I am sooooo excited…
Tomorrow, we start our three day Canine Fitness and Body Awareness Symposium. This is a topic that gets me cranked up! Putting in the time to work your dog’s flexibility, strength, conditioning, balance and proprioception is like the gift that keeps on giving.
The thing I love about focusing on body awareness exercises is… not only do you have a fun, interactive training session with your dog… you also help him to become better aware of his body parts, keep him fit so he has more energy to perform at his best, and most of all, investing time in your dog’s fitness and body awareness helps to prevent & rehab from injury.
When I got my first performance dog, my little Jack Russell Terrier, “Shelby”, “body awareness & fitness” was done without much conscious thought on my part. I would take her for long walks every day and on weekends she would join me on long hacks out with my horse. I taught her loads of tricks; from sit pretty, wave, roll over to play dead, to …I can’t even remember now.
That was back in the late ‘80s. It was not strategic…it was just fun.
Fast forward 25 years and it is still all very fun…but there is more thought put into balancing the dog’s body and skills. Here is a video I put together a couple of months ago that shows you clips from yester-year and clips from today.
Do you have a current plan for your dog’s fitness or a strategic approach to the tricks you teach? If not, you may want to join us this weekend…and good news is…it doesn’t matter where you live!
We will be streaming all three days of our symposium. You can sign up to be an auditor regardless of where you live.
Three Day Live Online Audit Registration
I purposely selected people to work with me at this event who I myself wanted to learn from! So teaming up with me this weekend to present are;
Dr. Leslie Woodcock
Dr. Leslie, as she is known, has been the team veterinarian on just about every world team my dogs and I have ever been on. She is not only a veterinarian, animal chiropractor, postural rehab specialist, but also, owns one of the area’s most popular canine Rehabilitation clinics.
Robert Porter
Robby is the Rehabilitation Treatment Supervisor at MedVet Medical & Cancer Center in Mandeville, Louisiana. He has a strong interest in the positive training approaches to specific targeted exercise for dogs. Robby is known as both a pioneer and an innovator in the area of conditioning for our performance dogs.
Lindsey Hinds
Lindsey works along side Robby with canines recovering from injury, as well as sporting dogs looking to prevent injury and gain a winning edge.
Saturday’s program is lecture and demos.
Robby Porter on “S.A.I.D. (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) Principles and the direct impact they have on our training and functional demands of our performance dogs.
Dr. Leslie Woodcock:
First lecture is on “Posture Performance and Well Being” where she shares insights about the effect that a dog’s posture has on their movement and the impact of everything from gravity to your dogs nails can alter your dog’s posture.
Dr. Leslie’s second session is an interactive one called “Nailing It Just Right” where she will demo techniques to get your dog’s nail trims “just right.”
Through the entire day on Saturday I am going to be sharing my “Five Top Body Awareness Exercises” both what they are and how to train them!
Sunday and Monday is all working dogs!
Robby and Lindsey will be working dogs on a rotational basis teaching participants (including ME!) to get the best from a fitness and body awareness program for their dogs!
If you join us on live stream you will be able to ask questions and re-watch the video. All participants and auditors will have access to the live stream for a full 24 hours after each day has been completed.
Here is your link to join us “live” from the comfort of your own computer!
Today I am grateful for the chance to be a participant in a workshop this weekend (sure I will also be a presenter…but I just LOVE being a student!)…hope you will join us.
Can this symposium still be viewed using the pre-recorded link? It seems it was only available for three days, but the purchase link is actually still active.
It isn’t available at this time but we do re-open it from time to time. The best way keep up with us is to join our Newsletter (form to the right of this page).
I am writing an article I would love some expert input on. The article I am writing is for USDAA (http://www.usdaa.com/) and the topic is ‘Agility training for the not-so-agile.’ Any expert comment you can provide for this article would be greatly appreciated. In particular, I wonder if you might be able to answer some of the following questions:
1. Are some dog breeds more agile than others? Please explain.
2. Is agility training possible/feasible with the less agile breeds?
3. What techniques can be used for those less agile breeds?
4. Do you have any success examples of working with a less agile dog?
5. What advice would you give to those wishing to use agility training with their less agile dogs?
6. Do you have anything else to add?
Your inout would be greatly appreciated!
Rats! I was out of town when registration was available, and I missed the Symposium. Will the content be available to tardy people?
Hi Linda- Sorry, no…but we are hoping to do something like this in the future…it was a great symposium!
I see a bunch of people asked about a recording or replay. Is there going to be any available? I’d love to hear the seminar.
We are not going to have a replay available…but we hope to do a seminar like this one in the future
I really hope you do schedule another seminar in the future — hopefully early next year! PLEASE include me in your e-mail notice when you do. MANY thanks!
