The R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone

The R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs.
(Realizing Excellence With Attention Redirection and Desensitization)
with Pam Dennison, Author of How to Right a Dog Gone Wrong and Bringing Light to Shadow

September 13-14-15, 2019.

Times: Friday Night Introduction, 7 to 9 p.m. (without the dogs)

Saturday & Sunday Workshop – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with the dogs)
Cost: $300.00 for working teams (1 dog and 1 handler)
$150.00 for auditors
Maximum 8 working teams, unlimited auditors

(lodging and meals are not included)

IAABC: 25 ceu’s
CPDT-KA: 18.25 CBCC-KA: 2.5
CPDT-KSA Knowledge: 2.50 CBCC-KSA Knowledge: 2.50
CPDT-KSA Skills: 15.75 CBCC-KSA Skills: 0.00

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Is your dog reactive or aggressive? Are you having problems knowing how to help him/her? Have you hit a wall and don’t know how to proceed? Are you a trainer that either is or wants to work with aggressive dogs? You will learn a system that has a proven track record – 17 years of successful seminars and weekly classes with aggressive, reactive and shy dogs.

Because of the nature of living with an aggressive dog, you’ll need to understand that one simply can’t get the aggression “to just go away.” Nature abhors a vacuum and we will fill the behavioral space with relevant, stimulating and fun skills for you and your dog as part of the desensitization process.

The R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone program focuses on:

  • Establishing foundation behaviors,
  • Learning to shape new behaviors,
  • Reading your dog’s body language properly,
  • Learning to interpret your environment, quickly and effectively,
  • Teaching you to set up safe and successful sessions,
  • Erecting a line of communication from both sides of the leash,
  • Learning how to properly set, raise or lower criteria,
  • Teaching you to be a more effective trainer overall,
  • Applying the counterconditioning and desensitization process properly
  • Understanding the causes of aggression, including the human factors
  • Breaking down behaviors into small approximations, always setting the dog up for success.
  • Staying focused and concentrating under pressure.
  • Turning off the environment and tuning into your dog.
  • Learning positive training techniques and foundation behaviors.

This seminar accomplishes that by bridging the gap between information presented in my books and knowing how to transfer that to real life.

BIG concepts (DRO, DRA, DRI, DRH, DRL) are explained in an easy to understand and implement format. You’ll learn how to set up your own sessions and what foundation behaviors you’ll need. How and when to start a session, when to keep going and when to stop are also addressed.

What you won’t find – car wrecks, wildly aggressing dogs, blood or drama. The R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone is about building a strong positive relationship, trust, safety and care, dozens of alternate and incompatible behaviors – incompatible to aggressing.

This seminar is a working seminar for aggressive or reactive dogs. There will be a minimum of two sessions per day with the dogs, working on individual and group problems. In addition to the working sessions, there will be classroom time, discussing foundation behaviors, calming signals, background information on aggression, management and how to live with an aggressive dog. If there is time, we will do other things as well (depending on the weather and availability), such as tracking, group trail walking, swimming for both dogs and people and more.

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Behavior requirements for the dogs:
We don’t want you to have to waste valuable seminar time teaching your dogs these behaviors, so please have them intact as much as you can before you come. (see above information about taking my online class to teach these vital foundation behaviors before bringing your dog to seminar.)

Door etiquette:­ teach your dogs to stay while you open doors (building and car doors) and wait until you call them through and then look back to you instantly upon entering the building/room.
Eye contact
Name recognition
Bridge recognition (such as a clicker or the word “yes”)
Loose leash walking *and* heeling
Accepting tactile (petting)
Accepting of other types of reinforcers (other than food)
Sit and down stays
Recall amidst distractions (or as best that you can at this point)
Crate training – I may bend a little on the other behaviors listed above, but I cannot bend on crate training. After all, if you can’t safely crate your dog, where will you put he/she when we take turns and rotate dogs?

FMI: Pam Dennison
Phone: 908-459-5244
Email: pam@positivedogs.com
Online class website: www.pamdennison.com

Izzy – a Graduate of The R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone in flyball practice! (She’s the 3rd dog running in both clips!)

Squeak – a graduate of the R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone in CDSP obedience!

Squeak gets his ARCHMX!

