"Gettin' in Tune... Learning to Read Your Dog's Body Language"  with  Ken McCort and the Wolf Park Staff

Ever wonder why your dog did something?  Why did it lick another dog's ears, or roll in something dead?  Do you find yourself accidentally training your dog by reacting to what it has already done?   Don't you wish you could predict your dog’s behavior?  Do you sometimes wonder if your training is going too fast or too slow for your dog?  If any of this sounds familiar, then learning to read your dog's signals and cues may be the right thing for you.

Understanding the signals dogs are constantly giving out, and noticing the context under which they are given, will help you answer these questions and a lot more.  No "psychic" ability necessary, dogs are constantly letting us know how they feel.  It's just that most people are not aware enough to catch the signals of how the dog is feeling or what it is trying to communicate.

In this seminar Ken will lead as participants explore displacement behaviors, appeasement gestures, cut off signals, conflict behaviors and other subtle and not so subtle cues all dogs demonstrate that tell people their emotions, intentions and concerns.  In addition, participants will talk about gross anatomy communication, such as tail positions and weight shifts.  Add in sensory awareness,  space and distance concerns and the dog’s communication gets rather complex.  

This seminar is designed to bring together all these elements to help the human  understand and then predict the dog’s behaviors.  We will use the resident wolves and  some other demonstration animals to show the participants how the communication flows.  Many of the  demonstrations will be filmed and reviewed by the group, so that the identification of the behaviors is clear and obvious to all.

If you are interested in getting more in touch with your dog's emotions, learning to train  more efficiently and getting a closer look at wolves than anywhere else I know of, then plan on attending this intense, fun and exciting  seminar weekend.

Cost includes
- 3 full days of seminar activities and instruction
-one year membership to Wolf Park
- mug
- 3 lunches, two breakfasts and one dinner
-Ethogram, Management Chapter
- binder with Ken’s handouts

Ken McCort Biography

Ken McCort owns and operates Four Paws training center in Doylestown, Ohio. Along with his wife, Marilyn, a veterinarian, he lives with 6 dogs, 7 cats, 8 large birds, 2 goats, a pony and 4 llamas. In his profession, he works with animals with behavioral concerns. Most clients and animals are acquired by referred from veterinarians or other clients. He has been training animals full time and on a one-on-one basis since 1986. Currently, he works with dogs, cats, birds and llamas. In addition to his business, Ken is a certified master instructor with the Delta Society's Pet Partner program. Not only does he evaluate and  certify animal/handler teams to visit in hospitals, nursing homes and many other areas, but he also helped to develop and now teaches the Licensed Team Evaluator Course given by the Delta Society both nationally and internationally. Currently Ken is working with 15 hospitals that have visiting animal programs including the "Doggie Brigade" at Children¹s Hospital Medical Center of Akron, OH. Ken has taught courses on animal behavior at the University of Akron and Columbus State University. He has presented before the Midwest Veterinary Conference, the Society of Anthrozoologists, the Delta Society, Tufts University Animal Exposition, and many other animal related groups. In addition, Wolf Park in Battleground, Indiana, which is a research facility that studies wolf behavior, utilizes Ken for some of its presentations, and has allowed him to train with their wolves for several years.

photo album

Waynetta's best lessons learned

1. Control the resources to...ALWAYS reinforce the good behavior..Manage the unwanted behavior
2. Behavior modification takes time and patience and may escalate before it begins to diminish.  Stay positive and continue working.
3. Try to see the world and the situation through the eyes of the animal before you respond to the behavior.  Then you manage it accordingly.

Kyler's favorite lessons

1. Don't punish a dog for growling.  (Call the dog.)
2. Never touch a dog before he touches you.