May 2022 KPA CTP of the Month
Another aspect of Al’s work is instructing dog catchers from all over the globe to use humane techniques in the capture, neutering, vaccination, and release of street dogs. Dogs in Bosnia, Romania, Thailand, Bali, Malaysia, Namibia, and Zimbabwe have benefited from this instruction. Al also works in shelters. “There, I deliver specific training on using the marker. The training I provide helps shelter staff offer enrichment and develop trust with the dogs in their care.”
Working Trials, in which Al is a competitor with his own dogs, is based on police- and military-dog activities and has many precise requirements. Since the DTP, “I use the marker to train many of the required exercises, including precision for obedience, agility, and article indication and acquisition.” In the police and military environments in which he consults, Al says that “training using markers in the working-dog world has been welcomed and continues to be developed.”
Training using markers in the working-dog world has been welcomed and continues to be developed.
Al is a talented photographer with Puppy to Pro Photography. He explains that he took up photography as a passion separate from dogs, but that intent backfired, as his main photographic focus is now dogs! Al enjoys many things about photographing dogs, "from movement and action to capturing natural behaviours." Al believes that the DTP program has helped him focus on simple but effective techniques when he works with dogs and their caregivers.
A presenter at international conferences, Al is himself a perpetual learner. His education goals are often focused on training competitive, working, and assistance dogs.