About The Lemonade Conference

In March of 2020, the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy (FDSA) faced a daunting challenge: How does one host an educational conference when COVID-19 is virtually guaranteed to risk the health and safety of participants?

The answer is – you don’t. You cancel because that is the right thing to do.

So you make the decision to cancel, and then you feel terrible. You’ve let people down, you’ve risked a ton of money, and all that work has been lost. But then you remember – you’re a trainer! It’s not about what we can’t do – it’s about what we can do! So you get up, brush yourself off, look around, and find a solution that fits the problem. You take those lemons, squeeze them, add some water, sugar, and a splash of attitude and you make … lemonade!

And that is exactly what happened. Recognizing that our community needed something to look forward to, especially at a time when many of us are struggling for work, we looked for something we could do.

After a night of non-stop brainstorming between IAABC and FDSA, we knew the answer was there within our reach. We could create an online conference with top-notch presenters, interactive opportunities, and a worldwide schedule to reach the largest number of people. We could offer generous scholarships to support our community in a time of need. We could combine the very best that our communities has to offer in the fields of dog behavior, training and dog sports – the best of the best!

And we did exactly that! Working together, IAABC and FDSA created The Lemonade Conference, an online educational extravaganza of unprecedented size and scope – 40+ presenters with two simultaneous classrooms running for three days, 18 hours a day that first year. And for those not available for the live event, we included a free “library” of all of the presentations, included with the conference registration fee.

And now we’re back for our third year… with 50+ presenters, three rooms running simultaneously at any point, and 12 hours a day — plus, we kept the library and have figured out a method to record Q&A!