The seminar was really great! I had a working spot (with Jamie the Border Terrier…at 11.5 years old, possibly the oldest dog in attendance), and I SOOOOO appreciated the individual attention I received from both Robby and Lindsay during the working sessions. They were both very positive, very helpful, and very knowledgeable. I took away a lot of useful tips and tools, and would happily attend with another one of my dogs at a future date.
One thing to think about for the future might be to set aside time for private evaluations with Dr. Leslie and/or Robby and Lindsay. They are all such great resources, and to be able to really tap into that knowledge base for our dogs would be well worth the $$.
I too have been gone all week end. Any chance of watching the videos now. I would love to see them, and learn, even without the question option. Same price???
OH yes ..plllleeeeeaaaasssssss a recorded version 🙂
Yes, I’d love to purchase a recorded version – as this weekend was impossible! Particularly interested as the need to get my pointers fit and supple in a strategic way is critical as we have been dogged (!) by injuries of one kind or another due to their activity level.
The symposium simply is cool. So many great poeple with so much knowledge and experience and all treating dogs so well. Great answers to interesting questions from people who take part in person as well as who take part through the computer. Thanks for making it available and payable for oversea people!!! We love it.
Thanks for the feedback Christine!
Is anyone else having trouble watching the “recorded” sessions? Buffering is so bad I’ve given up. Any chance the recorded sessions can is posted in a different format, smaller file size, lower quality so that it’s watchable? I normally have no trouble watch streamed videos but this one is just not watchable for me 🙁
Hi, Denise no problem watching from a country internet connection in Austria/Europe. May be try again.
I would also love to buy access to all three days after the workshop, I am at a
family visit saturday, a course about core training sunday (yes core training)and agility monday. I would like to watch all three days between Christmas and New Year.
I would really like to attend the online symposium that is scheduled this weekend. However, December is just the worst month for me to be able to find time for three days of anything but the craziness of holiday prep. Any chance you could offer this wonderful course after the first of the year?
I am so looking forward to auditing this symposium, Susan! I really want Snap to be in the best shape she can be with Search and Rescue. We were called out on a LIVE search (instead of cadaver) yesterday and searched over 3 hours through thick forest, rocks, downed trees. Yes, we had breaks in between – but it was all the flatwork we did and shaping thatshe did awesome…. and FOUND THE MAN ALIVE! So, this is going to be very very good for her and me. Thank you!
Debra, that’s awesome!!!!
I’m ready to sign up for the seminar but I have to work on Monday. Is there any chance the video can be available for more than 24 hours?
I agree with all that have posted and would love to be able to watch/purchase this video at a later time if possible.
ditto
I am just posting a quick ‘seconding’ to Yuki and Marion’s interest in purchasing a video or similar on this subject area. Uni study and being a student not having the funds right now after signing up for Puppy Peaks and Recallers this year already means I can’t do this weekend at such short notice. Would be very grateful for post-symposium opportunity to purchase and learn. Have a ripper weekend everybody 🙂
It would be great if one could achieve it as tape. It turned out that my flat rate for the month is used up after a 4 hours life session. And I wanted to see it once a gain a second time – almost the whole account for December is already gone. Therefore I would have to pay a lot more besides the participants fee… For this online event it would be 3 to 6 times more than my normal monthly flat rate would be. And I have to stay awake and concentrated 3 nights long, probably not being able to sleep during our day time.
Needless to say how glad we all from Europe would be if it were possible to buy the recordings.
Ute
Sorry we can’t make it! We are gong to our Agility League for the day tomorrow!
I was planning on participating in this symposium but unfortunately it is not going to work out for me not even with having the 24 hours later to watch it. I am hoping that the recorded version will be available to purchase at a later date. So interested in learning more body awareness exercises!
I am sorry to miss this. I was going to jump on it live but life is in the way, and it is still crazy right now for a few more weeks. Hope all learn a lot.
Does the purchase of the live streaming also include access to the video after the event is complete?
Is it possible for the recordings to be available more than 24 hours? I am in an agility competition all weekend and won’t have time to watch them until next week. Thanks!
Will this symposium include showing how to teach the tricks that were shown on the video (standing on hind feet and backing up, raising back legs on cue, etc.? Thanks, BH
Some Beverly but not all
The Symposium is surely going to be awesome and I was so looking forward to it since the first time I heard it might be available online! But now I don’t have the money for it because it’s happening at the same time that the H360 starts.
Do you think there’s a chance that it will be held ever again? Or that it will be available to watch/purchase the recordings later?
Very good observation Yuki and for sure we will give it some consideration.
Please do 🙂