So what’s needed for an ARCHMX – the highest title you can receive in WCRL?
Titles in Level 1 – Level 2 – Level 3.
Then an ARCH (which is 5 double Q’s in levels 1 and 2 with scores of 190 or better and 100 points),
Then ARCHX (which is 5 double Q’s in levels 1 and 2, with scores of 195 or better),
ARCHEX (which is 10 double Q’s from levels 2 and 3 with scores of 195 or better), and then…
ARCHMX (which is 10 triple Q’s in levels 1, 2 and 3, with scores of 195 or better).
Wow! We are so very very proud of Deb and her work with Squeak. With skill and determination and lots of work, she has reached a huge milestone in his recovery. As of August, 2017, Squeak also earned his CDX title in CDSP Obedience! WOW

 

Testamonials for the R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone seminar!
We were told that my dog would never be trustworthy in public and that I should just learn activities within the home that would keep him happy and engaged. We have come a long way over the years from this original recommendation, but still had a hole in our training with respect to working outside and sudden environmental change. Pam’s methods make sense to both me and my dog and are therefore easy to apply. She ensures that each and every dog is set up for success and ensures that nobody has the opportunity to rehearse the self rewarding activity of reacting. During my recent weekend with Pam, Grover experienced things that would normally incite a bout of screaming and lunging, but because of Pam’s methods and recommendations, not a single outburst was had. We are looking forward to more weekends with Pam and continue our journey towards being a “Recovered Reactive Dog”!
Tish Frank Webb

 

This is my 5th R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone and I plan on attending each one I can. Squeak and I would never be where we are at without Pam’s guidance and encouragement. Each “Zone” has taught me so much from working with my own dog to watching the other handlers with their dogs. Pam has a great intuition in reading dogs and I have always felt safe but at the same time has pushed us to get better in more challenging situations. If you have a reactive/aggressive dog and have the opportunity to attend R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone in person sign up..you will not regret it! Squeak and I have achieved titles several Rally venues…something I never thought we’d be able to do.
Deb Knappenberger

 

My Ace is a work in progress, but each time we’ve attended he has exceeded my expectations. Awesome sessions, awesome trainer, awesome handlers & dogs. Thumbs up.
Janine Krystofosky

 

We are just leaving town and really cannot thank you enough for all your time and energy with us the last few days. We know Lola needs top notch trainers to be the dog she is meant to be and you really helped us up our game so we can give her the training she needs to thrive. As I mentioned, I am a big fan of your book on rehabbing aggressive dogs but it was so much more impressive in person. We will practice practice practice (but not to failure) and hope to come see you in a few months and get a few gold stars and then our next set of marching orders. Thank you.
Kristen G.

 

Thank you Pam and ALL the dogs this weekend who were able to help us. There was SO much information and my head is still spinning. We’ve already tried several of the exercises this morning and had a lot of progress. You are super talented and have a brilliant system for training reactive/aggressive dogs. I’m so glad I happened to read my email that day and get in to the seminar.
Barb M.

 

Thank you for your wonderful program. I can’t explain how grateful I am. This is the first time Phoebe was fully confident and did not even flinch with another dog in a room with her. She usually trembles and is very anxious entering a building with other dogs. I will surely go to the next seminar and the growl class.

Julie A.

 

We had a great time and very productive too! Will start working on some of the exercises this week. Pam, you gave us so much helpful information and examples! So great the way you break down each step – helps understanding and implementing it much easier. Thanks to my classmates for the help – sorry for the extra work but loved the silly waving and running back and forth! Lucas thinks we’re all crazy.
Kathy V.

 

Thank you so much for such a positive experience. This was my third “aggression seminar” this year and was by far the best. Allowing us to pay for the privilege of bringing our dogs to work with us is so much fairer for all attendees, rather than you or someone else hand pick which dogs will be case studies.

 

It is proof that you are an excellent trainer and are confident with your abilities, since you haven’t pre-selected the easiest dogs to work with, thereby ensuring your success in front of an audience.

 

The way in which you ran the sessions, with less time spent in “classroom” sessions or watching video or slide shows, was so much more productive. (I’ve actually fallen asleep at other speakers seminars because there was too much downtime). By spending more time working with the dogs, we got a better understanding of how to employ the tools and techniques you showed us. We got to practice in different setting, again, to help drive home the lessons and showing that you really live what you teach, because you can easily and quickly adapt to many different situations.

 

I am also very impressed with your presentation style. Instead of being a canned presentation that you’ve given hundreds of times, you geared it to us and our dog’s needs. it was personalized and directed to what we needed to hear and learn for our individual cases. Your positive approach is genuine and not something that is put on for show, as as a result you were able to come up with different skills for me to try with my dog Ajax. I was surprised and pleased when he was able to do the tasks you set out. This is further proof that you are an excellent trainer and can adapt to every situation with ease.

 

You have a relaxed and natural, comfortable type that helped me get over my apprehension of how a stranger would feel about my beautiful Ajax. He needs to be trained differently that cookie-cutter dogs and you gave me some valuable techniques to use.

