Trip to Holland

In the year 2003 Ria got the working sheepdog news, there was a new book mentioned “the natural way” by Julie Simpson. Ria ordered the book and we both read it and thought well this writher knows what she is talking about and she can give you a whole new picture about shepherding and the way you can communicate with dogs. So Ria emailed Julie and asked her if she wanted to come to Holland to give a clinic. Julie agreed and the two clinics where a great succes. Since then Julie has been five times to Holland and trained a lot of people and dogs. Every year we are fully booked with people from all over Holland who wanted to learn the natural way in communicating with there dogs. If you listen to the things the people who has been to the clinics say you hear things like:
Julie can asses a dog in 3 minutes, she can show you the bigger picture so that you know what you are aiming for with your dog, she makes you aware of your body language and the signals you are giving to your dog so that you can use your body language in a functional way, she learns you to listen to the tone of your voice and whistle commands, the different signals you give which you are not allways aware off.
Beside this and a lot of other things Julie learns you to understand the character, temperament and ability of your dog and how to make the best of it in working and trialing situations. Julie does this all with patience, humor and respect for the handlers and their dogs. She can explaine the things well and even the different languages doesn´t have to be a barrier. The last two years Julie is not only working on the field with the dogs and there handlers but also the lecture has become a part of the clinic. There she shows again that she is a very good teacher who knows what she is talking about and most important: she can teach you to understand and communicate with your dog in a natural way.

Ria Vrolijk and Els Wippo.