Lardy Workshops

[mlardy]

Registration is now open for the Georgia Basics/Transition Workshop to be held March 8-11 near Boston, Georgia.

We have also just arranged for a Transition/Advanced workshop in California March 29-April 1 on the famed Boatright/Goodrich Ranch- site of this year's National.

In late June we'll have a double-header in British Columbia- Basics/Transition one weekend and an Advanced with Dennis Voigt the next.

For details go to www.totalretriever.com

[mitty]

Can someone pretty please fill me in on how these work? I'm new to retriever training, eager to learn more. Can anyone sign up to attend by paying the fee? How are dog-handler teams selected?

I'm hoping to attend either the California or one of the BC seminars. My dog is about one years old right now.

Thanks for any responses!

[FOM]

mitty,

Take a look at the website. Anyone can sign up, they normally get more applicants than slots available so they do have to go through a selection process....most require a deposit with your application.

If you can afford to go, I'd HIGHLY recommend it!

FOM

[TonyRodgz]

Can someone pretty please fill me in on how these work? I'm new to retriever training, eager to learn more. Can anyone sign up to attend by paying the fee? How are dog-handler teams selected?

I'm hoping to attend either the California or one of the BC seminars. My dog is about one years old right now.

Thanks for any responses!

Each seminar has a coordinator as a contact person with details and questions. You can also contact Mike on the webpage in the contact us section. I'm going to the one in Boston, GA, already sign-up. For the CA workshop they're already taking applications. It's a bit harder to get in as a dog/handler team because the dog has meet some standards of training level. I'm going as an observer. I decided this because I'm like you, new to this sport and want to pay more attention to what its said. Hope this helps.

[Marilyn Fender]

Since I coordinated Mike’s workshops from around 1990 to a few years ago; I thought I would supply some info relating to the question above about workshop content. There is a new coordinator who does a wonderful job but doubt she looks at this section very often. Due to other obligations and events, I don’t have the time to do Mike’s workshops anymore. However I do see him regularly as Handjem trains on my property several times a month. I started out with Mike in the mid-80’s when I was doing HT and obedience and just learning about dog’s handling. At that time in his career Mike let people throw for him and then helped them with their dogs. No, that does not happen anymore, but you can go to a workshop and get the information ---- as well as in his DVDs and article manuals.

The dogs that are chosen for B/T handler teams need a cross section of skills in Basic Transition. You don’t want to watch ten dog teams all at the same level or with the same needs. Each team is used as a demo of how to teach and progress through skills. All the people attending are given a manual that includes Mike’s flow chart of the training sequence that he developed with great care. Mike narrates what is happening and where it is on the flow chart ---- what the dog is being taught, what was needed to be known before the lesson, and what is going to happen next in the training. The gallery is seated close (wearing dark clothing) so they can hear and see everything that the team is hearing and learning. After he works with a team the gallery can ask all the questions they want. They can also ask questions on items not covered.

A big feature in all the workshops is problem solving. Mike explains and demonstrates how a handler can take anything that is happening and make it easy for the handler and dog to move forward in their skill development. Mike has incredible instincts in reading a dog and seeing everything from the point of view of the dog and explaining this to people.

Mike did all the young dog work through cold blinds (and then later All Age) on my 1996 NFC AFC Storm’s Riptide Star (Rascal) who was also a Finalist in 1998. I ran Rascal in several National Amateurs. Handjem (including assistant Dave Smith along with Mike) also did the young dog work up to QAA on my 2000 CNAFC CFC Quik Windstorm (Chip) who was also a Canadian National Finalist a few years earlier. Chip had a bad start at a Pro elsewhere and there was much to straighten out when he arrived at Handjem. Later Dennis Voigt became co-owner of Chip when I could not afford two dogs on Mike’s truck along with buying property and building ponds.

Many of you know me by my current relationship to the CNM Project although some will remember me from Rascal and Chip --- the only two Nationally titled chocolates in history. Plus for many years I wrote many articles on how Applied Behavior Analysis was the theoretical scientific base for training a retriever --- published in Retrievers On Line (owner and editor Dennis Voigt).

I will be down south during the GA B/T and probably stop by for the dinner. Hope to meet some of you.

Feel free to send me any personal questions to my email below. I seldom look at PM's and don't browse the events all that often.

Marilyn Fender
Windstorm Retrievers
mf96nfc@centurytel.net

[captainjack]

...
The dogs that are chosen for B/T handler teams need a cross section of skills in Basic Transition. You don’t want to watch ten dog teams all at the same level or with the same needs. ...