Thank you again for such a positive and productive seminar!
Dottie Piroha

 

Thank YOU for an incredible, memorable weekend! You are truly a delightful and inspiring trainer-I’m always looking for opportunities to expand and grow, and your seminar was one of the best I’ve attended! It was truly a pleasure-hope to attend future workshops.
Iris F.

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Important: Coming to The R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone for Aggressive and Reacitve Dogs will NOT miraculously cure your dog. Many sessions, less mistakes, more knowledge of the process, more training – THOSE things will help make your dog a whole lot better. For more details on The R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone for Aggressive and Reacitve Dogs and behavior requirements for your dog, SEE BELOW.

If your dog doesn’t have these basic foundation behaviors, you will be required to take my online class before bringing your dog to this seminar. In the meantime, you can come to The R.E.W.A.R.D. Zone for Aggressive and Reacitve Dogs as an auditor.

You can see the course here

Disclaimer: The R.E.W.A.R.D Zone was founded on positive training principles. Therefore, it is our policy that clients and staff alike in this building and on these premises or wherever The R.E.W.A.R.D Zone is held use positive training methods.

Not all dogs are appropriate for a seminar setting and program. If management decides that your dog needs additional skills prior to participating or is not a suitable candidate for seminar, management reserves the right to decline his/her continued attendance.

Any individual who engages in conduct with respect to their dog, or another participant’s dog or person that is deemed inappropriate by management may be asked to leave the premises. Additionally, if management perceives a participant’s training behavior or mannerism as inhumane, abusive or hostile, that individual may be asked to leave the premises.

Refund policy. There are NO Refunds. In the event that you are asked to leave seminar or cannot attend each day of seminar for which you have signed up, management reserves the right to deny a refund.

Before signing up for seminar, it is essential that you read the additional information below!
Additional R.E.W.A.R.D Zone Information

We are going to be heavily reinforcing the dogs for good behavior, so bring TONS of food cut up into tiny pieces. You probably won’t need to feed your dogs their dinner. Be sure to bring weather appropriate gear for your dogs,­ sun screens for the cars**, crates, water (bring water from home if your dog is fussy), plenty of toys and other types of reinforcers (I WILL be picky about this!). Bring a first aid kit of you have one. Bring regular leashes and regular collars. Any type of head halter, muzzle, shock collar, prong collar or choke collar will not be allowed. X-back sledding harnesses are allowed if you think you need one. Information on obtaining one can be seen at www.blackicedogsledding.com I recommend a few leather leashes of different lengths ­ 6 foot, 15 foot. Or this harness (tracking harness): Leather Tracking harnesses (padded breastplate) is my other pick for a harness. I have them in stock. You can see them on my online store.

**Space blankets for your car or van. Be sure to get the clips to attach them to your car or van. http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=218&ParentCat=313

Get at LEAST 4 CLIPS. YOU CAN ALSO GET THOSE AT HARDWARE STORES.

Humans:

Be comfortable, be calm, be safe. There are some basic behaviors you will need to teach your dog before coming to this seminar. These are for your safety and that of the other attendees. These dogs are here for a reason and we must set everyone up for success.

Other stuff I would recommend you bring (not all are required. If you have a question, ask me!):

Something to cover the bed at the hotel
Crate for hotel and car
Chair if we go places
Leashes of all lengths -­ 6 foot, 15 foot.
Bug spray for you (depending on the month)
Sunscreen (depending on the month)
Notebook
Video camera, batteries and tapes
Regular camera
Anything else you need for you and your dog to be more comfortable

Two ace bandages (NOT the self stick kind) about 2 to 2-1/2” wide (no wider) sewn together to make one really long strip
Any dumbbells, scent articles, gloves or props for tricks you may have
Toe nail clippers, brushes, grooming supplies
Basically anything else you’d need to have when you spend 3 days away from home with your dog (except the kitchen sink).
Water and food dish
Plastic bags for poop
Fanny pack or carpenters nail apron to hold goodies
Toys

Weather:

The weather may be unpredictable at any time in NJ. It can be rainy, muddy, cold, snowy, warm, hot or feel like spring, so bring all sorts of clothing options. If it’s Spring – there may be ticks, so you may want to do a topical tick repellent for your dogs.

Privates with Pam are available on Saturday night, starting at 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. Additional charge of $50.00 per half hour. Please sign up ahead of time. Topics can be aggression, competition obedience or rally obedience or just plain training in general.

CEU’s pending for IAABC and CPDT:

If you are a CPDT or Associate member of the IAABC, let me know ahead of time and I will be able to have your forms ready.