October 8th
Last year I was asked to host a 2 hour seminar on the effective use of Livestock Guardian dogs in the Goat industry at the National Goat Expo being held in Des Moines, Iowa and I happily accepted since I firmly believe that Livestock Guards should be an integral part of any successful goat operation.
The National Goat Expo is the first ever event of it's kind and scope and will cover all things 'goat'. There will be 30+ seminars and workshops dealing with health, nutrition, breeding, marketing, etc., over 35 vendors and many shows (including 3 National shows) for Dairy, Meat and Fiber goats.
http://www.nationalgoatexpo.org/index.html
I will be covering many topics in regards to Livestock Guardian dogs such as function, assessing your needs, expectations, training, socialization and support to name just a few, as well as a brief overview of various breeds.
I will have at least one dog with me (in the goats pen just like at home!) and possibly two, so you will have the opportunity to meet this rare and exceptional breed!
On November 4th, we will be at the Badger Kennel Club 24th annual Dog Fair held at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI.
This is an absolutely fabulous informational event and covers all things dog related. Seminars on nutrition, training, health, demonstrations, etc. Dozens of vendors with excellent prices on dog supplies too! This really is a fun event for dog lovers and is a fabulous opportunity for those interested in learning about new breeds to meet them in person!
Over 150 dog breeds will be represented, including 25 or more rare breeds. For the ninth year, we will once again be the breed representatives for the Spanish Mastiff. Breeds will be set up alphabetically this year instead of in their designated groups.
Thousands of people attend this event every year and I look forward to seeing many familiar faces and meeting thousands of new ones! If you are in the Tri State area, be sure to stop by and say hello to Zoe and Ivan!
Lois Jordan http://www.fallcreekfarm.net
I am happy to say that both events that we attended with our Spanish Mastiffs were very successful!
ReplyDeleteWe had a great turnout for the Livestock Guardian seminar at the National Goat Expo and there were many good questions asked and answered! We covered many topics in depth during the 2 1/2 hour seminar (we went over by a half hour) about realistic expectations, the best breed for your needs, training, ongoing support, etc. I had great feedback from the attendees and look forward to doing many more seminars like this.
The Badger Kennel Club Dog Fair was once again very well attended and thousands of people had the opportunity to meet our dogs in person and see what the breed is really like. I handed out lots of informational sheets on the breed, talked about the history of the Spanish Mastiff, their function both now and throughout their history, temperament, health, etc.
Zoe and Ivan were a huge hit and exceptional representatives of the breed! Considering the thousands of people, 100's of dogs, the noise level and excitement, I was extremely proud of how well Ivan handled the day! He was so calm throughout the day and did an excellent imitation of a 'speed bump' in the aisle outside our booth - forcing everyone to stop and pet him! It was very effective ;-)