These young African dogs are well fed and live in a park so they don't need to find their own food. The species is now on the endangered list.

Pet dog trainers set
inspiring goals

OVER the weekend of 21-24 September I attended the conference and annual meeting of the Pet Dog Trainers of Europe (PDTE) near Rome. As a non-member I did not attend the official part of the weekend (about 2 hours), but the rest of the weekend was informative and entertaining.

Turid Rugaas was the opening speaker, reminding everyone about the physical consequences of stress. Her example was a book called Why Zebras don't get Ulcers which illustrated the fact via a condensed version of the zebra lifestyle. The large cats are their main predator, however, they travel in herds of hundreds. So when one is singled out for food either that one is eaten or escapes. If it escapes the stress it will have suffered will take weeks to return to normal levels but because each herd contains hundreds of animals the likelihood of another attack on the same zebra is almost negligible. So the zebra has plenty of time to unwind and relax. But think about the stress levels and what would happen to the animal with constant daily stress. The resting pulse of a healthy dog is 40-50 per minute. But most vets will say that 60-120 is okay (they examine so many dogs within that range). However, it is not okay. Research in Australia has discovered a new hormone that is activated by stress - this hormone consumes the immune system and makes the dog receptive to all diseases. The water balance in the body is upset when a dog is stressed, making them pee often, which in turn depletes the body's vitamin and mineral stores. That is why shelter dogs often reach new owners in a very run-down condition - their vitamins and minerals are very low. The brain needs sugar to be able to concentrate and think clearly, but when under stress the sugar that is usually stored in the liver is used up. The body responds by making the heart beat quicker, resulting in high blood pressure. Blood pressure is a good indication of your dog's stress levels.

Anne Lill Kvam then spoke on nosework, and began with a little-known fact to back-up the previous speaker ... dogs eat grass while they are on walks or in training. Most people think they are hungry and just grazing - but grass is sweet, and what the dog is doing is reducing its own stress levels, replacing the depleted sugar stores. The olfactory abilities of dogs are well recorded, and dogs are always willing to assist humans using their special abilities. They are used to track people, truffles, diseases, illegal product and many other lost items or animals. That is why they enjoy tracking and finding games, retrieving hidden toys or treats, more than any other pet animals. Dogs can also learn names and colours and can retrieve articles according to that name or colour. The longer hairs on their bodies give them touch and feel information and they do like to bond with their owners, unless there is too much togetherness which could cause stress. A good game is to put small pieces of sausage on a tree where the dog can reach (hidden but accessible). As the dog gets better at the game it can become a sharing game with two or three dogs sharing a sausage tree.

Sheila Harper was concerned with building bridges - and that meant interpreting dogs' physical and behavioural signals to help them in the best way possible. Working with special dogs - dogs that require special handling because of earlier trauma - makes the human trainer more aware that life skills are far more important than a daily walk or obedience training. Socialisation can be good or bad and that is why owners need to be able to take control and get their dog out of stressful situations. There should be no bullying at puppy play groups and Sheila stressed that owners should not try to mould the perfect dog - they should simply try to be the most perfect owner, and then will find that their dog has become perfect without training! Wellness is also very important - a sick dog is not a happy dog. And owners can forget the silly stories on pack dominance. There are no dominant dogs, only job roles in the pack. So take an example from this and let dogs communicate with each other, give them space to move in, see situations from the dogs' perspective and before you go giving commands ask if they are really necessary. Most are not.

Yannis Arachovitis was the pre-lunch Saturday speaker, telling the audience about dog training in Greece. Greek and Turkish dog trainers often work together, despite the inability of the governments to interact amicably. When people moved from the country to the city many years ago they lost touch with dogs, which were often poisoned. But now the use of positive training, without choke chains, electric collars and a host of other nasties, is slowly being adopted by Greek and Turkish trainers. There is still a long way to go, but positive methods have been advertised in many articles and media sources, and Yannis now teaches dog training to army personnel, which is seen as a really large step in the right direction. A more active participation from the PDTE was requested, not only for Greece and Turkey, but also for Romania and Yugoslavia.

Sally Askew spoke after the lunch break on Choices, the first choice being that of inviting a dog to live with us and become part of the family. Each dog is an individual - listen to the dog, respect it, trust it and love it. Your lifestyle must have consistency but the dog's instincts must be respected. When they want to be with their owner (or away from their owner) they must be allowed to make their own choices. Lack of balance in their lives leads to high levels of stress but just how high depends on the dog, just as it would in humans. Desensitisation of dogs that have fears doesn't work - the dog must have the choice available to walk away if it wants to.

Susi Roger and Andrea Knoblauch described "visiting the neighbours" in the final presentation of the day . The Mongolian wolves in a German zoo were the subjects, and the enriching of their environment was shown from the early zoo enclosures through to the present day enriched environment where the wolves have a tunnel by which they can enter the tiger and lion enclosures (when the tigers and lions are not home of course) and can treat themselves to all the new smells of lions, tigers and tiger and lion poo and all the unfamiliar smells in the new enclosures, but can go back to their own enclosure when they feel like doing so. Their own cages are enriched with spices and herbs, branches from other animal cages and poo from other animals.

