Perth
Canine Open Training Forum
Proudly Presented by ‘Performadog Perth’
Western Australia
September 14th and 15th 9am to 5pm
Marangaroo School - Giralt rd, Marangaroo
Western Australia
About Our Coming Weekend Together
Fellow
breeders, handlers, trainer and dog owner. Many of you I have met in other
workshops and by know I am sure that you have gained some insight into my
training philosophies. For those of you that have attended more than one will
notice that there is a common theme. That is because regardless of the
discipline canine learning laws are universal and whatever you decide to do
with your dog, you must understand a few very important fundamentals.
- · How dogs learn
- · What drives them
- · How to motivate them
- · How to balance concentration and motivation
- · How to compress drive as opposed to suppress drive
This
next workshop in Perth is an open forum. It is more about what you want and
need so that I can work with individual questions from the floor so that we can
cater for individual problems. I will cover tracking, obedience, drive building
and anything else that you want answers too.
Our Workshops are normally $440 and we have reduced
this workshop to $220 for spectators and $300 for anyone that wishes to bring
their dog to work with. This is a
thank you for the support you Western
Australians have given me. Following this workshop we will be holding another later this year for a smaller group targeting very complex training and individual problem solving, be sure to watch out for this one and book in advance as we only can only cater for 20 people.
From our
observation, the average owner or trainer spends most of their time fighting
long term unwanted behaviours. Some of
these behaviours can be traced to your dog’s genetic predisposition. However,
for the most part they are learnt behaviours that have been reinforced time
after time. In other words, they are training problems that may have been
taught.
It is from these
unwanted behaviours, whether it be in a show, competitive training or simply at
home, that many tricks and gimmicks seem to spring into the dog world. These
methods in general do not correct the problems but merely mask them.
In addition
these quick-fix solutions only add to the problems in training. Once the
undesirable behaviours have developed, training is never as simple as it could
have been and is often very frustrating.
At this
point a very promising young dog has become nothing but a horror to work and
live with.
- · When did it all start?
- · Was it as early as the first sit command?
Besides the
fact that the dog will learn what behaviour to perform when it hears the word “sit”
it simultaneously learns how to learn (classical conditioning – the feeling
associated with it). This is where foundation training begins. What the dog has
learnt during its foundation training will have a lasting effect on its
performance, for better or worse. During stress or problem solving the dog will
always attempt to access its foundation training as a point of reference.
It is at
this point in time where the dog and trainer learn to speak the same language –
or not! This critical stage of training requires firsthand knowledge of animal
learning, patience and specifically taught exercises.
Von Forell
K9 Education offers you complete training opportunities for any promising young
dog. We will show you how to reinforce the genetic potential in your dog with
the soundest training systems available. Our seminars and workshops are specifically
designed to bring about positive and permanent shifts in your quality of
training.
They are designed to help you view the training of dogs with
complete new possibilities. Finally we will cover the current state of global
breeding practices and the impact on behaviour, what the breeder must know
about proper trait selection, developing their puppies and what they should be
teaching their puppy owners, how this impacts the type of dogs we end up in our
community.
On a Personal Note
For any families, competitors or Law Enforcement Officers
that wish to attend one of my seminars / workshops, the information below is designed
to provide you with some understanding as to the overall structure and focus of
the event.
Firstly I will commence with a general opening
statement, the history and current global position of the working dog world. I
will discuss its belief systems, my philosophy on training dogs, my position on
positive and negative training systems, and all the possibilities it creates.
Then we shall discuss how to create and develop a
proactive puppy or adult. I will illustrate the advantages of establishing why
this active training component is so important and how to achieve it, as it is
the underlying theme in my system.
We will cover the importance of the reinforcement of
self-recovery, teaching the dogs how to “learn to learn” and how they can
manipulate their environment to access reward. We will cover conditioned
passive and active reward techniques and show you why one technique creates
concentration whilst the other creates motivation.
Shaping puppy behaviour is a vital part of the
program but what is most important is the teaching of active and passive states
and essential behaviours. This sets the dogs up for a successful and obedient
career.
The entire system is about creating a very strong
basic foundation which is all possible within your own home, providing a
distraction free environment for optimum learning. My strong opinion is that group classes are
detrimental to canine learning in the initial stages and the only way to teach a
dog properly is to create a quality distraction free environment at home. Once
that is established, I will then teach you how to allow increasing distractions
to enhance and solidify your dog’s target behaviours, and lock them in.
An exciting aspect of this system is that it rapidly
improves your relationship with your dog and maintains harmony throughout his
life. A system that is to a large degree maintenance free because the
behaviours are thoroughly understood by the dog.
