Hello everyone!
I’m writing on my tablet, so I apologize for the “plain-ness” of this report. Since I have a little downtime, I wanted to send you some updates regarding my trip to the Dog Symposium in Norway.
First, I am hoping to be picked up by Turid at the hotel around 2pm today. She has invited me to observe the work she’s doing with Julia Roberston. They might be writing a book together. Unfortunately, there is snow happening in England right now, so there’s a chance Julia won’t be able to get here tomorrow. The airports are not as prepared for snow as we (and other winter areas such as Norway) are!
But here’s a little about Julia – she’s the founder and owner of Galen Therapies in the UK. They are on the cutting edge of understanding chronic pain in dogs and also understanding how chronic pain can affect behavior: http://www.caninetherapy.co.uk/about-canine-myotherapy/what-is-canine-myotherapy/pain-and-behaviour/
We’re excited to learn more — especially how we can choose to train certain behaviors which are appropriate for our dogs’ ages…and avoid behaviors which can strain our dogs depending upon their growth stages or experiences of any underlying chronic pain.
If you’d like to see a few photos of the trip so far, you can visit the website page I set up (as attaching photos is a little too much to ask from this tablet). I was lucky enough to have a front seat (co pilot) during the flight from Saranac Lake to Boston. You’ll see a photo of the Adirondacks – a beautiful, partly cloudy/sunny day for flying! I then took a flight from Boston to Iceland (arriving at 5am to a crowded airport!). At one point in the trip, I looked out my window and saw a brilliant display of northern lights! They were mostly green, but dancing across the sky. It was amazing to be “at their level.” Here’s a link to a short video from someone – at ground level – filming them in Iceland…I did not have my good camera to capture the show. Dancing across the sky is the best description I can come up with.
It was actually warm and rainy in Iceland when we arrived. But it cooled down when we headed south to Norway. I’d say the temps are in the mid teens right now with tons of snow – no sign of spring here yet!
The Dog Symposium is being held around 1/2 hour north of Oslo – I’m at the hotel now. Oh, and I do have to let you know that Norwegians eat well for breakfast! The breakfast buffet can basically fill you up for lunch and dinner if you’d like.
More later!
Kinna Ohman-Leone
March 1, 2018