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Friday, July 15, 2011

A great afternoon with Suzanne Clothier and John Rice

Yesterday we had fun! We accompanied  Darren Doran from New Jersey (and wirehaired dachshund Karl) at his consultation session with  Suzanne Clothier and John Rice. Suzanne, a renowned dog writer and professional trainer, is my guru when it comes to dog assessment and psychology. I took several of her workshops, and currently I am enrolled in her CARAT program. I think that when it comes to understanding animals, Suzanne is a genius. John Rice, Suzanne's husband, is a retired forest ranger with an extensive background in K-9 Search & Rescue. For more info on his approach to tracking click here. Both Suzanne and John's training emphasizes the handler/owner's relationship with his dog.

Darren, upon my recommendation, asked Suzanne to help him with a specific issue that Karl has showed in his tracking. So the whole session was very educational for me, especially to be able to hear Suzanne's analysis of Karl. Four hours flew by. 

I took some pics and video with my digital camera, but I certainly missed my DSLR! The quality is just not the same.

Darren and Suzanne who communicates in a very clear and animated way.

John Jeanneney and John Rice, two tracking experts, had a lively discussion.

Karl made a very good impression as his behavior and manners were impeccable.
He also played very well with Mila, a nine-week-old German Shepard bred by Suzanne and John.


A big thank you to Darren for having us there, and to Suzanne and John!
 
Today John (my husband) and Darren are on their way to Ontario, Canada, to give a blood tracking workshop at Laurel Whistance-Smith's place. It will be a good opportunity for John to see dogs sired by our Joeri and Tommy.

6 comments:

Andy Bensing said...

That was a great idea to have Darren and Karl meet with Suzanne Clothier. I know Darren has struggled with Karl's behavior on the track and quite frankly, I have struggled in helping them as well. I know Darren and Karl have made progress but there still is quite a way to go to. I am anxious to here what Suzanne Clothier's advice was and I surely hope it helps.

Lindsjö taxar said...

Love your homepage and blog. Nice to follow your breeding over there.
I have a homepage www.lindsjo-taxar.se to. Soon I will get my breeder name approved.

Jolanta Jeanneney said...

Andy,
Since Karl is Darren's dog, and Darren was the one who paid for the consultation, I guess it is up to him to share (or not) the content of the session. You guys are friends so I am sure he'll talk to you when he gets back from Ontario.

Jolanta Jeanneney said...

Lindsjö,
Thank you so much for the compliment! I have a soft spot in my heart for Sweden. When I was an undergraduate student (I used to live in Poland), I spent 6 weeks in Sweden, and I loved it. I also visited Sweden and saw some dachshunds there in 1992.

Could you tell us what do you have to do to get your approval as a breeder?

I went to your website and blog and will be visiting often. I am sure I will have more questions.

Lindsjö taxar said...

Hi Joloanta!
I will send you a mail and write about it there.
Regards Majron Friskvall

Jolanta Jeanneney said...

Majron,
I would really appreciate it. Thank you in advance!