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Webinars will run approximately 1-2 hours including presentation and questions.
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Jennifer Henion - Retriever Sports: Start and Build Marking Skills

Date: Thursday, March 28th, 2024
Time: 3pm Pacific Time (Click here for time at FDSA (Pacific Time). 
Fee: $19.95 USD

Marking is definitely the most fun part of retriever field sports! Watching the dog run with joy and focus through grassy fields dotted with trees, ponds and undulating hills to retrieve a mark... It's what they were born to do!

Marking is also the core skill being judged in Hunt Tests, Working Certificate tests and Field Trials. In the rule books it states "...marking and memory of birds are of primary importance."

This webinar will use lots of exciting video to discuss the art and science of marking. We will also cover how to start teaching your dog to run marks - and in a way that makes it easy to progress into intermediate and advanced marking concepts.

You will learn how to use single marks to develop your dog's field skills for depth perception, running distance, water and cover. As well as teaching the concepts of multiple marks, like doubles and triples.

We'll also cover:

  • How to build double and triple marks
  • Why steadiness and line mechanics are important
  • How to teach retired marks
  • Why certain marking combinations are difficult and how to overcome that
  • How to approach group training day marking tests to best fit your dog

This will be a great topic for the Q&A as well! It's a great opportunity to ask questions about different marking scenarios and how to approach them.

[Don't know what Marks or Marking means? A mark is when a retrieve object is thrown or shot by a gunner in the field. Marking is your dog's ability to watch the object and pin point where it landed, as well as taking the accurate route through the field to get there! Of course, the dog then picks up the object and runs back to deliver it to us.]

This will be a fun one!

Watch the Trailer

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Stacy Barnett - The Secret Sauce: Key Critical Skills for the Nosework Dog

Date: Thursday, March 28th, 2024
Time: 6pm Pacific Time (Click here for time at FDSA (Pacific Time). 
Fee: $19.95 USD

Did you ever wonder if there was something you could do or a drill or exercise you could set up to give your Nosework dog an edge or to improve your pass rate? There are! This webinar will give you a list of critical skills to develop and sample setups and drills to build the Secret Sauce into how your dog works. Distractions? Sourcing? Problem Solving? Focus? We will talk about all of these and more!

Note: This Webinar is back by popular demand. Please check your webinar library before purchasing.

Watch the Trailer

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Sharon Carroll - Strategies for Training the Atypical Dog – Part 1: Concepts and Overview

Date: Thursday, April 4th, 2024
Time: 3pm Pacific Time (Click here for time at FDSA (Pacific Time). 
Fee: $19.95 USD

This is Part One of a two-part webinar on working with “atypical” dogs. Both webinars are stand-alone webinars covering a different aspect of this topic, but they combine to cover the topic more broadly.

When we train our dogs, we are constantly asking them to solve puzzles. We are asking them to connect the dots between the cue (context cue or human initiated verbal / visual cue), their subsequent behavior (action), and the reinforcement. As our dog becomes more confident about the connection between these elements, they can respond more rapidly and with improved accuracy.

During the learning process there will be moments of frustration and confusion. Typical dogs deal with small amounts of frustration and confusion in a way that helps them find a solution to the puzzle. This leads to the dog attaining reinforcement, which results in them putting in the same or greater effort on future learning-oriented tasks.

Atypical dogs however do not respond in the same way. For a range of underlying reasons, the training puzzle itself may cause an excessive spike in arousal in these dogs. This is commonly referred to as the dog “stressing down” or “stressing up” depending on the observable behaviors. “Stressing down” behaviors may include shutting-down, stalling, looking away, appearing disinterested, freezing, moving slowly, or performing avoidance, escape, appeasement, or displacement behaviors. “Stressing up” behaviors may include barking at the human or at the task, whining, performing rapid sequences of random un-cued behaviors, anticipating cues, spinning, doing zoomies, lacking focus, and attempting to guess at the solution with little thought.

Beyond training pressures, these dogs may also struggle more than usual with environmental pressures. All dogs need a certain amount of desensitization and distraction training in order to successfully function in bigger environments, but the atypical dog may be extremely aware of stimuli in the environment. This requires additional training steps and more detailed monitoring.

In this “Part One” webinar we discuss:

  • The underlying factors that contribute to the development of an atypical dog, including genetic traits and the impact of prior learning.
  • Ways to identify the difference between a simple training gap, and a more complex problem.
  • When to use classical conditioning versus operant conditioning.
  • Methods for measuring the proportional impact the environment is having on our dog’s behavior.

