ADI Trainers Workshop - a recipe for success

Take 25 assistance dogs, 14 trainers, 74 participants from three continents, two amazing host organisations and one (very) dog-friendly hotel and stir the ingredients thoroughly for three days. What do you get? One of the most successful, enjoyable and well-attended ADI regional training sessions of recent years!

I’m talking, of course, about the ADI Regional Trainers Workshop - co-hosted by ADI accredited programmes Os’Mose and Hachiko - held in Verviers, Belgium from 9-11 June. Feedback from those who attended - not just from Europe but from Canada, Japan, Taiwan, China and the USA - was overwhelmingly positive.

“Friendly and welcoming - no-one felt excluded regardless of their experience”; “just what’s needed - practical, hands-on sessions with expert trainers”; “massive kudos to the trainers, who were brave enough to show their mistakes as well!” - these were just some of the comments I got from the group I was moderating.

I am most definitely not a dog trainer (you only have to encounter my three yellow labs to know that’s true!) and I am totally in awe of anyone who can train an assistance dog to the levels our clients need and expect. As one of seven moderators, I was assigned the Springer Group - which contrary to my expectations contained no Springer Spaniels but an assortment of labs, retrievers and cross-breeds with teams from Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, the UK and Belgium. The United Nations could learn a thing or two about how those guys collaborated.

As with all ADI gatherings, the three days were intense, exhausting and hugely rewarding. Six practical training sessions covered everything from social interaction (the dogs, not the handlers) to the power of choice (it turns out dogs are pretty good at making informed choices), to removing the word ‘stay’ from the training lexicon (hint - it’s meaningless to a dog).

As moderator, it was my hugely enjoyable task to guide the five discussion sessions which gave the dogs a chance to relax and the participants an opportunity to share their thoughts. These ranged over issues as diverse as foster families vs kennels; allowing strangers to pet your dog; the pros and cons of shelter dogs; and the naming of dogs (I didn’t know, for example, that it’s quite common in some countries for an assistance dog to have two names - one for ‘public’ use and another at home. Apparently it doesn’t confuse them!).

Besides the group sessions, there were four general sessions which brought everyone (including the dogs) together for a series of presentations given by Vanessa Wey, Executive Director of Os’mose, and Elke de Vleeschhouwer, Hachiko’s Head Trainer and Puppy Coordinator. Again, the focus was on practical learning - with videos showing what works (and what doesn’t) and plenty of time for participants to ask questions.

All good workshops include a chance to relax, network and meet new people - and an evening at the impressive Os’mose training centre in nearby Esneux provided all three. Stars of the show were undoubtedly the local Belgian beers - especially welcome after so much talking - and the famous Vlaamse frites with mayonnaise.

It’s also not often you get to talk to a triple Olympic, European and World Championship gold medallist but Vincent Vanasch - goalkeeper for the Belgian hockey team* whose young son has an Os’mose-trained epilepsy alert assistance dog - inspired everyone who heard their story. And talking of inspirational, we also met the amazing Edwin Polese and his dog June. Edwin, who is just 12, lives with ROHHAD syndrome - but that doesn’t stop him walking 17,000 steps a day with June and playing in goal for his school football team!

Massive thanks for such an engaging and inclusive workshop must of course go to Os’mose, Hachiko, ADI, and the ADEu Regional Council but also to the participants, volunteers and dogs who made it so enjoyable. Even the local TV station turned up - you can watch their report on this webpage. But special mention must go to the Hotel Verviers which not only put up with, but positively welcomed so many assistance dogs and went out of their way to make sure the teams had full access at all times. Thank you to all of you - and I will definitely be back next time!

*For our north American friends, that’s field hockey, not ice hockey!

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Martin Atkin, Communication Consultant for ADI.