In anticipation of the exciting workshop being put on by Kim Palermo, we wanted to introduce the amazing Dr. Amy Cook! Dr. Cook is an International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, a longstanding professional member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), and was one of the first trainers nationally to become a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through independent evaluation. Dr. Cook received her Ph.D. in Psychology from UC Berkeley, with her research focusing on the dog-human relationship and its effect on the problem solving strategies dogs employ. Dr. Cook is the founder and creator of the Play Way and a popular instructor for the online school, The Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. She has been training dogs for over 30 years, and has specialized in the rehabilitation of shy and fearful dogs for over 20 years.
The Play Way is Amy Cook’s method of helping shy and fearful dogs overcome these issues to live a happier, less-stressed life. Rather than focusing mainly on food, as many do when working with these dogs, Amy has established a more nuanced rehabilitation process that revolves around personal, social play. She believes play is a much more reliable method of judging a dog’s true behavioral thresholds, while being equally effective at supporting a dog to make emotional change. Play is both an indicator of stress and an intervention for stress!
Kim’s personal experience with the impact The Play Way has had on her relationship with her dogs was a huge driver in hosting the workshop, being held at Masterpeace Dog Training in Franklin, MA on March 29th and 30th. Dr. Amy Cook will be hosting this 2-day seminar that includes a day of working spots! If you’re able to attend, you’ll be learning:
- How to identify stress in dogs
- About threshold management
- How to read a dog so you know what to do when
- About relaxed play, and its important role in the rehabilitation of stress & anxiety
- Personal play, food or toys: which one should you use and when?
- How to help a dog “Look and Dismiss” and take challenges in stride.
Whether the dog you’re working with is being reactive on leash, fearful in the world, or you are struggling with a dog who performs great during training but shuts down at trials, this seminar can provide unique skills and a different approach to traditional food-driven counter conditioning protocols.
More information on working spots will be posted once registration for working spots opens up. To register, please visit our workshop page. Early bird pricing of $275 is available through January 31st. Regular pricing of $295 begins on February 1st.
To learn more about Dr. Cook, visit her website: http://playwaydogs.com.