interview with a dog trainer: Rolando Mattolini

This month the interview with a dog trainer is with a trainer from Italy , precisely from Pisa, Tuscany I've have prepared a special interview to a dog trainer that has more than 20 years of working with dogs on his shoulders with breeading and training in Italy and abroad. Now famous throughout the world.
A trainer who transfers all his knowledge to his dogs and make them to become something special. Rolando Mattolini and the Dobermann of Camugliano.
Enjoy!!!


We can't start without some warm up questions...
What sound or noise do you hate? 
Hard disco music


what is the job that you wanted to do as a child ?
Airplane pilot


Last time you watch TV (What)?
Extraordinary Dog  (Animal Planet)


Ok, Now let's start with the real interview.
Could you tell our readers a little about yourself
My name is Rolando Mattolini I was born and raised in the province of Pisa, I'm son of canine passionate and hunter.
I live in a country house in Tuscany with my wife and my children together we have deal with the dogs professionally. Our house is also the base of to breeding and training camp Camugliano K9 Colline Pisane. The first and the last thing of the day are always the dogs.

Your passion for dogs does not stop at just train dogs, but you are also busy as a breeder. Tell us about your dogs
The beginning of my career 30 years ago, sees me as a great lover of Dobermann and passionate frequenter of the dog show ring. The first dog exhibition but also very important in races capable of SCH was Aro von Monaco, multi CAC and prepared for the SCH with the help of my first "teacher", an ex financier canine retires. Then there were Franz Camugliano SCH1 and ZTP at 19 months, Quinn and Quanny of Camugliano ZTP, ZTP Ch.It Lord of Camugliano Lillo and SCH1, Dark Rocky di Camugliano and ZTP in preparation for ENCI 2, Iris Gabi Vigo ZTP-IPO1 , all that dogs have put in evidence both in training and in the show ring.
The dog that has marked in the biggest change in my career and in everyday life is Briska Zarek's IPO3, selected IDC WM reserves at the World Cup 2008 in Austria when he was just two and a half years, that was confirmed the next year, as effective, to the world IDCWM 2009 in Apolda. After a few months left me for a tumor, but his experience is definitelychanged all the parameters of evaluation of the Dobermann, where the character is always comes in the first place, followed by health and beauty. Then came Elga of Camugliano,daughter of Zarek, ZTP in preparation for IPO, Kastra of Camugliano (daughter of world champion IDC WM 2006 Black Palma's Ali, the bloodline Briskas) ZTP-IPO2 and Briska'sZoie (withdrawn from another owner and sister of Zarek) ZTP at 6 years.

You practice utility and defense for a long time.
Can you explain how was when you began and how it's evolved over the time in Italy?
As explained above I started in the 88 when Aro was about a year old I start train SCH1 with my trainer in Padova, an ex- financier canine retired . There I learn how to prepare the dogs on the track, in obedience and attack / defense. At that time the methods were very hard and serious, the dogs had to work as a duty and don't gave him many opportunities to make mistakes. For the attacks I have seen also use (in some places) "the nerve of an ox", then abandoned and replaced with the current staff of flexible plastic foam and lined with thin skin. Only those who stand up to high stress was deigned worthy of consideration. The dogs were not beautiful to look at the stage of obedience, the pipelines were accurate but the dogs were subdued. Since then, over the years, training has been modernized, and many things have changed. Today the training is based on the relationship lead-dog, created through play and positive reinforcement. In today's competition you can see happy-dogs that does not distract attention from the owner, who await the next command because they enjoy working.


Do you have made some experience abroad?
My experiences abroad are in both: competition and training. The Worldchampionship 2008 in Austria and 2009 in Germany. For the training I went 
many times in Germany and Sweden most of all. From this last country comes my actual way to train dogs. The others experiences abroad refer to tests of character and international exhibitions and dogshows affect all European countries (Belgium, Holland, France, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Poland, Sweden), also in Moscow, Russia. Many are the satisfactions, Sieger, Jugendchampion .... This work has no limits, I have friends and customers also outside Europe, Brazil, USA and other distant countries.



What is the  Centro Cinofilo Colline Pisane/ The Centre K9 Colline Pisane ? Can you explain what it's all about
The Centre K9 Colline Pisane ASD was born a few years ago when the section AIAD of Pescaia was transferred next to our house and livestock. This gave us the opportunity to follow the dogs of our area and also from other farms. Everything revolves/take place around our property, we have fields where we can train in tracking, then we have the area fenced for train obedience class B and C defense. At the center you can carry dogs of all breeds , problems and / or you can do activities of all types: Basic Obedience, behavioral recoveries for bad management and education for biting dogs. We prepare dogs for IPO-ZTP-ENCI2-BH-Licence. Activities and internships are also possible Obedience, Disc-dog, civil protection. We are a center at 360 ° taking advantage of our experience in various category. Being farmers, growing puppies and business growth starts already with their newly born sensory, raise them, train them as adults, love them .... with them we can understand many more things than others.




What was the happiest moment  in your  Centro Cinofilo Colline Pisane carrier?
I do not think there's been the best moment, the best moments are many and it will still bemany, certainly the period of my participation in the world IDC WM memories skyrocket .....

What training techniques do you use when training your dogs?
My technique is to raise the interest in my person, playing games and rewarding the dog when he does it well. From an early age the dog should be accustomed to playing and fighting with positive technical. Here you set all the work that remains even as an adult. Raise the level of willingness to work with me by rewarding the dog in the correct exercises. The seriousness, however, is important. Command-year-award. If a dog misses you don't rewards, the exercise is repeated until it is done correctly, this means working in a serious



Can you give our readers some tips that they should remember when training their dog?
What I said above is already a big help, but I usually add that if the dog misses the error is ours and so we particularly pay attention to all of our body and our mind. Let your Dog make a mistake and think why they did it and if you should have done something different .... check everything, always check all the values . Sometimes one of our movement confusing the dog ...... to do exercises in the precise way we also must demand percision of ourselves.


I think you are busy to the maximum daily.How goes a typical day in your life?
My day: wake up at 6.30 hours to put out sleeping dogs that are inside (Rotated), including those various cleaning the puppies and feeding, if I have to prepare the tracks I go ... and most of the morning is gone, because tracking 2 runs, let them grow old and needs at least 2 hours, if the land is even more distant 3. In this case, my wife clean outside (unless she is with her Dog.) Return and again feeding and cleaning puppies. In Other mornings there may be some private obbedience lessons for "private" dogs (that owners took to me) . Lunch. After lunch, the dogs remained on the farm and who have only just walking in the morning they coem with me to our training camp, everyone has their own program. Someone is preparing obedience training, other defense, still others just physical training. Other times you do physical training in the pool, on the other roulan-moving, others by bicycle or ride. From mid-afternoon, there are our club memners to the center (usually 3 times a week). Sometimes there are "clients" in the afternoon visit to see the pippies, stallions and mares (it can also happen in the morning, you have to be flexible and available based on customer needs). In late afternoon we prepare to feed the Dog (85% for the Barf diet, natural). At about 21.30 we eat .... and the day ended!



What advice would give to someone participating in their first competition?
Not easy, with the passing of time is easier. Try to convince yourself  that are only you and your dog, as always. Do not count how many people there are to see, judge and participate.Proceed with the rituals of training ... and HAVE FUN.




Your plans for the future?
Many breeding and a new challenge: my Malinois with whom I attended the 2010 Enci Trophyin in IPO3 .... we'll see.


visit www.camugliano.net



www.centrocinofilo.net


all the photos are a courtesy of Rolando Mattolini