Core Courses
Core courses cover the skills required to allow a handler to engage their dog in training with energy, focus and fun! Courses are also designed to help you understand how motivational training works; from the first stages to when the toys and treats are gone.
Course Details
Interested in obedience or rally? This isn't a class full of heeling around in circles!
Learn about using foot targets, backing up, and fancy pivoting. Geek out about precise position changes such as the perfect foldback down, or learn what "good enough" style actually holds up when you are at a distance and the props are gone.
I will gently hold your hand on starting scent articles, and go outs and show you that they aren't as intimidating as they look!
And more!! No prerequisites are needed!
Introducing all these core areas from the start makes sure that obedience remains fun for both the dog and the handler!
Note that there are a LOT of skills at the first level and this class goes over ALL of them. You will not be able to do all the things in the 6 weeks of class! It's a good thing you have access to this class for a minimum of a full year!
This is an introductory course and makes no assumptions about your dog's prior knowledge. Whether you are new to competitive obedience training or you have discovered a need to revisit skills with advanced dogs, this course will help you prepare to title by video in TEAM. Additionally, you will gain an excellent set of foundation skills for any dog sport or competition venue, such as AKC or FCI obedience, rally, freestyle, and more.
For more information on the TEAM titling program, please visit www.fenziteamobedience.com
Teaching Approach
Lectures are released at the start of each week with all lectures released within the first 4 weeks. The lectures are broken down by each skill, often in multiple parts. I have written objectives and then written instructions for each step followed by multiple video examples for each step. The videos are usually between 30sec to 2min long and are taken from training sessions of a variety of dogs. I rarely use voiceover or subtitles in the video. At the end of each lecture is a homework summary with the steps quickly summarized in order.
Several videos will depict training being done with the handler sitting on the ground. These steps can be modified to be sitting in a chair, and may also be modified to have the dog at a higher level such as up on a tall platform or on a bed.
This class will have a Teacher's Assistant (TA) available in the Facebook study group to help the Bronze and Silver students! Directions for joining will be in the classroom after you register.
Instructor: Lucy NewtonLucy Newton (she/her) has been training dogs and teaching dog training almost all her adult life. She was a search & rescue dog trainer, handler, and instructor and trained numerous personal dogs for wilderness search and rescue, as well as land and water human remains detection. Working with very active wilderness SAR teams, she worked on a large number of missing person cases in both urban and very remote wilderness locations. (Click here for full bio and to view Lucy's upcoming courses)
Syllabus
Because of the wide range of skills, students are not expected to master all 9 areas of focus in roughly 15 skills. About 3-4 skills will be introduced per week and gold students will have the option of working on any of the skills discussed from the current week or previous weeks. All lectures will be introduced in the first 4 weeks of class in order to give students enough time to focus on the topics of their choosing.
No team will be able to get through every single topic!! It is common for students to repeat this class or to work on it for several months!
Roughly the order of skills taught will be:
Week 1: Engagement, Paw targets (front foot, rear foot, and all 4 feet), Auto leave it, doggy zen games, Fly around a cone, Pivoting for heelwork
Week 2: Style of Position Changes(Sit, Down, Stand), Adding a cue to position changes, Nose targets (chin rest and duration to a lid), Fronts, Release cues and zen games (stays)
Week 3: Backing up, Scent Articles, Vertical target (for Go Outs)
Week 4: Jumping, Building Distance of Position Changes, transitions between exercises and setups for TEAM
Week 5 & 6 will be continued work on any of the above skills.
Students will also have the opportunity to send in a video of a potential TEAM video submission to get feedback at the end of class.
Prerequisites & Supplies
This is a FOUNDATION level class designed to introduce the beginning steps for each of the areas up to the point that the TEAM level 1 test includes. No experience is necessary to start!
Puppies as young as 8wks are welcome to join, however unless the trainer is already very experienced, it is typically recommended that puppies be 4+ months of age. Younger puppies may not physically be ready to work on "all the things" as they are still really learning how to earn food and work with their trainer.
The equipment needed is dependent on which skills each team wants to focus on. Upon registration, a supply list lecture will give more in depth information on how to make, purchase, or scrounge up from around the house for your supplies! Ideally, teams will have access to:
- Platform for fronts and finishes (approximate size just barely longer than the dog is wide and long enough for the dog to stand on)
- Perch for pivoting (round bowl, phone book, brick...)
