Not all French people want control over their dog but let’s be honest - it’s a popular belief that dogs shouldn't be allowed to just ‘do what they want’. PDTE members in France and their colleagues are trying to spread the idea that a walk can be a nice experience from both sides of the leash, as speaker and expert Els Vidts came to explain at a recent talk in France.
Cristina and Aurélien Budzinski invited Els through one of their companies Dolcevitadog on 2 June for the session. The audience was composed of dog trainers, massage therapists and dog owners. Most of them were already using harnesses (although not always well fitting) but they were still interested in the physical perspective and how to give more choice to our dogs during walks. They all came back home with their heads full of ideas and willing to do things better for their dogs.
How do we convince people to give more choices to their dog? How do we teach them about the physical consequence of bad equipment? Firstly we gave them key information via the ‘did you ever stop to think about what happens under the collar?’ brochure by Els. You can find this brochure on the FreeDogz website or on the Dog Brochures website, along with other useful dog related information.
We also provided people with useful links and references containing current information about dogs, such as the PDTE website and reports from Dog Symposiums. For those who have never had the chance to learn from Els – it’s a fascinating experience. Els provides key anatomical information about dogs, but also a respectful approach to dog behaviour that leads people to change their perspective about what they used to do, what they should do, and how to make the change. We really hope that across the globe people will keep sharing ideas, particularly in places that may not be as familiar with this more empathetic and dog centric approach.
Quotes from participants:
“A lot of interesting information, a real quality in the presentation, a sharing of experience, a vision allowing us to understand how a dog works physiologically and its needs. Thank you for this day, for this welcome, for the quality and for all this information. Thanks thanks thanks!”
“We learned lot of things, very informative, interesting. Thank you for this seminar.”
“A great day, a warm welcome! Have to participate in future events that you will certainly organize.”
“Thank you very much to all of you and congratulations for this wonderful and very rewarding seminar.”
Cristina Gomes Budzinski is the PDTE country representative in France. See dolce vita dog for more information.