AN INTRODUCTION TO DOG GAMES
at Ichthus Canine Centre, Wilsford,
Lincs, UK
8 & 9 July 2005
I would like to take this opportunity to thank Christina Oxtoby, founder of Ichthus Canine Centre, for inviting me to come and talk and give practical sessions about the Dog Games.
We all had a very interesting two days learning a great deal about dogs - what motivated them, how they learnt and remembered training sessions, how to help reduce their long-term stress problems, as well as how to teach them to do the various Games.
As usual, one of the most fascinating aspects of the seminar was watching each of the dogs body language when they went into the training area and began reading and writing on the newspaper, leaving messages of whether the training area was "safe and friendly" and that they had been there in previous training sessions. Once the dogs was relaxed and calm we were able to train both the dog and handler in a short, structured session and both human and dog learnt a great deal about each other using these methods .....
In each of the training sessions the dog's progress and ability to concentrate was noticeable, even those dogs who had just recently been rehomed and were obviously showing signs of default behaviour due to their high levels of long-term stress. I was able to give the handlers a range of ideas and suggestions for helping their dogs in the future (including nosework and mind games) and I am looking forward to hearing of their progress as Christina keeps in touch with me regularly.
Here are pictures of some of the dogs and handlers who did the Games over the weekend. Further details about these and many other dogs and handlers can be found by visiting the Roll of Honour and clicking on "Recall Starters", "Hand Starters", and "Touch Starters".
| Asaph | Deano | Jack | Max |
| Max | Molly | ||
I was particularly pleased to hear that some of the delegates were planning to meet and do the Games not only with Christina on a regular basis, but also that those who lived too far away from her were hoping to do the Games together and send in their results on an individual basis (see "Training by yourself or with a few friends").
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