Dogs, dogs, and dogs! My three favorite subjects were front and center for five woof-waggin’ days last week in Atlanta at the best APDT Conference ever! Okay, I’ve only been to two, so technically this one was the better, way better, of the two I’ve attended. In short, more variety and greater depth in the workshops.
I was flying so high from the conference when I returned home that I easily succumbed to Debbie Jacob’s (fearfuldogs.com) generous offer to pick me up at the Albany airport and ride with her to Suzanne Clothier’s workshop which is being held in little town in upstate New York this weekend.
Without thinking too much (If I had, reason might have applied the brakes.) I scoured the internet for flights from Denver to Albany. Of course, you can’t get there from here. You have to go somewhere else first. My head is spinning! I’m going! As for the not inconsiderable cost especially on the heels of APDT? Scarlet nailed it when she said, “I’ll think about that tomorrow.”
I tell you all of this not only because I’m as excited as Sadie on the trail of a herd of squirrels, but because this post will be necessarily short. I can’t go into much depth about the bloggers. My pre-departure to-do list looms.
So, without further ado, let me introduce you to this week’s #FollowFriday fab four blogs that I discovered during APDT last week.
Let’s begin with John Rogerson. He doesn’t write a blog. That’s too bad. And, his book, The Dog Vinci Code is sold out! Still, you can find out about his 3-week dog training seminar in India (Yes, India!) from Sue McCabe. She went last January (He’s conducting another one January 2011. I so want to do this. Maybe 2012.) and writes a nice description of the experience on her blog, Muttamorphous: Notice the Change in Your Dog Blog. You’ll find other cool stuff there too. Look around.
One of the points John drove home at the conference is that one person can make a difference for dogs. Take Shirin Merchan. In 1998, Shirin founded Canines Can Care, India’s first and only organization dedicated to pioneering a variety of canine related activities including search and rescue, and she’s the editor of Woof: The Mag with Wag. John called Woof, the only dog magazine in India, the best dog magazine in the world!
Dr. Myrna Milani wowed me during her presentation. She’s smart, refreshing in her perspective and insight, and all about seeing the world from the dog’s point of view. And, she blogs! You can find her blog, articles, services, commentaries (love these), and everything else at MMilani.com. Do yourself a favor. Fetch a cup of tea or coffee and set some time aside to leisurely explore Myrna’s site. Click through the options in the left sidebar. You won’t be disappointed.
Finally, I had to go to all the way to Atlanta to find out about two doggie pros in my own backyard. Actually, I knew about Dr. Suzanne Hetts and her husband and partner, Dr. Daniel Estep. Both are applied animal behaviorists. In fact, Sadie and I sought help from Daniel within days of Sadie’s first barking and lunging episode when she was about 8 months old. I was totally freaked out and Daniel helped us both. What I didn’t know about is BEN, Behavior Education Network. I joined BEN when I stumbled across Suzanne tending her booth at the APDT trade show. You can learn more about BEN here, and their website for Animal Behavior Associates is chock full of informative free articles and downloads.
Okay. Gotta pack and gather all of Sadie’s food and favorite blankets to take to Mama Kitty’s where she’ll be happy to spend another four days.
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Thank you for this, Deborah. I’m particularly interested in BEN and am watching the videos on the site right now.
India. Yikes! How does that work? Do you take your own dog or use Indian dogs? I was there for a wedding a few years ago and I couldn’t believe how people treated their pets. We visited with a very nice family who had their Rottie caged like it was a Lion at a zoo, and they had another dog that everyone was afraid to go near. Even so, they went on and on gushing about how they loved their pets. I guess we all have different ways to express love. It was definitely a cultural thing, and it was all I could do to keep my mouth shut and not invite the Rottie in for lunch with us!
Have a great time with Debbie, and thanks for the blog tips – I’ve not heard of these before.
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