Think Dog!

All of my life I have been interested in dogs, their training and how they work. Running Born 2 Run Pet Care is my dream job and I love what I do! However I feel my knowledge and experience can always be improved upon. Dog training and what we know about canine evolution and behaviour is an ever changing subject. I love to learn new things and I remain open minded to the new ideas and ways of positively training dogs. I have learned so much in the 12 years I have owned my own dogs, with most of that knowledge coming in the last 5 years.

Like so many people out there, I used to train the 'old school' way. I believed dogs were pack animals that required a dominant leader, that I had to be 'alpha', that allowing them to eat first or to get on the furniture was allowing them to rise up the ranks. This was the information out there and I had no reason to doubt it. That was until I read a book by Raymond and Lorna Coppinger called Dogs: A New Understanding of Canine Origin, Behaviour and Evolution. This was the book that stopped me in my tracks and completely changed the way I looked at dogs and approached their training. Reading it meant finally seeing the obvious flaws in dominance and pack theory. It really opened my eyes and I wanted to know more! I can highly recommend it to anyone who owns a dog or has any interest in their behaviour and evolution.

Since then I have read so many good books on the dominance theory and the way dogs learn.

Another I can highly recommend is: Dominance in Dogs, Fact or Fiction? By Barry Eaton. Also recommended is any book by Turid Rugaas (especially her book On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals) and a book called Stress in Dogs by Martina Scholz. All books can be found on Amazon.

I have just enrolled on a course dealing with canine training and behaviour by a company called Alpha Education. The courses were originally written by the late John Fisher and updated and tutored by Sarah Whitehead among others. It is fully accredited and the one I'm starting with is Think Dog! Certificate, which is an intermediate level looking at pack theory and how dogs function in our world. Follow the link to see what I will be studying for the next 6 months!

 http://www.thinkdog.org/think-dog-certificate/

My course material arrived yesterday and some extra books I ordered to read up on. I am so excited to get started!

Some of the books I have to read. Luckily I have read most already!

My course material and a great book by John Fisher which I am currently reading

So when you choose Born 2 Run Pet Care to walk your dogs, feel safe in the knowledge that I am continually expanding my knowledge and keep up to date with the most recent findings and positive training methods. 

Thanks for reading! 

Tam.