9:00am: Ashley Escobar- Conditioning and Fitness in Small Spaces
Have ever wanted to tap into your dogs full athletic potential, or maybe you want to find new fun ways to do more with your dog but don't have a lot of space or time... Join me to learn some conditioning and fitness routines designed for small spaces. I will share with you how to create a fitness plan including a PDF printable for your use, what routines will look like and tips on keeping you accountable for future reps, as well as an alternative equipment ideas for those that don't have a lot of canine fitness equipment.
Equipment needed: some of the following will be used - Cavaletti Poles, foam pads, pivot disc, balance disc a platform of some sort.
9:00am: Loretta Mueller- Small Steps: Maximizing Your Agillity Skills In A Small Space
When the weather gets too hot or too cold, we have a tendency to retreat indoors! This means smaller spaces for most of us. Finding creative ways to keep training your dog in agility is a must! We'll discuss which skills work best in small space training and how to prioritize and maximize the benefits of small space training for your dog.
Learn how to think outside of the box, so you can continue to progress your agility training, even when the weather makes it difficult!
From sends, to directions, to impulse control, let's talk about ways to adapt your small space so when the weather gets better, your dog is ready to run!
11:00am: Julie Symons- Scent Games for Sports and Enrichment
SEEKING is ”the basic impulse to search, investigate and make sense of the environment.” - Dr. Jaak Panksepp
Dogs are driven to seek information from their environment. It gives them pleasure (dopamine release), is soothing and provides security. Knowing how beneficial it is to get our dogs sniffing, we can nurture this emotional system of the brain by exposing our dogs to non-threatening novel situations and evoke curiosity in their environment.
In this presentation, we will first cover scent games using primary reinforcement (food) and how that can reduce arousal and build problem solving skills. For Nosework teams, we will focus on 4 key areas that can be setup in small areas: Go to Source, Stay at Source, dismissing Distractions and clearing Blank areas. Handler scent games will also be covered where we can build value for finding our scent whether it be for the obedience scent article exercise or the AKC Handler Scent Discrimination division.
For sports or enrichment, the therapeutic role of playing scent games is proven every day!
11:00am: Sara Brueske- Foundation Skills for All the Sports
Winter is the perfect time to go back to basics and either teach new foundation skills or freshen up already learned ones. This presentation will focus on how to teach foundation skills that are so important for a variety of dog sports.
The skills focused on in this presentation include pivot, front and rear paw targeting and chin rest. We will discuss methods on how to teach these skills as well as why they are important for our sport dogs to know.
2:00pm: Liz Joyce- Surviving Hibernation: Handler Fitness Tune Up
Take advantage of being indoors this winter with a tune up from the neck down — for handlers!
We might be months away from participating in our usual fun outdoor activities or dog sports, but this is actually the perfect time to work towards comfortably and vibrantly reaching our own fitness goals.
Liz will break down the considerations, and must-haves, for returning to:
Hiking, running, agility and paddle boarding. We’ll also talk about considerations for canicross!
You’ll leave this presentation with a plan, motivation to work towards it now, an understanding of how to improve your current regime and be ready to get out with your dog as soon as the good weather returns!
2:00pm: Heather Lawson- Intro To Concept Training: Stretching Your Dog's Brain
YUCKY, wet, cold weather winter days mean you’re probably not training in the great outdoors and looking to find fun games or exercises you can do with your dog in smaller indoor spaces. Concept Training could be just the ticket.
This presentation will take a look at how you can not only stretch your dog’s brain by delving into Concept Training but use and strengthen the skills you already have. It will also show you how concepts are interwoven within your training already and can be easily transferred from sport to sport.
Heather will take you on a brief trip through Concept Training to show you how it can build attention and focus allowing your dogs to learn to THINK out of the box – develop their cognition skills. You’ll be introduced to the Reset Start Again! your dog can use when they don’t understand – A way for your dog to say “I don’t know” - without moving into disconnect, shutdown or frustration behaviours such as barking. You don’t need a lot of room or equipment to play with Concepts – just a little imagination!
1:00pm: Panel Recording - Transitioning Small Space Skills to Trial Readiness with Denise Fenzi, Julie Symons, Loretta Mueller, and Sara Brueske
4:00pm: Panel Recording - Success with Goal Setting with Ashley Escobar, Heather Lawson, Liz Joyce and Megan Foster
