The 2015 APDT Annual Educational Conference and Tradeshow will be held in Dallas, Texas October 14th – the 17th. Prestigious speakers and engaging seminars for new and veteran trainers alike make the APDT Conference a “must see” event. Can’t attend in person? Two full days of Conference will be live-streamed, directly into your home, office, facility, or anywhere you wish to watch! Earn CEUs, host a gathering for friends and colleagues, or simply sit back in your bed and watch the likes of Roger Abrantes, Linda Case, Erica Feuerbacher, and many more.
Opening Session & Welcome
Preview Available
Identification: WE01
Speaker(s):
Keynote: Helping Our Canine Friends by Helping Ourselves with Science
Preview Available
Identification: WE02
This session will highlight some of the characteristics of behaviorology, the natural science of behavior, that enhance its benefits for our canine friends, particularly as it becomes increasingly available to help solve the global problems that affect them as much as us.
Learning Objectives:
Beware the Straw Man: Fact, Fiction & Science in the Dog Training World
Preview Available
Identification: WE03
As owners and trainers, we make many decisions for our dogs (and for those of our students and clients) each and every day. Some of these decisions are simple and mundane, while others are of much greater importance to our dogs’ emotional and physical well-being. And, in today’s world, the source and amount of information that influence our decisions are enormous and often overwhelming. In this seminar, attendees will learn to critically evaluate the types of information that inform us about dog training and behavior. In particular, we will look at the role that science can play in our decision-making and how we may use science to make evidence-based decisions for our training practices. We will begin by reviewing the scientific method and how it is put into practice in canine cognition, behavior, and training studies. Specific examples from published studies will be used to illustrate study designs, the use of control groups, and the scientific evidence pyramid. The second half of the seminar will focus on a set of recently published studies that examine several popular training and behavior modification techniques. Attendees will be given the opportunity evaluate the studies and their results, to consider what relevance the results may have to their own training practices and to discuss further studies that may be helpful (and are needed) to help trainers, pet professionals and dog owners to make well-informed, evidence-based decisions for their dogs.
Learning Objectives:
FUNdamentals of Working with Kids and Dogs
Preview Available
Identification: WE06
Speaker(s):
Dog Language - The Evolution of Canine Social Behavior
Preview Available
Identification: WE04
A completely new and much updated version of this most popular talk and seminar—a most comprehensive and exciting journey into the world of canine communication. The speaker illustrates all the aspects of canine communication with stunning slides and film. He explains the differences between aggressive, fearful, dominant and submissive behavior. A comprehensive review of greeting, bonding, friendliness, parental behavior, mating strategies, with all their multitudes of expressions, shown and explained in wolves, jackals, foxes, African wild dogs, dingos, coyotes and domestic dogs.
Learning Objectives:
Some Basic Principles, Methods, Concepts, and Practices of Behaviorology, Our Natural Science of Behavior
Preview Available
Identification: WE05
This seminar, concerning the basics of the science that informs behavior training, especially serves those who might be relatively new to dog training and behaviorology (the natural science of the behavior of all animals, including dogs and cats and humans, etc.) as well as serves those who are seeking some professional review of this science. As such, the seminar explores behavior as a natural phenomena that we study as the effect (the dependent variable) that occurs as a function of a range of causes (independent variables) both behind and beyond clicker training. After considering a range of behavior types (e.g., motor, neural, operant) we examine both some factors that induce behavior to occur (e.g., eliciting and evocative stimuli) and some factors that increase or decrease the occurrence of behavior (e.g., added, unconditioned, and conditioned reinforcers, the last of which is the basic variable that makes clicker training work). We finish with some practices that can include clicker training in their application (e.g., differential reinforcement, shaping, and chaining), and we may even have time to consider some research designs that you can include in your practices. This first seminar provides enough information to enable benefitting from attending the second seminar in this two–seminar series. The reference material for these seminar is my book, Running Out of Time—Introducing Behaviorology to Help Solve Global Problems. This book is available at the Conference; while having a copy at the seminar will be convenient, it is not required.
Learning Objectives:
Tricked into Fitness
Preview Available
Identification: WE07
Fitness is a critical component of a healthy dog. Sixty percent of dogs in the US are overweight or obese. Part of a good training program involves both mental and physical fitness. Tricks are a fun way to do both! The benefits include building a better relationship between the dog and handler, enhancing core strength and coordination, reducing injuries and increasing longevity.
Learning Objectives:
Introductory Behaviorology: A Book Discussion
Preview Available
Identification: TH01
This session begins as a talk and discussion about the book, Running Out of Time—Introducing Behaviorology to Help Solve Global Problems. The contents of this book provide the details about the topics covered in the other seminar series (i.e., the behavior science that informs companion animal behavior training). We touch on what the book contains, and emphasize how it came about. Then, this session provides an opportunity in which your behavior-science related questions that have not yet received answers may finally get their due attention. This session can include book signing.
Learning Objectives:
It's All Fun and Games Until Somebody Gets Hurt
Preview Available
Identification: TH02
Training and working with dogs can be rewarding and enhance the relationship between a dog and its owner. Injuries can occur as a result of physical exertion, underlying medical conditions or environmental conditions. Knowing the most common conditions affecting dogs during sport or work will prepare the dog owner and instructor to develop prevention strategies. Recognizing when an injury or illness requires emergency veterinary care will provide more effective treatment and peace of mind for everyone.
Learning Objectives:
Trainer & Veterinary Collaboration: Referrals and Case Management with Veterinary Partners
Preview Available
Identification: TH03
Do you ever find that your work leaves you feeling a bit isolated from other trainers or animal care professionals? Or that some of your professional relationships feel more competitive than complementary? Would shared referrals benefit your business? This half day workshop will utilize lecture and discussion formats to illustrate techniques for creating a collaborative, team-based approach to the process of assessment and behavior modification based on the real-world, shared-case experiences of a veterinary behaviorist and a trainer. Learn ways for making connections with veterinary partners, developing a solid understanding of the assets and limitations of each of the team members, learning how to work together in efficient and productive ways, and creating a process to provide the greatest possible benefit for the dog and for the client. Case based group discussion will be used to illustrate key points including: how to create relationships with other practitioners, how to maintain open and effective communication among multiple individuals within the team, ways to structure reports for accurate and efficient relay of information, and developing trust in those relationships that allow each individual to perform to the best of their ability.
Speaker(s):