Class Description: Every dog owner needs to be not only a proficient reader of dog body language, but a skilled communicator as well! Too often we have the dogs doing the “heavy lifting” in the conversation, focusing on teaching them how to respond to us, but we’d be so much more effective if our daily social interactions with dogs were in line with how they communicate, and demonstrated respect for their answers. In this workshop, learn how to be a good communicator, and to avoid the common human mistakes of repetition, pressure, too much touch, and monologuing! Class Syllabus • The benefits of good social communication in a dog-human team • Common human mistakes in socially interacting with dogs • Play models: predator or prey? • How do dogs say no, and can we let them? • How to measure when we’re “too much” and “not enough” in social connection

Sponsor:FDSA Pet Professionals Program
Speaker(s):Amy Cook, PhD, CPDT-KA, CDBC

Contact: Amy Cook
 Email: sarah.g.owen@gmail.com