Back To Foundations

During these trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of you have been returning to foundation training with your dogs. Some of you have new puppies – including me.

 

Future Agility Rockstar

In March, I decided to foster a rescue. Like everyone else, I had more time on my hands. One of my friends posted a photo of “Princess” on her Facebook Timeline from a local rescue organization. She was a tiny 4-month-old Chihuahua mix and for five days, I could not get her off my mind. There was something about her that kept calling out to me. Over the years, I have learned to trust my instincts. If something resonates with me and continues to distract me, I consider it something worth paying attention to. I thought I could help a dog in need and then have a trained puppy placed into a new family.

I got my first foster dog and renamed her Differ. She was definitely not a princess.

After two weeks, I decided she was staying with me. She fit into our house like she has been here all along. Both Lever and Pose love her. The cat immediately accepted her, too. She is quite the little pocket rocket and I am excited to continue with her training. She is a sponge for learning all the things that my larger dogs have learned. Although I have had Border Collies for 30-some years, many of my students have small dogs. And I trained one of my student’s Papillion through AKC Masters and really enjoyed that experience.

What Are Glue Skills?

You might ask, what does Differ have to do with Glue Skills?

Starting June 1st, I am teaching a new class on the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy schedule, “AG190 – The Glue for Future Agility Stars”. This class is designed to help dog sports trainers – especially those involved in the exciting sport of agility – develop skills that maximize learning opportunities for both the trainer and the dog.

Most foundation classes focus on obstacle performance and handling skills for dogs and handlers. What is missing from the curriculum is the “glue skills” that are needed to help you and your dog absorb that learning. When you and your dog attend class, seminars, and eventually trials, there are skills that allow both of you to benefit more from that experience. Differ has been working on these skills from the ground up.

Here is a video of Differ working on stationing in a distracting environment (outdoors and with Lever and Pose):

 

Issues You Do Not Want

If you want to prevent any of the following issues, then this class is a definite must:

• Your dog gets distracted between sequences or repetitions
• Your dog does not like repetitions
• You cannot focus on the instructor or clinician because you are worried about your dog
• Your dog has trouble working around other dogs
• Your dog has trouble waiting his/her turn

 

Skills For Your Dog

Here are some of many skills this class will address to help your dog learn to cope with the energetic environment:

• Station behavior
• Focused Wait
• Release
• Moving away from reinforcement
• Control around reinforcement
• Transport techniques
• Down stay
• Collar and Leash Skills
• Ring Entrance and Exit

 

Skills For You

Here are some of many skills this class will provide you with to become more effective as a trainer:

• How to plan and organize efficient training sessions
• How to move your dog effectively between repetitions
• Why speed is not important during learning
• How to clean up communication with your dog
• How and why to use event markers

 

From the Ground Up

Glue skills are what my agility dogs learn first. And with the addition of Differ, all of my training sessions have been diligently recorded. Currently, I have over 90 videos for this class from the initial start through end behaviors. And, yes, this class can benefit dogs for ANY dog sport – not just agility.

 

More Information

This class will have a Teacher’s Assistant (TA) available in the Facebook study group to help the bronze and silver students. Directions for joining that Facebook group will be in the classroom after you register.

For more information, go to this link: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/courses/25979

Join me as you learn to apply the glue skills and build a confidence and well-adjusted future agility star. Registration opens on November 22nd at 11:30am Central Time.