I've been to two of the Lardy workshops as a handler. Both times I brought the worst (one I was having the most issues with) of my three dogs. Remember that you are going in order to learn how to train your dog not to win the workshop.

...A big feature in all the workshops is problem solving. Mike explains and demonstrates how a handler can take anything that is happening and make it easy for the handler and dog to move forward in their skill development. Mike has incredible instincts in reading a dog and seeing everything from the point of view of the dog and explaining this to people.
...

It is amazing to see the improvement in the dogs at the workshop between the Thursday marking set up, Friday & Saturday problem solving sessions, and the Sunday marking set up. Not just doing drills to demonstrate the drill, but problem solving and getting real, noticeable improvement.

...Many of you know me by my current relationship to the CNM Project although some will remember me from Rascal and Chip --- the only two Nationally titled chocolates in history. Plus for many years I wrote many articles on how Applied Behavior Analysis was the theoretical scientific base for training a retriever --- published in Retrievers On Line (owner and editor Dennis Voigt).

...

Anyone who hasn't read Marilyn's articles in RetrieversONLINE should take a look at the back issues. One of my favorites discussed mixing of different training programs (2007?). A topic that comes up often here on RTF. Wouldn't mind seeing Marilyn start a thread on it now.

Thanks for your post Marilyn

[mitty]

Wow, thanks! The Lardy website has added some info recently (or perhaps I overlooked it before!) that has helped, too.

I have another question, looking for advice really: do people generally attend the workshop matching the place in training of their dog? Mine's in transition, for example, I presume I should go to one covering transition, but would I learn more going to the advanced version?

Thanks again, everyone, especially Marilyn for the long thoughtful reply.

[captainjack]

Wow, thanks! The Lardy website has added some info recently (or perhaps I overlooked it before!) that has helped, too.

I have another question, looking for advice really: do people generally attend the workshop matching the place in training of their dog? Mine's in transition, for example, I presume I should go to one covering transition, but would I learn more going to the advanced version?

Thanks again, everyone, especially Marilyn for the long thoughtful reply.

If you wanted to go as a handler/dog team you would need to go to the basics/transition workshop. If going as an observer you could go to either.

I wouldn't say you will learn more at the advanced, but you will likely see different issues arise in the basics/transition than in the advanced. You will see troubleshooting work on the actual issues that arise.

In the basics/transition that I attended we saw troubleshooting on things like line manners, bird handling (sloppy holds & dropping birds and munching), shopping the pile, sit to pile, swim-by, water tune-up drills. These sessions were mostly if not all done in the yard rather than field. The yongest dog was 9 months and was just starting TT. The dog that was farthest along had started swim-by.

In the advanced that I attended we saw troubleshooting on things like line manners (Lardy commented on how bad line manners are on clinic dogs - low standards), crooked sits, auto-casts, out of control on blinds, recalling (picking up the dog). There was more of working on problems in the field than I remembered from the basics/transition. For example, some dogs had issues with head swinging, so the handlers would run a given field set up so that she could work on the issue of head swinging. Some dogs had problems with secondary selection, so they would run a set up to work on that. Youngest dogs were preparing for Qs, most advanced dogs were running and placing in AA stakes.

If you still have a ways to go in transition, or if you are near the end but feel like you may have some things that you need to clean up, I'd go to the B/T.

I will add this about the advanced workshop, and this may vary depending on who attends (especially as a handler)...

Experienced trainer/handlers will ask some very good questions that spark discussion about how to approach a test or deal with an issue. Listening to Mike and Laura Parrot (1997 NFC Lucyanna's Fast Willie), discuss how to run a set up in training versus during a trial or how to work on head swinging with this particular set up was very informative. These types of conversations probably only happen at the advanced workshop.

BTW. At least two of the handlers from this springs advanced clinic that were preparing for the Q had wins this year, Laura Parrot took a less than three year old Pirate pup, to the 9th (I believe) series of the National AM, and Lois Atkins won the Canadian Open with the dog she brought.

[mitty]

Thank you, Glen! I'd really love it if my dog could participate...we're doing "transition" work right now but of course, me being a Newb, we do not have much polish and gaping holes in my training keep showing up. I expect by June, when the BC workshop happens, I will have progressed to "advanced" in the TRT program but wow what I think me and my dog is doing vs reality...I can't say! So I will study the calendar and see which weekend works best, and if the stars align I will sign up for both.

Thanks to all for your help. The way so many of you helps us newbies is amazing!

[Dave]

thanks sounds good !