# Renate Van Allen seminar and pearls of wisdom



## Augie's Mom (Sep 28, 2007)

Anything you can share?


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## BayBeams (Jan 3, 2010)

Augie's Mom said:


> Anything you can share?


The funny thing is, I was going to try to put something into words but it was difficult to put it into a written sentence. I'll give it a try
She very calmly tells her dogs what to do and if they make an error she calmly reminds them of their job. Their was no pushing or popping going on. Her big thing is that we as handlers need to be the most important thing, the motivator, not the food, not punishment that makes the dog work. She demonstrated this with her dogs and with several "green" dogs over and over . It was like watching a kids ballet turn into a stylish performance with her direction. The dogs and handlers responded so well it was like watching different dogs from beginning to the end 5 minutes after they stepped into the ring.
Yes she uses some negative but it is a simple tweek here and there. She doesn't train on leash so motivates by reward in very small increments, emphasizing timing and hand placement.
She went through how she starts a new dog by teaching novice and utility exercises, leaving open for later. All taught motivationally.
She does not advance heeling until small segments can be completed successfully without food. By small, I mean SMALL. It might even be only 2 to 3 steps initially depending on the dog.
One thing I liked too is all her dogs are different and none of them have the octane high personalities that some performance handlers want these days to be successful in the ring, yet all work willingly and happily in the ring simply because the she tells them to. 
I feel I gain something from a seminar if I came away with even one thing or it motivates me. From this seminar I came away with a belief that I can be successful even with my less than stellar dog if I change just a few things.


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## Titan1 (Jan 19, 2010)

Then it sounds like your money was well spent! That is always a win/win!


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## Augie's Mom (Sep 28, 2007)

Thanks for sharing. It's always encouraging to know you can be still be successful and not have to have the "rock star" of the dog world. Even though we have goldens, it isn't always a slam dunk!


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