I
will also show you the use of prompts and containment fields to assist the
concept of error-less learning, and how modern training aids only amplify your
dog’s responses, with thoughtful application. The learning systems are designed
for people who want to establish a great working relationship with their dog, control
their family pet, compete at a high level or improve and manage their tactical
Police Dog.
Kris Kotsopoulos
Von Forell Instinctive Training Systems
About the Presenter
Kris Kotsopoulos has been involved
in breeding and training dogs since 1981. He has worked with first-time dog
owners through to the most demanding Law Enforcement Canines and their
handlers, and World Championship Competitors. Kris and his wife Tonia are
breeders of Dobermanns and German Shepherds under the kennel name “Von Forell”.
His dogs and training philosophies have been incorporated into many training
systems by competitors and Law Enforcement Agencies worldwide.
Kris’s workshops are designed to give you a
clear directive of how dogs learn, what drives them, how to improve learning
due to purposeful directives, and how to shape behaviour for a dynamic, focused
and harmonious performance. This is an opportunity to learn the latest cutting
edge training systems to deliver spirited, obedient animals on cue.
Having devoted the last 32 years of his life
to research, development and education of the working dog, paired with
extensive work in the area of animal welfare, Kris has now expanded his
professional horizons by sharing his knowledge with the community as a
consultant for a range of government agencies, breed clubs and animal welfare
groups.
Over the past three decades, Kris has
travelled the globe in order to learn from the world’s best international
trainers, breeders and animal behaviourists. As a result of his enthusiasm and
dedication for greater knowledge, Kris has acquired an in-depth understanding
of raising, developing and training dogs for a variety of purposes.
Through the skills and successes he has achieved, Kris has gained a
sound understanding of what motivates animals to behave the way they do and
just as importantly, how to apply this knowledge to achieve specialised goals.
Kris currently shares this knowledge by operating both national and international
training programs, seminars and workshops, each individually tailored to meet
the needs of the general community, other trainers and government agencies
globally.
Kris has implemented a variety of learning systems ranging from basic
family obedience, to the most demanding competition, police, prison and
professional security animals with an emphasis on true, open and uncomplicated behaviour
with stimulus control. He is truly committed to breaking down barriers that
exist for dogs and dog welfare in our community, and believes that consultation
with breed clubs, animal management officers and animal welfare groups will
help achieve this goal.
“Purposeful,
meaningful relationships between handlers and their dogs to create extraordinary
dogs and extraordinary handlers.”
Kris’s commitment to the dog world is further highlighted through his
companies:
Von Forell Kennels
An international provider of working dogs Dobermanns and German
Shepherds, training equipment, premium dry dog food (Performadog) and cutting
edge training technologies. The company’s primary focus is the breeding of
highly driven animals that are genetically orientated to be working service
dogs and excellent family companions. www.vonforell.com
Detector Dogs Australia
A specialised consulting service that focuses on providing explosive and
narcotic detection dogs, specifically trained to meet the individual needs of
government, business, private enterprise and the education sector. Detector Dogs
Australia has been appointed to provide explosive detection services for the
Port of Melbourne since 2008. www.detectordogs.com.au
K9 Security Service
A specialised security and
consulting service that focuses on providing security dogs trained to meet the
specific needs of government, business, private enterprise and educational
sector assets. www.k9security.com.au
How To Achieve Precision
Tracking With Your Dog
Kris is the author of this internationally acclaimed manual for teaching
dogs the specialised skills of Competitive Tracking, Police Canine Tracking and
Search and Rescue.
Kris is also a co-founder of the National
Dogs Trainers Federation - a representative and educational organisation for the dog
training industry, which has now become the national representative body in Australia
for dog trainers from all fields.
The NDTF offers
Australia’s only Government accredited nationally recognised dog trainer
certification course. By using Kris’s strong links and networks with other
animal organisations, both nationally and internationally, Kris is able to
assist with the development of formal policies, contribute to ongoing research
in the area of canine training and behaviour, and further build on the
necessary educational programs required to assert positive influence and bring
about permanent change.
Telephone from Australia 03 5786 5388 Fax from Australia 03 5786 5277
International Calls +61 3 5786 53 88 International Faxes +61 3 5786 52 77
Postal PO
Box 419 Greensborough 3088 Melbourne Australia
Personal Advice: By
telephone, e-mail or at our facilities, our specialists will answer any
questions what ever they may be, and guide you in your choice of products and
services.
All rights
reserved.
Copyright © - Kris Kotsopoulos - Von Forell International
No part of
this document may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
