# Another seminar over



## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

I just finished up my third Linda Koutsky seminar. I adore this woman. This seminar was awesome because it was by invite only, so almost everyone there had been to her seminar before and there were only maybe 15 working dogs there so we got lots of one on one time.

Linda worked Flip individually on the floor for some issues we are having on go-outs, stays, articles, collar dodging, and forging. She is great at being able to read a dog and also has a lot of unique solutions to things. I picked up a lot of tips for other things I want to try when I get home too.

There was a 10 month old golden there whose grandmother was a full sister to Flip's grandmother. It was amazing to see how alike they were, even other people were saying it was like meeting a female version of Flip.


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## Aislinn (Nov 13, 2010)

Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend!!


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## sammydog (Aug 23, 2008)

Sounds like a good time! How fun to meet Flip's cousin!


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Sounds like a great seminar  It must have been really fun to meet a 'cousin' too.


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

Sound fantastic and how fun to meet family.. that is the best bonus ever!


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

Sounds like a great weekend!!


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## Stretchdrive (Mar 12, 2011)

What a fun weekend!!


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## JDandBigAm (Aug 25, 2008)

I hope you will share the dilemmas you are having and the solutions Linda showed you. Inquiring minds might just have the same problems and will try anything to remedy it. 
I attended a Linda Koutsky seminar a year ago and really enjoyed her. I would love to have a part II with her. Lucky you for the invite!


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

we covered so much and so many details in the 16 hours we were in the seminar I could fill a book with all the things she shared. 

What will hopefully help us the most is the work we did with stays, since that has been our biggest battle. We have had a myriad of problems with stays, particularly the down stay. For anyone familiar with Linda's stay training protocol, I have followed it to a T since I first started Flip's stay training as a pup (I first "discovered" Linda when I was battling Conner's stay problems). Problem I found was I took her a little too literally. So when she asked the participants before we got started with stays questions like "who can be cooking dinner, casually tell their dog to sit, and their dog will? Who can then without another word walk out of the room and your dog will remain sitting?" I could confidently raise my hand. Flip proved it true when he was out there on the floor and we would be tugging like crazy, I would say sit, his butt would immediately hit the floor, and then I would walk away and sit in my chair across the room, or dig in my training bag and pull out stuff like it was the most fascinating stuff in the world and he never considered breaking.

THEN we did it with a down. So I give him a casual "down" command, and he just looks back at me like "what does that mean?" I have to physically put him in the down. Once he was in the down, he was pretty steady with the proofing, until I stuck my toe under his belly, then he shot up. So LIGHTBULB, where Linda says "sit" in her training protocol, you also have to repeat all the steps for the down.

Linda also said the ONLY time she goes out of sight is at a trial. At all matches she is somewhere in the room where her dog can see her. If I would have listened to a certain forum member when they tried to tell me that months ago maybe I would have saved myself a lot of frustration...

If anyone has any specific questions on other problems, I'd be happy to go back and see if we covered it.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

> Linda also said the ONLY time she goes out of sight is at a trial. At all matches she is somewhere in the room where her dog can see her. If I would have listened to a certain forum member when they tried to tell me that months ago maybe I would have saved myself a lot of frustration...


Jodie can you explain how staying in sight while training will help at trials? 

I'm just thinking that if you have a dog who is used to seeing you somewhere while training, it will add to his stress level if you are suddenly out of sight when it matters?


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Megora said:


> Jodie can you explain how staying in sight while training will help at trials?
> 
> I'm just thinking that if you have a dog who is used to seeing you somewhere while training, it will add to his stress level if you are suddenly out of sight when it matters?


 
that's exactly what I thought, and is why I thought Michelle was just lucky with a confident dog when she told me that's what she did. But Linda said no, if your dog is thoroughly proofed and steady on stays then always being somewhere in the room during training builds their confidence and makes them think you are always there somewhere, even if they haven't spotted you yet.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

oops double post


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## JDandBigAm (Aug 25, 2008)

Jodie, Did Linda cover transitioning a dog from heel on lead to off lead heeling? On lead heeling is actually pretty good but I'm in a tizzy with no attention when I take the leash off unless I have his toy under my arm or in my hand. I will try to load a YouTube later this week with an example. But in the meantime, I am having to stick my index finger through the loop of his slip collar to get his head up and not lagging. Help!


