Adele Yunck’s Seminars
Upcoming Seminars
| Date | Seminar | Location | Map | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday June 9, 2024 | Obedience Handling Workshop | Ann Arbor Dog Training Club | Sign up for the workshop |
Seminar Content
I can teach 1/2 day, 1-day, and 2-day seminars. I prefer working seminars where people get out on the floor with their dogs to try out what I’m teaching. I believe I have enough different approaches to exercises that even really experienced trainers can find something new to try. I believe one of my strong points as an instructor is problem solving. I really enjoy helping trainers figure out the weaknesses in their dog’s understanding of a given exercise so they can build stronger exercises and have better results in the ring.
A Balancing Act
This is my seminar intended for people getting started with their dogs or who are unfamiliar with my training techniques. We work more at beginning stages of all of the exercises, covering all of the foundation work I have found to be critical for preparing a dog for competition obedience. For my two-day Balancing Act seminar, I usually cover on Day 1:
- How to use a conditioned reinforcer
- Shaping attention
- Position changes (sit, down, stand and changing from each to the other)
- Beginning heeling (Find Heel and Rhythm Heeling)
- Heel position maneuvers – Hop, Heel, Close, Off, Back, Hurry, In, Scoot Sits, (the power steering words, if you’re familiar with Judy Byron’s and my book Competition Obedience: A Balancing Act)
- Beginning retrieving
- Beginning drop on recall
- Fronts and finishes
Here is a short trailer on her Balancing Act seminar that Adele produced:
For Day 2, I provide a check list of the remaining exercises and ask attendees to vote for their top 5 choices of topic. Then I work through them in the order with the most votes. This means each seminar is unique. The topics I suggest are:
- Ring stress (dog and handler)
- Go-outs
- Drop on Recall
- Retrieve on flat
- Retrieve over high jump
- Broad Jump
- Signals
- Jumping
- Turns, pace changes, figure-8’s, halts
- Articles
- Gloves
- Stays
The list I give above is my typical Balancing Act seminar structure, but I’m very open to addressing more specific topics attendees want to hear about. I can’t possibly cover everything in only two days, so some sense of what you want is appreciated.
Heeling Camp
For a two-day Heeling Camp, we start at the beginning of how Adele teaches heeling, which includes attention work, building teamwork, and distraction resistance. We then work through the many small components that she teaches her own dogs and in her classes, gradually putting more and more together into an entire heeling pattern. We talk about footwork and handling, polishing the performance, ring entries, problem-solving, and proofing.
For one day of heeling out of a two-day seminar, we again start with the basics and work through as much as we can.
How much we can cover in one or two days depends on the level of the working teams, as well as how many working teams the host group allows. Sixteen-twenty would be the maximum. The smaller number is suggested if the facility where the seminar is held isn’t large enough to hold two or more full-sized rings.
Here is a short trailer on her Heeling Camp that Adele produced:
On Beyond Novice
In this seminar, we concentrate on the exercises for Open and Utility. While we might review some of the foundation exercises covered in my Balancing Act seminars, it is mainly to make sure attendees have the foundation required for the advanced work. There is often some proofing covered, depending on the group.
The Art of Proofing
In this seminar, we concentrate on how to fairly proof each obedience exercise. Since I believe in including proofing at very early stages of training, this seminar is helpful not only for trainers with advanced dogs, but also for those who are still learning the exercises. Another goal I have with this seminar is to show trainers how to fairly help each other proof each other’s dogs.
Problem Solving
For this seminar, the content is driven by the needs of those with working spots. It is usually best to limit working spots to twelve teams. We work on topics from each of the following categories. There is some group work but also individual time on the floor. It is best if attendees have either attended one of my Balancing Act seminars or are very familiar with my training techniques.
- Heeling
- Recalls
- Position changes and Signals
- Retrieving
- Jumping
- Go outs
- Stays
Other topics
I’ve done Rally seminars, and have presented a couple of 2-hour workshop on AKC’s Beginner Novice class.
Cost
Cost includes my daily fee (contact me for current pricing) (9-5 Saturday/9-5 Sunday or equivalent hours) plus travel expenses – meals, driving expenses [mileage (at whatever the current IRS rate is), any tolls and parking fees] or airfare and transportation to and from the airport, & lodging, ideally somewhere I can drive up to the door. I send you handout masters to reproduce for attendees. I typically have up to 20 working teams (if your facility allows it) and unlimited auditors.
I really appreciate having a person or two handle the sales of books/videos that I bring along, as well as a wireless microphone (though if the crowd isn’t too big, I am able to make myself heard).