe that what they're doing is "natural".

but by creating an environment where the kids wanted to learn.

Yes, yes! And if you can create that environment for yourSELF, as well as your dog, so much the better.

[donnieo]

You're absolutely right. I just re-read your blog posting on developing the right attitude as a trainer and my focus is starting to shift from perfecting every exercise to making sure that Jinxsie and I are connected and having fun with each other during our play-training.

I used to practice a Brasilian martial art called Capoeira, which is a form of fighting masked as dance. My mestre talked a lot about "the conversation" that two capoeiristas have in the circle (or roda (pronounced "hoda"). To have a real conversation with someone means that not only are you aware of what the other person is expressing, but you are also aware of yourself and your own feelings. This is exactly the type of energy that I have to bring to "the conversation" that I'm having with Jinxsie when we play-train together.

[neilsattin]

fyi - just quoted you over in a different thread. Figured you'd want to know:

Thread about Shy Dogs

[donnieo]

I hope that means I'm starting to get the hang of this