the fire within...

Seminars & Private Lessons

Denise and Soja turning in a full point heeling routine at the ABTC specialty.

About Denise...

Denise's positive training methods are widely recognized for producing dogs with exceptional attention, accuracy and enthusiasm for their work.

A twenty-five year veteran of training, competing, and titling in schutzhund, obedience, tracking, agility, conformation, and herding who has earned multiple HITs in obedience and schutzhund along the way, Denise regularly teaches obedience for both the AKC ring and schutzhund field. She breeds working Belgian Tervuren under the kennel name "Sprite."

In competition, Denise's and her students' dogs routinely score in the high 190s in AKC obedience and high 90s in schutzhund obedience. In 2004, Denise earned a perfect score of 100 points in schutzhund obedience with her 18 month old Tervuren "Cisu." In early 2005, Cisu and Denise scored 199.5 and HIT out of the Novice B class at the ABTC National, narrowly edging out her own "Soja."

Seminars & Private Lessons

Denise is available on a limited basis for private lessons and seminars.

In a seminar or private lesson format, Denise quickly identifies problem areas and offers solutions which are both easy to understand and easy to apply. Without gimmicks or tools, she can often make a significant difference in a dog's performance in one or two lessons.

Denise does more than teach you to train your dog in specific exercises. She teaches you to understand the work from your dog's point of view, so you become a problem solver for your dog.

She places special emphasis on handler body mechanics in teaching, to assist the handler in communicating expectations while teaching the dog to self-correct without verbal or leash help. This "body reining" approach results in increased attention and awareness in the dog as they adjust and respond to subtle handling.

Denise has an affinity for working with puppies, dogs that have had harsh training in the past, and dogs needing retraining on poorly-taught exercises.

Possible seminar topics include:

Seminar Schedule:

2010

January 9 - 10, 2010 (2 days of seminar, privates on Friday the 8th)
Los Angeles, California
Drives and Motivation for All Sports
Contact Stephanie
February 13 - 14, 2010 (2 days of seminar, privates Monday the 15th)
Marin Humane Society, Marin, CA
Drives and Motivation for All sports
Contact Dawn
March 20 - 21, 2010 (2 days of seminar, privates on Monday the 22nd)
Los Angeles, California
Valley Hills Obedience Club
Drives and Motivation for Obedience
Contact Nancy
April 3 - 4, 2010 (2 days of seminar)
Yorba Linda, California (Jumpstart)
Drives and Motivation for All Sports
Contact Addy
April 17 - 19, 2010 (2 days of seminar followed by one day of privates)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Drives and Motivation for All Sports
Contact Debbie
May 2, 2010 (1 day of seminar, privates on April 30th and May 1st)
Riverside, California
Advanced agility Seminar on "Focus, agility obedience, and advanced play techniques." Specifically for individuals who have attended one of the basic seminars for all sports or obedience
Contact Stephanie
May 29 - 30, 2010 (2 days of seminar followed by privates on the 31st)
Brattleboro, Vermont
Drive and Motivation for All Sports
Contact Lucy
July 31 - August 16, 2010
Portland, Oregon
Drive and Motivation for All Sports
Contact Joan
August 24 - 26, 2010 (Stacy Peridot agility camp)
Colorado
Drive and Motivation for Agility
Contact Stacy
September 25 - 26, 2010
Norco, California
Drive and Motivation for Schutzhund
Contact Susan
October 23 - 24, 2010 (2 days of seminar followed by privates on the 25th)
Connecticut
Competition Obedience Seminar
Contact Joyce
November 6 - 7, 2010 (2 days of seminar followed by privates on the 8th)
Lexington, Kentucky
Drive and Motivation for All Sports
Contact Brydon
November 13 - 14, 2010
Los Angeles, California
Obedience for Agility Seminar
Contact Maureen
December 4 - 5, 2010
Santa Rosa, California
Foundation Obedience Seminar (Dec 4th)
Problem Solving Seminar (Dec 5th)
Contact Lisa
April, 2011 (weekend not set yet)
Netherlands
Obedience for IPO Dogs
Contact Jose

 

Contact Denise for information on scheduling lessons or a seminar.

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