Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - OB440: Utility Fun

Course Details

Utility IS fun!! In this class, I deconstruct all the exercises into manageable pieces. Each piece is taught and maintained like a trick. This makes the exercises accessible for us and the dogs. Your dogs will not only understand the exercises, your dog will perform them with joy and energy. As we put the pieces together, we will maintain that light attitude. We treat it like a game that both you and your dog will enjoy. We will use backward chaining and forward chaining to pull the exercises together. All while maintaining the quality of the pieces that make up the chain. Utility is my favorite class, and it can be yours too! This approach makes it easy to problem solve and “fix” pieces within an exercise. This class can benefit people that have a foundation in utility and are looking to put the pieces together. It can also help teams that are trained through utility but are having problems or that want to add attitude and joy to the exercises.

Teaching Approach

This class will have written and video lectures each week. Each lecture will be broken down into small pieces. There will be video examples demonstrating all exercises. Because everyone has their own learning style, I encourage students to move at their own pace. I understand that each dog and handler are unique and do my best to accommodate their needs. Students will need to move around with their dogs as is required for typical exercises pertaining to the Utility exercises. I will work with you to modify the exercises to your abilities. A few of the games will require quick physical movement from the trainer for short periods and distances. Later in the class and for certain exercises students will need access to a space large enough so they can perform a full Utility exercises.

Instructor: Petra Ford

I have been training and competing for several decades in a variety of sports including Hunt Tests, Field Trials, Nosework, Agility and Rally. My first love has always been competition obedience. I have been fortunate to win the AKC National Obedience Championship four times with three different dogs. (Click here for full bio and to view Petra's upcoming courses)

Syllabus

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Week One

Pieces Must be Fluent
It’s All Just a Trick!
Timing of your mark is critical
Forward Chain vs. Back chain
Criteria
Randomize Marking in Chain
Clear End Picture
Breaking each exercise into pieces
Maintaining each piece
Balancing your training sessions
- Motivation
- Teaching
- Chaining
Precue and Pivot for Glove and Article
Release After Retrieve
Position change with Signals
- To Mat
- Work to Full Distance
Replace target with glove
Glove mark immediately for quick return

Week Two

Directed Jumping
- Full distance
- Maintain Connection
- Release to Toy or Food
Run to visible target full distance
- Different locations!
Articles – it’s a scenting game!
- Fade switchboxes
- Mark and release when they commit
Stand for Exam
- Reinforce stop
Backchain Front with Glove & Article
- Prerequisite Hold & Fronts with nothing in mouth
Signals
- Full distance
- Vary rewards
- Back to rug

Week Three

Directed Jumping
- Offset position dog & Handler
Run to target that’s not visible
Articles
- Different patterns
- Different locations
Replace target with Glove
Judge Exam
Backchain Signals
Stand distance attention

Week Four

Motivation games for running to target
Turn & Sit
- Establish clear parameters
- Run behind
- Mat
Backchain DJ fronts
Glove return
Scenting the Article
Short Heeling to signals
Stand backchain finish

Week Five

Adding fronts to exercises
- Mix it up
- Help with props
- Verbal reminder
- Step in to collect
- Heeling to Signals
Add pivot to articles
Add pivot to gloves
Stand add exam

Week Six

What about finishes?
Transitions
DJ putting it all together
Problem solving breaking it down
Organizing your training sessions
Patience!

Sample Lecture

It’s All Just a Trick!

Obedience is a funny sport. People start out all excited about the fun activity they are going to do with their dog. They look forward to teaching the advanced exercises. But somewhere along the line something happens and things get very, very serious. Very serious. Why is that? Who knows. But that’s not fun for you or your dog. So let’s remember why we started doing this in the first place. The truth of the matter is, every exercise and every class is just a series of silly dog tricks. It’s not world peace. We make mistakes. The dogs make mistakes. No big deal. I want you to think of each piece of every exercise as a trick. Approach it that way. Be lighthearted about it. Roll with the mistakes. Dog not getting it? Don’t panic. Think of another way to approach it. Tricks are fun! Change your mindset and obedience training is fun too!

Position Change with Signals.

The more we add distance to our signals, the more the dog wants to move forward. Later the dog will have to deal with judge pressure and pressure from the environment…which makes them want to move forward even more. Throughout my dog’s entire careers I work on maintaining a motor pattern that consists of moving backwards. In essence, I NEVER fully get rid of the mat. Definitely not when I’m teaching. As a reminder, when we ask for a position change we want the dog to “down, then move back”, “Sit, then move back”. Wherever you are in this process, it’s time to slowly add distance. Remember, all dogs are different. And all dogs are at a different point in the learning process. This is a marathon, not a sprint. Work at your dog’s pace. Remember to maintain criteria!!!!!! If you are also working on Open exercises, then I do a very, very short piece of heeling into the stand every time. This makes a clear differentiation between CD and Signals.

Organizing Your Training Sessions:

Prerequisites & Supplies

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Gold level students should be familiar with the skills taught in part one of this class (OB415 - Utility Foundation Fun) or have the equivalent skills. If you are unsure if you would be suitable for the gold level please email the instructor prior to course registration.

Link to prerequisite class OB415 - Utility Foundation Fun

Testimonials & Reviews

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A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ...

There are so few classes offered for those of us who are interested in competitive obedience. This is one of the best I have taken. It was great to be able to learn from Petra. She is a great instructor. Her obedience credentials are outstanding, and she is very generous to share what she knows with us. Thank you!

The information in the lectures and Petra’s keen eye to details makes this course so amazing. She notices those little things that we can tweak to help the dog understand what we are asking of them. Another fantastic class, thanks Petra.

I thought this was an outstanding class because Petra breaks down each Utility exercise into many pieces so that the learning experience was easier for my dog and also for me. She also encouraged me to make training a fun game for my dog and as a result, I have a happy dog who loves to train!

Excellent class if you want to put together your Utility routine! Petra‘s feed back was clear and helpful and she even provided supplemental video material if a student needed some visual aids. I would consider taking this class again once we are closer to trial ready to benefit from Petra’s clear and valuable advice.

I love Petra and her course content. She is a great teacher, she breaks things down for both the dogs and the trainer. She is also very consistent in her approach so when she provides feedback, her feedback integrates easily into what we've already learned.

Although I have trained and competed dogs thru Utility, this course was still very helpful and I learned a lot. The step by step approach to the exercises was very clear and systematic. Petra has a new approach to many of the exercises that really worked much better for me and my dog. This class and the Chaining class really complement each other.

This course has certainly provided me with a road map to get ready for Utulity trialling. As usual I found Petra's lectures, as well as her very prompt feedback, to be very detailed and well broken down. I appreciate Petra's sense of humour and her kind and encouraging comments on the Gold threads.

Registration

There are no scheduled sessions for this class at this time. We update our schedule frequently, so please subscribe to our mailing list for notifications.

Registration opens at 11:30am Pacific Time.

OB440 Subscriptions

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Tuition	$ 260.00	$ 130.00	$ 65.00
Enrollment Limits	12	25	Unlimited
Access all course lectures and materials	✔	✔	✔
Access to discussion and homework forums	✔	✔	✔
Read all posted questions and answers	✔	✔	✔
Watch all posted videos	✔	✔	✔
Post general questions to Discussion forum	✔	✔	✖
Submit written assignments	✔	✖	✖
Post dog specific questions	✔	With video only	✖
Post videos	✔	Up to 2	✖
Receive instructor feedback on	Questions All videos	Questions All videos	✖

Find more details, refund policies and answers to common questions in the Help center.

OB440: Utility Fun - Putting the Pieces Together

Course Details

Teaching Approach

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