Course Details
Dog training is like balancing on a tightrope. We want our dogs to be happy, engaged and motivated. Yet we also need precision which often leads to a loss of enthusiasm. It’s a delicate dance. Once dogs have learned the exercises it becomes a challenge to maintain them. Dogs get bored, they lose enthusiasm and the exercises degrade. In this class we will look at a variety of strategies and games to maintain motivation for all exercises. You will learn how to get precision without losing animation. We will look at using aides to help achieve balance and, more importantly, how to fade them. You will learn how to break exercises down to keep the pieces fun and exciting without losing accuracy. You will learn how to use backchaining, jackpot training and how to handle anticipation. You will also learn how to balance your dog’s arousal to ensure they are in an optimal state to perform at a high level. Whether you are starting to put the pieces together or your dog is competing, this course will help you maintain enthusiasm without losing precision.
Teaching Approach:

Petra (she/her) graduated from Rutgers School of Health Related Professions 17 years ago with a degree in physical therapy and has experience working with an extremely varied caseload including pediatric through geriatric clients with a vast range of diagnoses. Her areas of expertise included in-patient rehabilitation, orthopedics and neurology. (Click here for full bio and to view Petra's upcoming courses)