Took place in Warsaw, Poland. The first day, Friday, was dedicated entirely to polish speakers and it was really interesting to see how the dog behaviourism is evolving in Poland. As a woman with the polish roots I’m happy to see that there are people who are fighting for the better well being of our furry friends and that they are indeed doing a great job! We were listening to the presentation of veterinarian Rafal Niziolek, Dog Trainer and Behaviourist Aneta Sitkiewicz – author of the program ‘Closer to home’ supporting adoptions of shelter dogs and Agnieszka Nojszewska, Dog trainer and Behaviourist specializing in therapy dogs for children with Autism.
Saturday was the day I was looking forward to the most – with the Dr Amber Batson BVetMed MR CVS as the speaker. The subject of her seminar was Working with the difficult behaviour case: are we fixing the dog or fixing the owner?”. It’s the second time I was lucky to listen to Amber and I have to say, she’s amazing to listen to! Her deep knowledge as a vet combined with her behavioural experience gives the combo that’s really powerful in giving the message. The day went by very quickly, despite the fact we were there since 9 – 18 (with breaks of course). She talked a lot about different reasons of stress in dogs and ways to fix them. She covered the link between the illness and behavioural issues and explained the role of the owner in the dogs life.
On Sunday, the podium was taken by the guru of many (as she was introduced by the conference organizers) and my tutor, Turid Rugaas. She was teaching us the right observation techniques for better understanding what is happening with the dog, on both, mental and physical level. It is always a pleasure to listen to Turid but being one of her students already and having attended so many different seminars with her, I haven’t learned anything new. But many, if not the most people taking part in the conference were blown away by the knowledge she shared.
I got a chance to talk with a lot of polish activists fighting for the better lives of polish dogs and the better understanding of their needs as well as few vets presented at the conference. Things are still not going great in Poland in that respect and there is still a lot to do but my heart grows already seeing there is an improvement and people who are aware of the need to have it fixed and with the energy to fight for the better relations between dogs and their humans.