July 2007 - June 2008
Education
Courses
TLCAD sent two trainers, Sally Montrucchio and Karen Shultz, to the National Service Dogs center (NSD) in Ontario, Canada for a three-week course from the pioneers in training assistance dogs for families of children with autism. These dogs provide safety and companionship, improve learning and communication, and relieve stress for the children and their families.
TLCAD has established its own program, Leash-On-Life, and hopes to place 30 dogs within the next five years to families in San Diego County. We will connect with local research entities to work toward bettering the lives of those with autism.
Conferences
Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), October 2007
Two trainers, Sally Montrucchio and Maria Bachofner, attended the conference this year.
APDT is a professional organization of individual dog trainers who are committed to becoming better trainers through education. http://www.apdt.com/
Assistance Dogs International (ADI), 20th Annual, June 2008 in London, England
TLCAD sent two trainers, Sally Montrucchio and Kathy Higgins, who both gave presentations on training techniques and tools. Many important training tips and methods are shared at this conference, and our trainers bring those back for all to learn.
TLCAD was accredited by Assistance Dogs International (ADI), a coalition of organizations that train and place assistance dogs worldwide, in 2007.
http://www.assistancedogsinternational.org/adiconference.php
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (I AADP),
June 2008 in London, England
Sally and Kathy stayed in London to attend this conference as well.
Training videos
Videographer, Tyson Montrucchio, has been filming sessions all year in order to produce training videos for our volunteers. These tapes will be available in a training library on the TLCAD website. Many of these videos will also be available for purchase, along with other training tools, under the name Puppy Einstein. http://puppyeinstein.com
