4-H Canine Science Virtual Workshops

Contact: Lenah Nguyen

Extension Agent, 4-H YouthDevelopment

24 Pelham St.

Warrenton, VA 20186

Phone: (540) 341-7950 ext. 4
Fax: (540) 349-1792

lgeer@vt.edu

Due to thecoronavirus pandemic, we had to cancel our Canine Science Workshop scheduledfor this past weekend.  The silver lining is that now we have anopportunity to offer this program in a virtual format to anyone that would liketo participate, and I hope that many of you that are stuck at home with yourdog will take advantage of this opportunity.  This will be a six-weekseries of weekly webinars where you can learn about canine science andunderstand your own dog better.  Workshop participants will get anintroduction to some exciting dog sports from Virginia Tech researchers andlearn about animal behavior along the way. Participants will become realcanine scientists using published research methods to test participants’hypotheses about dog behavior and improve their ability to ask the dogs foranswers.  These workshops will also provide you with some helpfulinformation so you can earn AKC Virtual Trick Dog Titles (more info on that isattached) and additional recognition through Virginia 4-H. 

When

Wednesdays from 2PM – 3 PM starting April 8^th and ending May 13.  Webinars willbe recorded and placed on a google drive for those that would like to view themat a different time. 

IntendedAudience
This workshop is intended for youth age 12 – 19.

How toRegister

Register inadvance for this workshop series at:­­­­­

https://virginiatech.zoom.us/meeting/register/uJEsfu-pqTwijiofvF46nxj3V__R0Lo8mg

Afterregistering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information aboutjoining the meeting.

InstructorBios

Dr. Erica Feuerbacher grew up training dogs in 4-H.  Shereceived a PhD in Behavior Analysis from the University of Florida and is nowan Assistant Professor in Companion Animal Behavior and Welfare at VirginiaTech. She is the director of the Applied Animal Behavior & WelfareLab, focusing her research on domestic dog behavior, welfare, andlearning/training.  She is also a CPDT-KA professional dog trainer and aCertified Applied Animal Behaviorist.   

JoAnna Platzer is a PhD candidate in Virginia Tech’s AnimalBehavior and Welfare Lab. She is a CPDT-KA certified dog trainer and has workedtraining a variety of species, including horses and captive exotic animals. Shevery much enjoys helping people and their dogs enjoy each other’s companythrough training and working together. Her American Pit Bull Terrier,Stellaluna, has titles in Barn Hunt, Rally, Trick Training, and Lure Coursingand is currently training to be a conservation detection dog.

Hannah Decker is a Master’s student at Virginia Tech.  Herresearch project is to create a team of dogs that can be sent out to help thecommunity of Blacksburg with local conservation issues like invasivespecies or plant diseases. Her first job was working at a doggy daycareand boarding facility called Camp Bow Wow. In 2019, Hannah graduated fromCarroll College with a degree in Anthrozoology, which is the study ofhuman and animal interactions. In her junior year of college, she fostered ashelter dog for the entire school year and taught him how to behave, do alot of cool tricks, complete service tasks, and do scent work. In her senioryear at Carroll, she trained a dog to find archaeological bones for anarchaeology professor.  Currently, she is raising a service dog.