Herding Dog Classes!

I love this new set of courses. I see so many people with the beautiful and intelligent herding dogs that really need something to do. To those herding dogs, that something is to herd. Every state has 4H and kids with sheep, goats, ducks, etc. Those kids are often willing to let you come and use their stock for a small fee. This helps the kids and helps your dog. Your dog and you will strengthen your bond even more and become a working team. If you have a herding dog...do it a big favor and let it do for you what it was bred to do. You will both have a blast! For more information, April Quist, in her "Border Collies" FAQ provides readers with some of the best and most thorough information on the web today."

New courses are now available. The whole press release can be found on PRWEB. Kathy Kawalec, of Dancing Hearts, Wholistic Training and Well-Being for Animals and People has developed Herding Dog Courses at E-Training for Dogs.


Who should take theses classes? Herding breed dogs with their handlers who are interested in a positive method for learning and teaching their dogs shepherding skills, for fun, for competition or for farm chores.
There are 12 courses available (The first two currently scheduled):
• Herding Dogs: Building the Foundation
• Herding Dogs: Basic Skill Building
• Herding Dogs: Practical Work and Expanding Skills
• Herding Dogs: Gathering and Driving, Level 1
• Herding Dogs: Pens, Gates, Ranch Chores
• Herding Dogs: Gathering and Driving, Level 2
• Herding Dogs: Herding Competition, Beginner
• Herding Dogs: Herding Competition, Novice
• Herding Dogs: Gathering and Driving, Level 3
• Herding Dogs: Advanced Penning and Shedding
• Herding Dogs: Herding Competition, Intermediate
• Herding Dogs: Herding Competition, Advanced

You will learn and practice skills designed to shape your dog’s natural herding abilities while you also learn how to read stock. Kathy’s methods focus on keeping the dog in a calm, focused, eager-to-learn state of mind – which helps the dog learn, and helps the handler to learn too!
Dogs will be started on a long line and reinforced for calm, quiet behavior in the presence of the stock. A clicker will be used to mark the “good moves” and the dog will be allowed to move towards the stock and make natural moves to control the sheep’s movement around the pen. The line is dropped incrementally, as the dog and handler learn the foundation skills of stock handling – that process is determined by the progress of each individual team.
Kathy’s methods, which are based upon clear communication, understanding and respect, are effective and positively reinforcing to dog and handler alike!

This blog is dedicated to bringing quality education to anyone, anywhere on all areas of and philosophies of dog training. I started an online dog training and education website where people can go and take a course either live or recorded to learn to train their own dog. I call it E-Training for Dogs.

How did this get started? Well, you can read more about me here. I have always loved and worked with dogs and I am a college professor. Combining those two loves and talents, I ended up creating an online site for people who want to train their own dogs.

To do this, E-Training for Dogs, Inc. has harnessed the power of the internet, using online audio and video to bring the dog training seminar and professional dog trainer and training to people. No travel involved. No time off work. We are the only online access to quality dog trainers and dog training available both instructor-led (live) or self-paced (recorded). Access and timing is everything; and access to the unique and large variety of dog sports, working dogs, and working with dogs is now available to everyone, anywhere, anytime.

The model used with e-Training for Dogs, Inc. is identical to a University or College offering their courses online. Like a University that may contract with professors in various fields and offer a menu of courses such as Geography, Math or Accounting through online courses, e-Training for Dogs, Inc. will contract with professionals in various dog training fields and offer a menu of courses such as herding, mobility assistance, agility or hunting dog training. Like a University, e-Training for Dogs, Inc. provides easy access to timely and quality dog training instruction for the working or sporting dog enthusiast that wants to train her or his own dog with the ongoing guidance of an experienced dog trainer without leaving their home.

