Russell Distance Russell has recently returned to the island after an intensive training course at the world-renowned Triple Crown Academy for Dog Trainers, in Texas, USA.

Having studied canine training and psychology for a number of years and now qualified to train dogs in competitive obedience, search and rescue, protection and agility, the Post collared Russell and hounded him with questions about local canine issues.

Is it true that you can?t teach old dogs new tricks?
No. Once people understand more about how their dogs actually learn, and we?ve opened up a clear way to communicate with our dogs, then teaching them new behaviours is easy and great fun!

What?s the craziest thing you have trained a dog to do?
Not sure about the ?craziest? thing - it?s easy to teach a dog to do tricks, like spinning around, sitting on a box, begging etc - but whilst fun, in ever day life these are relatively useless behaviours! However, what is always amazing to me is training dogs for Search and Rescue and also Scent Detection. Watching the dogs go through the learning process and successfully finding people, narcotics or whatever they?ve been trained to locate, is hugely impressive.

Which breed do you think is best suited to Phuket?
We have all been seeing an increase in the number of ?breeds? here in Phuket over the last few years - with people feeling they need to have a ?pedigree? dog. In general, most dogs are fine here, although some will suffer more with the heat than others.
Breeds such as pugs and bulldogs which are bracycephalic (i.e. have squashed noses!) find it hard to breathe in extreme heat. Also larger coated breeds such as golden retrievers and huskies have thick heavy coats which aren?t really conducive to this climate. It?s also worth noting however, that dogs do use their coat to keep cool (as well as warm), so shaving your dog isn?t always helpful. Just make sure your Fido has constant access to plenty of clean, fresh water and a paddling pool to lap around in is always nice too!
Do Thai dogs have a different temperament to Western dogs? Does that make them easier or harder to train?

All dogs have different temperaments and as such, some are easier to train than others. That said, all dogs conform to the same scientific learning theory, so there is no difference between Western and Thai dogs.

How many dogs can you train at one time?
Private classes are generally one person, one dog. In group classes, we can have around six to eight owners bringing one dog each. If you have more than one dog at home, it?s important to focus training on one at a time, especially in the beginning. At a more advanced stage, when the dogs understand what is going on, you can start working more dogs together.

What kind of examination procedure do you use to ensure the training has taken? Do dogs need refresher courses every now and then?
We have a graduation programme for all dogs that complete our courses and we test them on all the skills they have acquired in training. Our assessment criteria conform to that of the American Kennel Club, so our standards are pretty high, but all graduates receive a certificate! In addition we do offer refresher training if people want to follow up on, or further develop particular behaviours.

If you?d like to book some lessons for your untrained hounds, then call Russell at the Thailand Canine Academy 089 588 4050, or email tca@tk9a.com / www.tk9a.com