Dog Non-Chemical Capture Course in Olympia, WA Nov. 6-7, 2010

Boxtrapping Dogs After Hurricane Katrina

I am excited to announce that I will be teaching a 2-day dog non-chemical capture course at the Red Lion Hotel in Olympia, WA on Nov. 6-7 (Sat-Sun), 2010.   This is the most extensive course about handling fearful and dangerous dogs for shelter staff, disaster responders, dog rescue groups, and spay/neuter programs.  Here is the course announcement.

This course was just created this year.  Training for dog chemical capture (which I also teach) is available for animal control officers, but there has been no training on non-chemical capture for other volunteers and professionals working with fearful dogs.  I have created this course specifically to meet that need.

In this class we will cover catching with leash and similar tools, physical restraint (without fighting the dog), working with Y poles, catching with boxtraps, and how to catch entire packs of dogs.  This unique course focuses on how to catch dogs in a calm, humane, compassionate, and safe manner. We explore the potential conflict between people and fearful dogs and discuss how to minimize the conflict even when the dog refuses to cooperate. We also discuss how to work with large dogs and dangerous dogs.   No live dogs will be used due to class size.  But there will be abundant teaching aids and videos.  We will also end our two days with an open forum to specifically address the questions and challenges raised by the participants.  Each course participant will receive a course notebook, Certificate of Training, and a thumb drive with all course material.  The 2-day course fee is $360.

Visit our website Course Schedule to register on-line or by mail or to get more information.  The class is limited to 40 participants so be sure to register early. The Red Lion Hotel offers a room rate of $89 before Oct. 5, 2010 if you mention “Global Wildlife Resources”.

As I organize my teaching schedule around the country, I will be posting more course announcements.  Visit GWR’s website for the latest updates.

For those wishing to get training with chemical capture, I will be teaching a wildlife chemical immobilization course at Wolf Haven International near Tenino, WA Nov. 2-4, 2010.  To attend, please register through their website.

I hope to see you there.  Dr. Mark

How Can I Buy or Make a Y Pole?

GWR 2-Piece Y Pole

For your convenience, Global Wildlife Resources is now offering a Y pole for sale on our website.  Visit our on-line store.

I have had many requests to provide a Y pole for those handling fearful dogs.   

YouTube Video by GWR – How to Humanely Handle a Street Dog

GWR has just posted our first You Tube video on humane and compassionate dog handling. It is titled: How to Humanely Handle a Street Dog.  This video was filmed while I was teaching dog handlers from across India during Project Vet Train in Faridabad, India.  Project Vet Train was a pilot program conducted by Vets Beyond Borders and the India Board of Animal Welfare.

I will be posting more You Tube videos over time to introduce basic concepts in humane dog handling.  Our goal at GWR is to produce full length training videos, You Tube videos, and webinars so programs around the world can learn to conduct dog handling in a successful, safe, and compassionate manner.  Dr. Mark

Catching a Particular Dog – In a Nutshell

My colleague, Sujatha, from New Delhi, sends me  wonderful questions about dog capture and handling.  He has been working tirelessly over the past few months to care for a fragile street dog in particular, though he works with a strong ABC (animal birth control) program and works with many dogs.  He writes: “There are so many situations where we need to get a dog caught – when a dog is injured or is sick but is not friendly enough to be picked up easily.  How do people single handedly try and catch dogs?”

There is no easy answer, but here was my best try at the moment…

Unfortunately, there will always be dog we cannot catch.   And doing it alone makes it far more difficult.  As you know, we have a much better chance of catching most dogs when we can use Time in our favor to earn the animal’s trust or to modify its habits so it begins using areas where we can indeed capture it.