K9 Home Schooling is pleased to be hosting Fido Refined a 2-Day Workshop with Virginia Broitman.

Virginia Broitman began her training career in 1981, and has provided a wide variety of services over the years, including group classes, private lessons, behavior consultations, board and train programs, and Service Dog training. She has also worked with a variety of humane organizations. Her own dogs have participated in pet therapy visits, agility, herding and TV/ad work.

In 1995, Virginia began producing clicker training DVDs (four), which are sold internationally. Her latest DVD, Fido Refined, was released in October 2011. It focuses on teaching impulse control to dogs that are easily excited in everyday situations, and life rewards are doled out for calmer behavior.

In 2007, Virginia began working for a non-profit organization that places hard-to-adopt shelter dogs with prison inmates for training and behavior modification prior to being adopted to the public. Not only do the dogs get a second chance, but the inmates also benefit from the program and learn valuable skills that are helpful to them upon release. Several handlers, post-release, have pursued dog training as a full-time career. In 2010, Virginia joined a team that received a grant from the Army Research Office to research the scent-detection abilities of rodents, and much of the training will be done via an automated training system the team has designed.

The Chelsea MI seminar, scheduled for March 2012, will appeal to a wide variety of dog enthusiasts. Virginia will be covering the topic of impulse control, including many exercises that teach a dog to control himself and be calmer in situations that historically have caused excitement. She'll also be addressing a wide variety of behavioral problems and offering humane and effective solutions for issues such as: reactivity on leash; excessive barking; destructiveness; counter-surfing; resource-guarding; arousal at doors and misbehavior with guests; fearfulness; body-handling issues, and more. Together we'll analyze the underlying causes of the problem behaviors, flush out the reinforcing aspects of these behaviors, and then discuss effective strategies for modifying these problems and installing appropriate, alternative behaviors. The seminar will include lecture, video demonstrations and live working segments with a variety of dogs.