Dogcom, our forum adviser

Mr. Frankie Koh has been training dogs since 1988. He has trained under Australian, New Zealander and British Instructors. He is the "Trainer of Singapore's 1st Obedience Dog of the Year 1989" He holds the Novice Obedience Judge's Certificate but have since retired from the Kennel Club circuit for many years now. He is also a New Zealand certified Dog Groomer.

He served in the Obedience Committee of the Singapore Kennel Club and taught Obedience and Agility classes from 1989 to 1991. As a pioneer batch Agility Trainee, he was chairman of the Agility sub-committee and was responsible for the drafting of the Agility Trial Rules. During that period he contributed articles to the club's magazine DogTalk.

His dog, a Silky Terrier named 'Lester Chilli Padi' which he adopted as a disrespectful, disobedient, aggressive delinquent, was transformed through persistent and dedicated training into a frequent Obedience Trial winner and clinched the title of Obedience Dog of the Year 1989; the first year this award was introduced. This was achieved within a relatively short span of time.

Frankie's interest in Dog Training grew beyond the Choker Chain routine which he find has been misused by Dog Owners without a full understanding of the proper technique in it's use in the context of the Dog's Psychology. He then embarked on a constant quest for knowledge on Animal Behavior Study, Dog Psychology and every known technique/method in Dog Training and Behavior Modification. Knowledgeable in Choker Chain, Food Inducement and Clicker methods, he believe all methods have its merits when applied correctly with a clear understanding of the techniques.

Way back in 1985 before he even took an interest in dog obedience training he was already training his Pet African Grey Parrot "Peppy" using the Clicker method. The bird could perform like a star in a Bird Show - Knod for "Yes", Shake his head for "No", Shake Hands, Wave "Bye Bye", Kiss, Play dead, Come (in flight) when called. He could also talk and sing and whistle; one of the tunes being the popular Parrot whistling tune "Bridge over the river Kwai".

He feels it is foolish to engage in debate over which method is more superior but rather with an open mind avail oneself to a wider range of knowledge that can be employed effectively in the training of the many different type of dogs. Whereas some Dog Trainers choose to debate whose/which method is more superior and oppose the other's form of Training, Frankie's philosophy is to adopt and adapt every idea that works. He finds this to be more fruitful and advantages because one does not need to be obstinate and be deprived of a wider range of techniques/methods at one's disposal... because every dog is different. For him every Dog he trains is a study in itself; adopting the method that best suit the Dog's personality and behavior problem and achieving rapid results without inflicting excessive compulsion unnecessarily.

__________________
Petsfanatics.com has no multi-million dollar marketing campaign or celebrity sponsors, but we do have something even better—you. If you enjoy Petsfanatics please consider telling a friend, sharing it with anyone who loves pets, or writing the author of a media article that overlooks us.
PETAS [Pets Enterprises and Traders Association (Singapore) ] - Committee Member
Founder of Merlion-K9 Training
www.merlion-K9.com
Public Relations Officer
FYNNMOOD GOLDFISH CLUB SINGAPORE
Public Relations Officer
Pets Community at The Serangoon
Member of Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT)