| Carol is a firm believer in education and in keeping herself, her staff and her students up-to-date on the latest in cutting edge techniques of positive motivational dog behavior and training. |  |
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Seven
of our Ruffians with Pat Miller in June of 2012 in Olympia. L to R: Travis Byrnes, Kim Imel, Amy Barker, Pat Miller, Cathy Fox, Carol Byrnes, Judy Campbell and Dana Byrnes |
| Fall
of 2011 we had the pleasure of traveling with a huge group of DITR staff
and students to see John Rogerson. Look at all those smiling Ruffian staff
and students' faces! L to R - Karen Allen, Judy Campbell, Diane Baker, Dana Byrnes, Brenda Wright, John Rogerson, Nancy Zietlow, Carol Byrnes, Cathy Fox, Amy Barker, and Teri Beeman. |
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| Ruffians posing with Pia Silvani and Dorothy Turley in Olympia in March 2011 |  |
L to
R: Pia Silvani, Cathy Fox, Carol Byrnes, Amy Barker, Dorothy Turley. |
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Here are several of our Ruffians with Jean Donaldson at her seminar in Montana!
Left to Right: Front
row: Back
row: |
In August of 2005, Lisa Lucas, Pat Moberly, Teri Beeman, Cathy Fox and Carol & Dana Byrnes traveled to the coast to attend an amazing weekend of Advanced Clicker Training seminar with Kathy Sdao. Kathy challenged us to take our abilities as trainers and instructors to the next level.
In June of 2004 the Ruffians attended "Brenda Aloff on Aggression." In September of 2004, Cathy Fox and Carol & Dana Byrnes attended a week long seminar aboard an Alaskan Cruise featuring Jean Donaldson and Pia Silvani. What an amazing experience - topics included the study hereditary temperament, resource guarding, raising puppies, sibling rivalry, behavioral rehab and aggression.
In January 2003 Lisa Lucas and Cathy Fox attended the week-long "Advanced Instructor Training Course" with Pia Silvani and Donna Duford in Long Beach, California. Lisa reports, "it is impossible to capture the breadth and depth of what we learned in less than the five days we were there. Pia and Donna are amazing teachers. There were 16 participants, so there was plenty of opportunity to ask questions and get clarification. We worked with shelter dogs every day, observed Pia and Donna conduct real live consults with extremely aggressive dogs, viewed and analyzed tons of video and worked thru actual case studies that Pia had in real life. We reviewed the specifics of dealing with Separation Anxiety, when to recommend Euthanasia vs. Behavior Modification vs. Management vs. Re-homing. My confidence and clarity skyrocketed. In fact, when I returned I went directly to the shelter and began analyzing dogs for their potential to bite. I ended up putting "Dog Under Evaluation - Do Not Enter Kennel" signs on three of the kennels. The staff at the shelter called me on Monday for my input about each of the dogs and together we decided how to handle each. When I got up at 3:15 the morning Cathy and I left for California I was griping about how I was never going to do this again...In hindsight, I would pay twice as much to do it again. We made 18 new friends, laughed our heads off for a week and got the equivalent of an advanced college degree in canine behavior."
In March of 2003 eleven members, (all but one!) of our Ruffian teaching force attended the three-day intensive learning experience at Dr. Ian Dunbar's Instructor Training Course sponsored by the Canadian Association of Professional Pet Dog Trainers in Richmond, BC. It is incredibly exciting that this many of our Ruffian crew took time away from their lives, work and families to be able to attend this great learning opportunity together! It is this kind of dedication to staying on the cutting edge of dog training and learning theory that makes Diamonds in the Ruff a great place to bring your dog for training.
In November of 2003 instructor Cathy Fox and In March of 2004 DITR owners Carol & Dana Byrnes and instructor Lisa Lucas traveled to the CCPDT testing site to take a nerve wracking 4-hour exam to become the only instructors in Eastern Washington to be awarded the title of Certified Pet Dog Trainer. Diamonds in the Ruff is the only training school in the area to offer nationally certified dog trainers!
Over
the years Carol, Dana and staff have attended seminars featuring the following
speakers:
Wm.
Cartwright '80, Job Michael Evans '84, Bob Self May '89, William Campbell May
'89, several AKC Judges seminars, Anne Marie Silverton ‘92, John Rogerson training
camp Oct. '92, Mickey Niego Oct. '92, Wayne Cavanaugh AKC Oct. '92, Michael
Kaufman/Delta Society Oct. '92, Assistance Dog Institute-Delta Pet Partners
workshop Apr. '93, Cycle of Violence Seminar, Mother Hildegard George/Delta
Society, Nov. '93, Delta Pet Partners Training, Feb. ‘94, Ian Dunbar, Feb. '94,
Wendy Volhard, May '94, Dawn Jecs, Feb.'95, Delta Pet Partners Evaluator Training,
Denver, Mar. ‘95. Terry Ryan's Legacy Training Camps (several in Moscow and
one in Hawaii where they got to experience dolphin training!) Allison Rowbotham,Turrid
Rugaas, June ‘95, Suzanne Clothier and the late John Fisher. More recently,
Carol's favorite speakers have been Karen Pryor, Ted Turner, Sue Sternberg,
John Rogerson, Leslie Nelson, Ian Dunbar, Dawn Jecs, Morgan Spector, Donna Duford,
Trish King, Sarah Wilson, Shawna Karrasch, Steve White, Patricia McConnell,
Gail Fisher, Brenda Aloff, Jean Donaldson, Pia Silvani, Kathy Sdao, Virginia
Broitman, Pat Miller ...
To further their skills and education in the field of behavioral animal training and applied behavior analysis, DITR staff continues their education with conferences, e-mail lists for trainers, books and videos and attends training courses and work shops with some of the best animal trainers in the country, where they have earned several continuing education certificates. While they are required to attend at least one continuing education seminar per year, most attend many more.
For more information on upcoming seminars, visit:
Our instructors also subscribe to a variety of dog behavior & training journals, some of which are:
Your
Dog®, published by Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine
Dog Watch,
published by Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
The Association of Pet Dog Trainers'
Newsletter
ForwarD, and NADOI News - the National
Association of Dog Obedience Instructor's quarterly and bi-monthly newsletters
Off Lead
The Whole Dog Journal
Bark magazine
