BAT Instructor Certification Workshop
With Grisha Stewart
By: Rachel Fein, KPA CTP, CTDI
The second week of traveling was spent at the New York BAT Instructor Certification Workshop. This was an amazing experience. BAT is short for Behavior Adjustment Training. It is a protocol that Grisha Stewart came up with to help her dog Peanut become more comfortable with other dogs. Its main purpose is to help reactive dogs and frustrated greeters. However, it is now being used to socialize puppies and in every day training. The most important thing when working with reactive dogs is to keep the dog under threashold. This means that we stay far enough away from triggers (things that upset the dog) so that the dog can make appropriate decisions while learning about the environment. In BAT we empower the dog to make its own decisions. We want to set the dog up for success. The overall purpose is to decensitize the dog to its triggers by creating positive experiences.
We spent the first day going over the amazing leash skills that Grisha Stewart came up with herself in addition to reviewing the basics of BAT. Did you know that dogs communicate through body language? Whenever you are working with a dog it is very important to pay attention to its body language. Dogs show stress in a variety of ways; posture, speed, ear position, lip licking, yawning, tail position, eye contact, stiff/loose bodies. Note: tail wagging does not always mean a happy dog. In BAT we also use a 10-15 foot snap leash with a back clip harness. The back clip harness allows the dog freedom of movement and help prevent the dog from getting tangled. The longer leash allows the dog to explore the environment and also helps to keep the leash loose which is a vital component when working with a reactive dog. A tight leash signals to a dog that there is something to react to. During the workshop we learned how to shorten and lengthen the leash in a safe way. We also learned skills such as following, sliding, mime pulling and slow stops. To learn more about these skills contact your nearest CBATI.
The second day we got to try out our leash skills on the decoy dogs. These are dogs that are solid and used when doing a BAT Setup. It was a hot day so the dogs got tired fast but it was great practice. Its important to try out new skills on a solid dog before trying them with a reactive dog. It is also important to practice the skills without triggers present so ensure the setups go smoothly.
The third day we got to meet our clients and teach them the leash skills without dogs present. My groups client was great. He was very open to everything we had to say and he learned quickly. Because he has two reactive dogs in the household we expressed the importance of walking the dogs seperately. This is so they do not feed off of each other. He caught on to the leash skills quickly so we had fun testing his skills. I even got to pretend to be a dog. He passed every test I threw at him with flying colors.
We spent the first day going over the amazing leash skills that Grisha Stewart came up with herself in addition to reviewing the basics of BAT. Did you know that dogs communicate through body language? Whenever you are working with a dog it is very important to pay attention to its body language. Dogs show stress in a variety of ways; posture, speed, ear position, lip licking, yawning, tail position, eye contact, stiff/loose bodies. Note: tail wagging does not always mean a happy dog. In BAT we also use a 10-15 foot snap leash with a back clip harness. The back clip harness allows the dog freedom of movement and help prevent the dog from getting tangled. The longer leash allows the dog to explore the environment and also helps to keep the leash loose which is a vital component when working with a reactive dog. A tight leash signals to a dog that there is something to react to. During the workshop we learned how to shorten and lengthen the leash in a safe way. We also learned skills such as following, sliding, mime pulling and slow stops. To learn more about these skills contact your nearest CBATI.
The second day we got to try out our leash skills on the decoy dogs. These are dogs that are solid and used when doing a BAT Setup. It was a hot day so the dogs got tired fast but it was great practice. Its important to try out new skills on a solid dog before trying them with a reactive dog. It is also important to practice the skills without triggers present so ensure the setups go smoothly.
The third day we got to meet our clients and teach them the leash skills without dogs present. My groups client was great. He was very open to everything we had to say and he learned quickly. Because he has two reactive dogs in the household we expressed the importance of walking the dogs seperately. This is so they do not feed off of each other. He caught on to the leash skills quickly so we had fun testing his skills. I even got to pretend to be a dog. He passed every test I threw at him with flying colors.
The fourth day we finally got to do BAT Setups with our clients dogs. We started off with fake dogs as decoy dogs. Fake dogs look like real dogs from a distance. This is a safe way to work with a dog that needs a lot of space. The fake dogs won't move around which can help set your dog up for success. It's also a great way to practice BAT without the danger of having another dog present. During BAT Setups we micromanage the environment so that we don't have to micromanage the dog. Our client dog started off a little stressed and was trying to get out the gate and back to her sister. We decided it would be best to move to the other side of the field to reduce the stress levels. After that, everything went smoothly. We kept the session short so that we could end on a really good note.
The last day we did BAT Setups with live decoy dogs. We knew to start from the other side of the field so we did that from the beginning. Since we were using a live dog this time we had to increase the distance a little bit. This is because of live dog is not completely still like a fake dog is. The setup went great and we all learned a lot. We had some really great BAT moments. After we were done the client could not say enough about how much he loved the new style of handling. He said he was definitely going to use his new skills to help work with his dogs.
The workshop was a once in a lifetime experience. I learned a great deal and I am excited to bring that knowledge back to my clients.
To learn more about BAT or if you need help with your reactive dog please contact Cloud K9 Academy.
The last day we did BAT Setups with live decoy dogs. We knew to start from the other side of the field so we did that from the beginning. Since we were using a live dog this time we had to increase the distance a little bit. This is because of live dog is not completely still like a fake dog is. The setup went great and we all learned a lot. We had some really great BAT moments. After we were done the client could not say enough about how much he loved the new style of handling. He said he was definitely going to use his new skills to help work with his dogs.
The workshop was a once in a lifetime experience. I learned a great deal and I am excited to bring that knowledge back to my clients.
To learn more about BAT or if you need help with your reactive dog please contact Cloud K9 Academy.
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