Dog Lovers Show 2015 was a hit in Melbourne this year, bringing in tens of thousands of people through the doors over three days.
I, along with an amazing team of professionals and colleagues had the privilege of being a part of it as we ran the Ask the Trainer stand. This was the first time is was part of the Melbourne show.
Not only did we have an amazing three days, answering questions and helping people with their dog issues, we also ran demonstrations of both puppy classes and teen classes and again, the first ever using positive training methods. We also did canine massage and presentations on anxiety in dogs.
We drew the crowds as they saw puppies perform despite the noise and crowd and distractions around them. I never imagined the puppies would find it so easy. And then we had the teen dogs doing their lessons and again they blew me away with their level of focus and calmness.
The crowds were awed at how easy it was to train these dogs, smiling, having fun with loose leashes, lolling dog tongues, clickers firing off and lots of yummy treats or cuddles dished out.
And some people may have even seen me during an emotional moment because while I ran one of my puppy classes, a young girl did the entire lesson with her pup. It was beautiful, it was innocent and inspiring and this can only happen using positive training methods.
I guess what was most humbling was that ordinary people and dog owners could easily identify the difference between our positive training and what was being displayed downstairs on a particular stand. They could see our dogs were having a blast and the dogs downstairs were suppressed and scared to look at their owners.
As sad as that may be for those dogs, it shows me that we ARE winning the battle and society can see that positive training methods are the way to go.
Thank you to everyone on the team- Dr. Gabrielle Carter, Marianne Locke, Aimee Begg, Lisa Faorlin, Anthony Desira, Jess Slade, Amanda Murcutt and Kristel Buttigieg and most of all, our volunteers with their pups and dogs who were the highlights of the show- Poppy, Moose, Lucy, Lenny, Dot, Harry, Luna, Parker, Wilbur, Swift, Ruby, Roxy, Maestro, Aiko, Fozzie, Tofu, Cooper, Diego, Ralph, Mufasa, Duke, Sisi, Buzz, Bentley, Murphy, Molly and Tex.
Watch out 2016 as we will be back with an even bigger show and a stronger message!
