Christiane Blenski

My favourite teacher in the field of "dog"
I myself have been a learner and a big reader in the matter of dog – for already six years. Here, I will present you from whose know-how (and which books!) I acquired my knowledge. Furthermore, you will find a few sentences about me in case you are interested.

Jean Donaldson "Hunde sind anders"
Karen Pryor "Positiv bestärken, sanft erziehen"
Sabine Winkler "So lernt mein Hund"
Birgit Laser "Clickertraining"


About me: Christiane Blenski & Aussie Jaden
Deciding on an Australian Shepherd is an „all-or-nothing-decision“. Australian Shepherds are dogs, which are not only quick thinkers, but also demand this of their master. I was gladly prepared when Jaden being a fluffy puppy moved in in 2001. I could use a lot of my acquired knowledge and some things could be forgotten. I would like to pass on the things working. Fortunately, this suits my occupation perfectly: I am a freelance author writing predominantly advertising texts and concepts, giving workshops and writing books – on dogs. Apart from Jaden (and my husband), my two children are my loveliest sweethearts and likewise the most delightful challenges in my life. I live at the gates of Bremen, Germany.




Jean Donaldson "Hunde sind anders"
She is the head of the Academy for Dog Trainers in San Francisco. Her book is absolutely the most important one. "Auch hier Titel einfügen!!" – a (bit abbreviated) statement:
“Dogs do not take after us considerably less than we thought. Nevertheless, we are able to bond to them and share our lives with them. In order to justify our feelings towards them, we do not need to change their tang. They are precious and fascinating just the way they are. It is not necessary to elevate their intelligence or moral so that we treat them fairly. The greatest advantage for the well-being of dogs is, as it is clear today, the result of the ceasing of the myth of Lassie and the replacement by information out of two sources: the dog’s behaviour and the science of their learning behaviour.”

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Karen Pryor "Positiv bestärken, sanft erziehen"
The zoologist and dolphin trainer is considered to be the founder of the training based on "positive reinforcement". Her book is wonderful to read and she explains why and how positive reinforcement works (relating to animals and humans!). From the outset, she writes:
“Positive reinforcement in relation to an action comprises everything that contributes to improving the odds that the action will be repeated. Remember this sentence! It is the secret of good trainings."

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Sabine Winkler "So lernt mein Hund" (available in German only)
Sabine Winkler has been living together with dogs for more than 20 years and studied behavioural science. She is the – successful – head of a dog obedience school. And for a good reason: she really knows about dogs. I liked her book, which is really detailed, very much and it swept away last questions. She writes her book on the basis of her own experience:
“Dog training and the keeping of dogs are definitely no issues which can be dealt by reason only. Before reason and knowledge get a chance to cater for a harmonic and satisfying, mutual relationship with a dog, man obviously needs to have reached a particular point at his or her personal development. By the same token, dealing with dogs and their training may contribute to such a development, though. In dealing with dogs, you can learn a lot about yourself and often about other people, too, at least when you are open-minded for that. In this respect, dogs lead us to man again and again and to humanity. (Quoted from the first edition in 2001)

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Birgit Laser "Clickertraining" (available in German only)
I learnt how to clicker train using this book: I like Birgit Laser’s direct way and was able to quickly understand through workshops, daily trainings and other books that my first clicker attempt under the guidance of Birgit Laser war right: for her, the most important key to effectively use positive reinforcement is as follows:
“Learn to reinforce frequently. Do not watch for mistakes but help your dog to do things correctly so that you can reward it. Plan the situation correspondingly in order to facilitate if for your dog to be successful. Think of this: consistence determines behaviour. If your dog gets attention when barking, it will bark in future to get attention. If you apply attention to your dog when it lies calmly, it will learn soon that lying calmly leads to rewards and that there is no reason to bark. The undesired behaviour is ignored and will be ceased gradually.”

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