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## DNL2448 (Feb 13, 2009)

Great seminar! I will have to ask our facility owners if they can get her to come out West. Bridget will be here again in June, but they doubled the price ($350) so I won't be able to attend this year. 

Does she have a book or video? I'd like to read more of her training technique.


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

Linda is pretty much retired from giving seminars, right now she is only returning to a few places she has been before that she enjoyed to work further with handlers that are already familiar with her theories. She doesn't have any books or videos out yet, but she is considering it since she isn't doing the seminars anymore. She used to write for front and finish and has some wonderful articles out there.

Most of Linda's thinking is totally different from what is out there at most seminars. She does not believe in the paycheck theory, she doesn't want the dog to think of obedience as a job where they are looking to earn something, she wants the dog to think of obedience as its hobby, where it does it just because he enjoys doing it. Her way is a lot more work because you have to bring a lot more energy to the table. She teaches using a lot of food as a lure, but NEVER uses food as a reward. Once she is no longer using a lure on a exercise, the food is completely gone forever. She has a whole rehab program she uses for dog's who only "work for food" to transition them slowly to to learn to enjoy working without food.

As for transitioning to off leash heeling, I am sure the first question Linda would ask you is when you are using a leash or whatever, is there any pressure at any time on the leash? If so then the leash is still causing the behavior and the dog isn't ready for off leash. If the dog can do an entire heeling pattern without there ever being tension on the leash, then it won't notice when you drop the leash. Linda does not do any leash pops. A leash is only on the dog to help bind them into heel position. All corrections are hands on. Because even when you don't have your leash, you still have your hands.


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

Loisiana said:


> we covered so much and so many details in the 16 hours we were in the seminar I could fill a book with all the things she shared.
> 
> Linda also said the ONLY time she goes out of sight is at a trial. At all matches she is somewhere in the room where her dog can see her. If I would have listened to a certain forum member when they tried to tell me that months ago maybe I would have saved myself a lot of frustration...
> 
> If anyone has any specific questions on other problems, I'd be happy to go back and see if we covered it.


I think I like her already...rofl..Wonder who that would have been to share such good information..:eyecrazy:


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## Loisiana (Jul 29, 2009)

oh and I forgot to mention that because Linda does not use food as a reward, the dogs are not asked to perform anything when she is giving them any type of food. They get their dinner just for being dogs and because they need to eat, they don't do anything to earn it. If she wants them to have a treat, they just get it, they don't do any skills or tricks first. 

Kind of the opposite of the Nothing in Life is Free theory.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Oh, I like this  My dogs are fed just because I love them  Same with some treats and attention.

I do use food as rewards too though - chicken, steak, even cheese balls 



Loisiana said:


> oh and I forgot to mention that because Linda does not use food as a reward, the dogs are not asked to perform anything when she is giving them any type of food. They get their dinner just for being dogs and because they need to eat, they don't do anything to earn it. If she wants them to have a treat, they just get it, they don't do any skills or tricks first.
> 
> Kind of the opposite of the Nothing in Life is Free theory.


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

Titan always gets his food around the same time. He has never had to work for anything other than the love of it... I may use Charlie bears for fronts and starting out but quickly fade and use on occasion.Anything else is too much for him and I will be planning on using the same training methods for Mighty..


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

Loisiana said:


> Most of Linda's thinking is totally different from what is out there at most seminars. She does not believe in the paycheck theory, she doesn't want the dog to think of obedience as a job where they are looking to earn something, she wants the dog to think of obedience as its hobby, where it does it just because he enjoys doing it. Her way is a lot more work because you have to bring a lot more energy to the table. She teaches using a lot of food as a lure, but NEVER uses food as a reward. Once she is no longer using a lure on a exercise, the food is completely gone forever.


Interesting Jodie, lately I have noticed that unless were are working on something that Winter really doesn't understand she works just as hard for praise.


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