We also look at a range of solutions that can create a more focused, happier, and more consistently successful training partner.

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Sharon Carroll - Strategies for Training the Atypical Dog – Part 2: Specific Examples / Case Studies

Date: Thursday, April 4th, 2024
Time: 6pm Pacific Time (Click here for time at FDSA (Pacific Time). 
Fee: $19.95 USD

This is Part Two of a two-part webinar on working with “atypical” dogs. Both webinars are stand-alone webinars covering a different aspect of this topic, but they combine to cover the topic more broadly.

When we train our dogs, we are constantly asking them to solve puzzles. We are asking them to connect the dots between the cue (context cue or human initiated verbal / visual cue), their subsequent behavior (action), and the reinforcement. As our dog becomes more confident about the connection between these elements, they can respond more rapidly and with improved accuracy.

During the learning process there will be moments of frustration and confusion. Typical dogs deal with small amounts of frustration and confusion in a way that helps them find a solution to the puzzle. This leads to the dog attaining reinforcement, which results in them putting in the same or greater effort on future learning-oriented tasks.

Atypical dogs however do not respond in the same way. For a range of underlying reasons, the training puzzle itself may cause an excessive spike in arousal in these dogs. This is commonly referred to as the dog “stressing down” or “stressing up” depending on the observable behaviors. “Stressing down” behaviors may include shutting-down, stalling, looking away, appearing disinterested, freezing, moving slowly, or performing avoidance, escape, appeasement, or displacement behaviors. “Stressing up” behaviors may include barking at the human or at the task, whining, performing rapid sequences of random un-cued behaviors, anticipating cues, spinning, doing zoomies, lacking focus, and attempting to guess at the solution with little thought.

Beyond training pressures, these dogs may also struggle more than usual with environmental pressures. All dogs need a certain amount of desensitization and distraction training in order to successfully function in bigger environments, but the atypical dog may be extremely aware of stimuli in the environment. This requires additional training steps and more detailed monitoring.

In this “Part Two” webinar we look at a wide range of specific examples from a variety of different sports. Including:

  • Object retrieve (moving slowly, displacement sniffing at the object before picking up or instead of picking up, dropping the object or stalling on the return)
  • Retrieving incorrect articles in scent article exercises or in directed retrieves.
  • False alerts and missed hides in nose work.
  • Arcing in straight line exercises such as recalls or retrieves.
  • Breaking start line stays in agility.
  • Missing position change cues at a distance.
  • Inconsistency, slowing, stalling, or avoidance in weave poles.
  • Needing repeated cues or wandering off during rally, obedience, agility.
  • Performing zoomies or “visiting” ring crew, judges, stewards, spectators, other dogs during training / competing.
  • Hesitating on the approach to contacts or blowing through contacts in agility.
  • And more!

For each example we discuss the varied reasons these behaviors may occur, along with solutions for resolving these issues.

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Petra Ford - When Things Go Wrong

Date: Thursday, April 11th, 2024
Time: 3pm Pacific Time (Click here for time at FDSA (Pacific Time). 
Fee: $19.95 USD

We hope everything will run smoothly at a trial. But the reality is that things rarely do. There are a myriad of challenges that can happen both outside and in the ring. Successfully managing these challenges can be the key to saving a run. In this webinar we will explore strategies for warming up in tight spaces, navigating the path to the ring, handling delays, and more. Learn how to support your dog when mistakes occur in the ring, how to best utilize fix n gos, how to handle dead time and unexpected challenges in the ring. Stay calm and collected under pressure by arming yourself with effective strategies for when things don't go as planned. Preparation creates confidence which transfers to our dogs.

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Deb Jones, PhD - Elevator Behavior: Skills for Existing in Polite Society!

Date: Thursday, April 11th, 2024
Time: 6pm Pacific Time (Click here for time at FDSA (Pacific Time). 
Fee: $19.95 USD

Is your dog magnetized to people and other dogs when out in public? Does he find it difficult to impossible to simply ignore others in the environment? Do you feel like your dog is constantly looking for interaction with others while you struggle to keep his focus on you? We all want our dogs to be comfortable around other dogs and people and we often work very hard to socialize them. But do we take it too far and create an even bigger problem? Deb will discuss her concept of teaching dogs good “elevator behavior” and the importance of a dog who can simply mind his own business in public places.

Note: This Webinar is back by popular demand. Please check your webinar library before purchasing.

* Click here to Register Now


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