Course Details
What if your dog could move through an entire behavior chain and feel more confident with every step?
Once dogs know the individual pieces, the real challenge begins: thoughtfully combining them into a chain. Without a clear system, many dogs begin to doubt themselves when reinforcement isn’t immediate—leading to stress, hesitation, or loss of engagement.
This workshop will show you how to change that narrative—teaching your dog that no reward yet means “you’re on the right track… keep going.”
You’ll learn how to:
- Progressively and systematically build chains your dog understands
- Teach your dog to stay confident without immediate reinforcement
- Create positive emotional responses to delayed rewards
- Handle errors in a way that encourages effort and resilience
- Apply both forward chaining and backchaining effectively
This workshop is for teams who:
- Struggle with dogs losing confidence or engagement in longer sequences
- Want to prepare for the ring where reinforcement isn’t present
- Need a clear plan for combining known behaviors into reliable chains
You’ll have the opportunity to work your dog through structured chaining exercises, building clarity and confidence step by step.
When done thoughtfully, chaining doesn’t just link behaviors—it builds a dog who believes in the process, stays engaged, and finishes with strength and enthusiasm.
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 July 19th
Video Submissions Due Date: Sunday July 26th @ 12pm noon PT
Feedback & Questions Video Publish Date: Wednesday July 29th
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)