Sunday began with the AGM which took until the coffee break. It was decided that next year's conference of the PDTE would be held in Finland.

Mirjam Cordt then spoke on the rehabilitation of aggressive dogs. Some dogs snarl and hate to be touched. Some urinate anywhere, some jump up on people, some hate to be alone, some hate to be in cars, some bark a lot, some hate their leash and some are destructive and will chew and eat anything they the are left alone with. All these behaviours are not problems, they can actually be positive behaviours. People often demand too much from dogs but they need to be free to express their own personality. They are often misunderstood and their owners demand more of them than they would from a human friend. Such huge demands can lead to anti-social behaviour. Dogs with behaviour problems are still very worth adopting. Their owners simply need to appreciate the dog's feelings and all its behaviour. Use body language more subtly and note any small body language communication from the dog. Dogs cope best with consistency and when they know someone is protecting and caring for them. Learn how dogs react to sounds and actions and everyday happenings and most of all always act with confidence so that ypour dog knows it can trust you and rely on you.

Heike Westedt informed her audience of the brain and fear connection. The dog's brain under stress lists its environment as dangerous or non-dangerous. If the dangerous choice is made it is only a tendency towards action at this stage as the choice is at sub-conscious level. The brain then examines the object or location more carefully and includes its memories. If this second stage confirms the dangerous category then the brain sends a message for the adrenalin to begin. The first, unconscious thought is never noticed, but that fear stays in the dog's memory for life. All we can do to help is to adjust the next, conscious message to help the dog realise there is no scary situation. That is why positive training is hugely important. The brain is like a main highway. When there is a problem the highway is blocked so the brain calls for more information and noradrenalin then prepares the brain to look for a problem bypass. This is the reaction to stress, which is followed by more adrenalin and activity to find the solution - it is positive action by the brain. If there is then no solution the brain goes into survival mode whichmeans the memory goes into confusion and brain action is not controllable and such situations can cause long-term stress and brain damage. Any solution the dog finds when under such conditions will become a permanent behaviour whenever a similar environmental situation is experienced. With such dogs do not overdo training. Positive conditioning is the only way to go with scary objects - challenge the dog in a positive way Both dogs and humans have not two but four possible reactions to scary encounters - fight, flight, fiddle about, or freeze.

Cristina Munro trains assistance dogs in the homes of the disabled person who is the dog's owner. Usually in other training schemes puppies go to puppy walking homes and then training homes and are often not in the home of the eventual owner until they are about two years old. But the organisers of the TAA and AAA programmes say they really are teaching the owners 90percent of the time. The dogs have no stress because they are with their owner and not changing homes. The owners must attend the programmes if they want their dog trained as it is they who will be dealing with the dogs for their lifetimes. These schemes train dogs from six months old for two hours every day, and see waiting until the dog is two years old to begin training as a waste of the dog's early life.

Undine Nickerl gave her audience a glance into the world of therapy with dogs and how the presence of a dog in hospital reduces stress levels in both adult and child patients. Paraplegy and neurology hospitals use dogs in therapy and children are more relaxed with a dog as occupational therapy. The dogs are trained to lie on a table so that disabled patients can see them and pat them. Or the therapy may be to go for a walk with the dog. These hospital dogs may be working all day and every day, but they do take rests in-between patients in dog rest rooms, which are not accessible to patients, so that they have time to wind-down. The dogs can be petted or brushed while they are on the table, or they can play games and receive treats, or go for a walk. Patients often want a photograph of the dog so they can talk about the therapy with their friends. The games are organised to give the patient the type of exercise required, such as picking things up and putting them down with an injured hand.

Sally Hopkins spoke on dog games and as a trainer she motivates the owners to come to games sessions just as much as the dogs. Some of the games involve recall over different distances, recall over low jumps, and static retrieve from the treat box. The games are simple but build confidence as the dog goes through different levels of the games, sometimes with other people or other dogs within scent distance. The maximum is five runs in any session, but some dogs may require less. They are worked weekly and rested for the rest of the week. To keep the interest of the owners Sally recommends small tokens of achievement such as rosettes for levels achieved. All the games are aimed at reducing stress levels in dogs and bringing owners and dogs closer through watching for calming signals and body language.and responding to the dog's requirements.

Nicole Mackie was the final speaker of the weekend. She described a wild dog park in Africa on seven acres of land, where most of the dogs are rescued by farmers or others and handed to the park wardens. They are an endangered species with only 2000-5000 remaining. In the wild they walk many miles daily in the search for food, and the puppies are always fed first. They pee in the water and then sit in it - this is because their urine acts as an insect repellent on their legs and hindquarters. There are about 20 dogs in the pack at the park, but there is no mental stimulation there. Only the pack parents breed. Visiting to the park is restricted. An interesting video was shown, which demonstrated many of the dogs' traits and calming signals. The conference then ended with plans for next year already in skeletal mode.