I am trying to put together an hour program for a rally camp later this summer at a local dog training facility. I did it last year and focused on peanuts and balance disks etc. It went pretty well but I was trying not to repeat the same thing for returnees… Anyway, what I found is that I have a tendency to put too many things in for an hour session but even with that, people seem to get bored and want to only do a particular exercise for a minute. Are we that ADHD that we can not patiently work on something for a longer period of time? I didn't spend much time on a lecture per se, these are lay people and they just want to do stuff!!
I would appreciate any input. I would like to do more of these independent of the rally camp- I have been doing rehab as a house call vet for many years but the bulk of my practice is regular vet stuff and sadly , rehab does not comprise that much even though it is what I like best!! I would really like to build up that part of my practice more and I think the owner of this place ( where I have spent a pile of money to train my dogs incidentally!!) would let me use her place ( for a price I suspect!) to do other seminars.
So much is online anymore, I am not sure how much people would spend for a seminar. They are paying big bucks to go to Bobbie Lyons seminars but that is a discussion for another time!! Well, I have digressed here!! Any input is very welcome! Thanks!!
i could help you for sure...i do alot of seminars for senior dogs, sport dogs, pet dogs and everything in between. For most of my seminars they are 4-5 hours.. I include gait mechanics (so owners can see what we as rehab people see), basic injuries to look for, exercise for forelimbs, hindlimbs, and core, warm up cool down etc.. i started with 2 hours, but it was just not enough time.
I agree, online is not the way to go, it does not teach the average owner what to do and have success. Our experience as pracitsioners allows us to train, and ensure proper movements (isometric, concentric, eccentric etc) which 'those schools' don't teach.
I have found that teaching a class brings in clients, and using one or two pieces of equipment is affordable and doable for the average/competitve owner. If 4-6 excercises are given that focus on the muscles we want to target, and the owner is told do 3-5 X per week, they are more compliant.
Perhaps this is another area to expand on this forum..(Laurie?)
Tania
Another idea could be doing a 4 week series of courses. Learning a concept, then doing an exercise circuit. You can have a basic circuit and then add new items perhaps based on the concept they learned. So it's not just about learning a technique, but it's also an exercise class as well.
Look at one of the 2012 FourLeg Newsletters (I can't recall which one)... there's a nice pie chart that discusses the different areas of fitness needed for an athlete (not just balancing stuff).
Alternately think of other things that might be of interest:
Massaging your own dog
Assessing your dog for signs of an injury
Fascia
Core stability
Ways to increase your dog's speed
Ways to increase your dog's endurance
Building power
I think a seminar topic of assessing a dog for pain is a brilliant topic and Laurie has mentioned it before.
I lack the imagination however on what I would show an owner- I know what I do on a physical exam to assess for pain and I do it fairly quickly- I am trying to figure out a way to make it a 45 minute session with appropriate things to look for by the average , lay person pet owner
You're not giving yourself enough credit for knowing all that you know!
Give info, help them learn to do it on their own dog or a demo dog, maybe describe a case or two.
I didn't spend much time on a lecture per se, these are lay people and they just want to do stuff!! 