Posted on 24th Mar 2010 @ 6:26 PM

I had been looking forward to attending this conference before the news even broke publically. I was delighted to sponsor the event because things like this are just so good for our industry and the dog world.

Steven Lindsay has always been high on my list of world recognised Dog Trainers, yes dog Trainers. Whilst many would label Lindsay as a Scientist, he refers to himself as a dog trainer, and says it in a manner that reflects the respect he has for trainers.

Leading up to the event, some other great lures for me where to spend some time with my peers, some of them I just had spoken to on the phone a number of times are talked via email and I guess I would call them modern friends, you know the ones you have but maybe have not seen or spent a lot of time in the company of, but know them well enough to be mates!

On the final couple of weeks, I had some of my clients and trainers that refer to me show interest in the Conference, so I called up Boyd Hooper, CEO of the NDTF and we worked out a great way to help some of these people get in a group price, the K9 Pro group if you like!

I arrived early Saturday morning to register and get my group all sorted, I found Boyd running around heavily engrossed in the final steps, it was great to catch up with Boyd, a great guy who is a straight talker and who has always looked after me like gold, this was no exception.

I spent some time with the girls from the Conference Team, NDTF members and got our people registered and in, as always these guys were great fun to work with and professional at the same time, the NDTF produces some great people.

On with the day we went and the Conference was on, Steven Lindsay took the stage after his introduction and he started explaining his Cynopraxis theory, it takes a while to settle into the way he speaks, part dog trainer, part mad scientist and a big part, true dog lover.

Having studied Lindsay’s books, I was not surprised at the depth he spoke and his method of speaking, I enjoyed his slightly off key rants and whilst I cannot say I learned anything, it reminded me of things I had forgotten and new ways of explaining things.

The breaks were equally as enjoyable as I got to chat with mates who are fellow trainers and behaviourists from all over, including Boyd Hooper, Steve Austin, Glen Cook, Judi Buchan, Jane Harper, Trish Harris, Lynn Tranter, Grant Teeboon, Jeff Smith (Customs/AQIS) Damian – K9 Lifestyle and that was just the first break!

There were some great dog demonstrations; Steve (Austin) even had his Rottweiler King there doing a bite work demo, nice dog, there were DCS (Dept Corrective Services) Mobile phone sniffing dogs, videos of dogs tracking Fox scats, all round it was a very professionally run, world class event.

I was one of the few that went to dinner on the harbour with Steve Lindsay, an NDTF after party so to speak, I discussed with Steve Lindsay some of my own research and it fell close to the lines of where he had left off with pre Pulse Inhibition. He was in high demand and I think he got to eat only a few mouthfuls of dinner over 4 hours (tough luck Steve happens to me every time lol). Steve Lindsay and I both agreed to carry out some research together on my theory and see where it takes us, I look forward to emailing him and hearing his results compared to mine.

I have heard from a number of people who have all confirmed that anyone he touched felt he was a very genuine, caring, sensitive and educated genius.

I heard / read some reviews on the event that indicated that they thought Steve Lindsay concentrated too much on ethics; there was a lot of him telling us to make sure that we do no harm to dogs and him becoming outwardly emotional talking about just how much he loves and respects all dogs and dog trainers, I heard of an article released when the conference was on, on how we had brought someone from the USA to teach us how to punish our dogs. This is a pathetic grab at headlines and garbage media.

The only criticism actual attendees had was he was too concerned with dogs well being at the same time he was promoted by another as a punisher. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

All in all it was a World Class Event; it reminds me once again why I fully support the NDTF, a group dedicated to represent all styles of training, guys you have done a fantastic job.

If your training organisation is not part of the NDTF, I think you need to ask yourself why...

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