Course Details
Engagement is one of the most challenging skills we ask of our dogs. Sustained engagement requires them to ignore motion, sound, scent, and the pull of the environment—all while focusing their energy on us and the task at hand.
When engagement falters, it’s easy for trainers to try harder: adding cues, helping more, reminding, encouraging… sometimes even nagging without realizing it. Unfortunately, this can add pressure for the dog and make engagement even more difficult.
There’s a better approach.
When dogs offer engagement, the picture changes completely. Offering is empowering for the dog. Instead of being pulled into the work, the dog actively chooses it. And when that happens, the environment starts to fade away.
In this workshop, Petra will show you how to shift from asking for engagement to teaching your dog to offer it.
You’ll explore how to:
- Teach your dog to confidently offer a variety of behaviors
- Build the foundation for dogs to voluntarily check in and engage
- Transition from cued engagement to engagement offered when you are silent
- Develop engagement in multiple training pictures, including:
o In front of you
o In heel position
o When leaving your dog
o When turning to face your dog
- Reduce pressure and create a training environment where dogs choose to participate
This workshop is appropriate for trainers working with young dogs as well as more experienced teams who want stronger, more consistent engagement.
When your dog learns to offer engagement, you no longer have to remind, prompt, or coax. Your dog chooses to connect with you—and that changes everything.
This workshop previously ran under a different course number. Please check your Class and Workshop Library to prevent a duplicate purchase.
Watch the Trailer:
Lecture Publish Date: Sunday May 3rd
Video Submissions Due Date: Sunday May 10th @ 12pm noon PT
Feedback & Questions Video Publish Date: Wednesday May 13th
Instructor: Petra FordI 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)