Currently, there are several ways to train one’s dog: (1) Send the dog to a professional trainer for several months for the professional to train. The dog is returned trained, but the owner was not part of the learning process with the dog. (2) Attend a clinic or weekend workshop presented by professional trainers where the various steps are demonstrated using dogs at various stages in learning, take notes, go home, and apply these methods yourself with your dog. (3) Purchase books or videos and attempt to use the methods in these to train your own dog. e-Training for Dogs, Inc. has definite benefits over these currently available methods of training a dog. While the most obvious are the personalization, the flexibility and the cost savings from not having to travel or spend excess time away from work or home, there are also others that might not be so obvious. For example:

• It is personalized – we will strive to offer most of the courses in a two-way interaction format, though some of the courses will be stored in the computer “library” and may be taken on demand. Each unique person and unique dog is taken through the training sequence one-on-one with the expert while they are learning the methods. Often, unexpected problems arise in training that are not covered in a book, video or at a workshop due to the individuality of both the dog and the owner.
  

• It is ongoing – People can bring their dog along step by step with the ongoing assistance of the expert. Most things learned in life must be built upon step by step and this business will allow the learner and their dog to have access to the expert as they build toward their training goals.


• It can be self-paced – Though we will offer courses in a two-way interaction, there will be stored courses that can be taken when needed or time allows. The courses can be set up using a module-based design that will allow the learner to go through smaller chunks of training that can be used and absorbed for a while before moving on.


• It moves faster - According to an article by Jennifer Salopek in "Training and Development Magazine," e-learning courses progress up to 50 percent faster than traditional courses. This is partly because the individualized approach allows learners to skip material they already know and understand and move onto the issues they need training on.


• It can work from any location and any time - E-learners can go through training sessions from anywhere, usually at anytime. This Just-In-Time (JIT) benefit can make learning possible for people who never would have been able to work it into their schedules prior to the development of e-learning.
  

• It can be updated easily and quickly - Online e-learning sessions are easy to keep up-to-date because the materials are uploaded to a server and stored.


• It can lead to increased retention and a stronger grasp on the subject - This is because of the many elements that are combined in e-learning to reinforce the message, such as video, audio, quizzes, interaction, etc. There is also the ability to revisit or replay sections of the training that might not have been clear the first time around. Try that in a weekend seminar!


• It can be easily managed for large groups of students – e-Training for Dogs, Inc .will allow instructors to keep track of the course offerings, schedule or assign training for participants and track their progress and results.

The benefits of e-learning to train dogs:
· Ability to take training modules from some of the nation’s best trainers without leaving home or sending dogs away to stay with the trainer.
· Allows a person to train their own dog with a professional’s assistance.
· Ongoing and individualized professional assistance in applying training techniques as their own dog progresses through a training sequence.
· A mechanism for an individual to present his or her particular training issues/goals/barriers as they come up in a training sequence. People often run into problems that the book/video just doesn’t address no matter how many times you read the book or watch the video.
· Freedom to choose courses needed at the particular time customers need them.
· Ability to watch videos made just for the particular course students are in around the issues they and their classmates present. Similar to a weekend semina,r only assistance from the professional spans several weeks as customers work their own dog through training sequences.
· Ability to send in personal videos or explain individual problems during a course to an instructor for timely and individualized feedback.
· Richness of listening to other classmates’ problems with particular dogs and how the professional advises that classmate.
· Saves money in travel costs to attend seminars.
· Saves professional training costs.
· Teaches the owner to train and handle their own dogs, therefore the dogs learns from the owner, not a stranger that will never work or own the dog.

e-Training for Dogs Inc. offers a menu of training modules taught by top notch instructors that will work with students and their dogs on an individual basis over the time involved in training the dog to perform certain tasks necessary for the working or sporting dog. Students will choose and sign up for a course, pay using credit card, join in the class at the scheduled time for live courses, and follow the online lessons over the scheduled time period of the course. Courses are presented by computer and teleconference with the instructor in small groups during a specific time period over the relevant time period in weeks or months. Courses are also available in a self-paced format where they are not live and students can view the presentations on their own time. Richness in experience for the student will come by listening to how the instructor helps them and others with specific problems as the class works together. Students will watch, on their own computers, the prepared courses presented live using power-point presentations with embedded video while simultaneously interacting with the instructor and the class by telephony.