Experienced and successful handlers have learned how to train a dog from their first moments to their final trial. They have learned what is important, how to communicate with their dog, and how to prepare thoroughly for competition. The purpose of this class to to take a closer look at many of these qualities that excellent handlers share – and to help you develop as many of these skills as possible! If you train and handle with excellence, your dog will be much more likely to have a successful trial career.
This class will consider how to set up a training session, selecting and holding criteria, working through environmental challenges (generalization of learned behaviors), using proofing to enhance your dog's understanding of a skill, using secondary reinforcers to maintain engagement in the ring and taking training critiria into the ring.
This class will not teach specific behaviors, although in the course of training, we may go over some skill building materials. This class will benefit anyone from the trainer trying to maintain connection and attention while working, on to an advanced handler that may be working on a training exercise that seems "perfect" in training and falls apart when showing. This is a class to build the skill of the trainer to enhance their obedience work with their dog. By the end of class you should be able to look at a problem in training and come up with a plan on how set up your next training session.
Check out the short promotional video!
Registration
Next class starts: February 1, 2015
Registration starts: January 22, 2015 12:30pm PST
Late Registration ends: February 15, 2015 9am PST
Enrollment limits: Gold: 15 students, Silver: 25 students, Bronze: unlimited. If you are interested in bronze level, you can sign up any time during the registration period.
Prerequisites and Equipment
Class is open to all handlers/dogs. The handler will choose skills to work on each week. The only equipment needed is reinforcement (food or toys) for the dog.
The handler will need sufficient space to video tape the skill they are working on. For example, if you were to work on a retrieve on the flat, you would need enough room to throw the dumbbell, and if you were working on pivots, you would need enough room to pivot with your dog.
Syllabus
Fenzi Academy
Training Excellence-The Handler Syllabus
This class will consider how to set up a training session, selecting and holding criteria, selecting a training environment, intelligent proofing, use of secondary reinforcers to enhance ring performance, and how to get training performance in the ring. This class is for the trainer that wants to excel in the ring.
Week 1:
Setting Up a Training Session to Maximum Benefit:
Thinking about your dogs particular strengths and weaknesses. Planning ahead to maximize your training sessions. Executing your plan, and limiting your working time. How to reflect on a training session. How to access success - should you continue or re-vamp your plan?
Week 2: Selecting Criteria and Holding to Criteria in training.
Lecture: Why are criteria important? How do you decide what is worthy of reinforcement? Dogs ability to meet criteria. What happens when you change your criteria within an exercise?
Week 3:
Training environmental challenges:
Lecture: How to handle challenges. Each dog is different, people, noises, tight spaces, other dogs or any number of factors (sometimes several). Importance of introducing environment challenges in a way your dog can handle them. Not asking too much. Importance of allowing your dog to acclimate without pressure from you. When is a dog ready to work? What to do if it’s too much where you planned to train?
Week 4: How to Use Proofing to build stronger behavior.
Lecture: When do you proof an exercise? What are you trying to do when you proof? How to avoid overwhelming the dog. How to handle mistakes by the dog. Importance of increasing reinforcement while still holding criteria.
Week 5: How to maintain Engagement in the ring using secondary reinforcers
Lecture: What is a secondary reinforcer? How do you create one. How to maintain a positive association. Some behavior are more naturally reinforcing to some dogs than others, choose wisely! What is acceptable in the ring? Maintaining criteria for these behaviors as well.
Week 6: How to get your trained performance in the ring.
Lecture: Why is this so hard? How to build your dog up to a ring performance. Teaching your dog that no reinforcers on you is a good thing! Making the wait worth the while (behavior economics). Start small! Take your time! Keeping criteria and not being afraid if the dog fails sometimes.