- Large cone or another object for the dog to circle around
- Foot target for position changes (PVC box, front foot target, rear foot target...)
- Altoid tins, flat metal electrical plates, canning lids, or any other type of a flat surface for dogs to learn a nose target indication for scent work.
- Jump (formal obedience/agility jump OR creative jumps such as a broomstick, log....)
Sample Lecture
Backing Up - TEAM Level One Sample Lecture
By Laura Waudby
Goal of the Exercise
The goal of this exercise is to teach the dog to back away without any forward motion from the handler into the dog's space. This skill is extremely useful to add into other exercises where the dog needs to perform at a distance. If the dog begins to associate backing up after completing a command (e.g., down signal followed by backing up), it will reduce the dog's natural tendency to creep forward. In TEAM, this skill will show up in more advanced levels to demonstrate the dog's ability to think rather than simply anticipate what comes next.
Training with a Back Foot Target
The most common way to teach an independent backup is by using a target placed behind the dog. A target gives the dog something to aim for and encourages them to reach with their back feet to find it.
If you haven't taught your dog to immediately offer whatever position you chose on their target then first spend some time teaching the position. You want this position to be a strong automatic behavior for the dog. See the lecture on targets for more info!
Here's a quick clip from the target lecture of Mayhem learning her rear foot target.
Step 1: Stretch the Dog
At this first stage, we're not doing any backing up! Our focus is on stretching the dog from the target so that both back feet remain on the target as their front feet get further and further away.
Give your dog a cookie while they are in the 2on/2off (2o2o) position. Then give another cookie just an inch further. And then another cookie placed another inch further away. Keep giving your dog treats progressively farther from the target until their back feet come off it. Pause, then help your dog in making a U-turn back into the 2o2o position.
At this stage, you're looking for the dog to try really hard to keep their rear feet on the platform even with a tempting cookie!
Here, Arlo is working on this skill. He gets on the target relatively easily, and I'm trying to feed him slightly farther away. He knows to get back on the target when he comes off, but he isn't backing up yet, and that's okay! You can see I can't stretch him very far yet, as he comes off pretty easily. However, he is showing a small weight shift forward. At 48 seconds, there is a nice small stretch, and again at 57 seconds!
Here Splash is working on this early step of keeping his back feet on the target while I feed further away. You can see that he's already showing some stretching, but does come off very easy still and sometimes wants to back up to get his front feet on the target. He's also still going to do a u-turn to get back onto the target! I'm happy he's showing those signs of knowing getting back onto the target gets the cookies to come again!
And here Loot is showing the end result of this first step. He's stretching pretty well for the treat in my hand and I'm still trying to reset behind him to make sure he's not thinking about coming off forward. He does 1 teeny tiny 1 step back up here in the middle!
Step 2: Tiniest Backup
At this stage, you're seeing the dog really stretch to keep their rear feet on the target. When the dog comes off, they turn around to get back onto the target themselves. Now you're so close to getting just one tiny step of a backup!
Try to do your stretching so that only one paw is off the target, if possible. When the dog is out of their 2o2o position pause and wait. Let the dog think! If the dog backs up the one paw needed to return to position, then reward! If the dog moves forward and circles back to their target you can reward this initially, but soon limit rewards to actual backing up. (Praise the dog for getting on the target, but do a stretching rep to give the next cookie instead of just feeding them for getting on the target.) Do not introduce your backup cue at this stage as the dog is focusing more on their target than on the actual actions they are taking to get there.
Here Quill is right at the stage where he's offering the tiniest one step backup!
And here is Freya Cat! Sometimes I get her off too far, but if I can get only 1 foot off she will usually step back to find her target.
If your dog still struggles and is just not offering any bit of backing up, you can encourage the dog to at least back up their front feet after some stretching. Feed out a few times, then lure the dog back with their front feet BEFORE the dog's back feet come off. Think of it like an accordion!
Here I'm demonstrating this accordion feeding style with Splash.
Step 3: Distance of Backing
At this stage, the goal is to increase the distance your dog can back up to their target until you reach about three feet. I typically want to switch to a LOWER target. A target that is too tall often causes the dog to reach too high with their hind feet, resulting in some awkward backing! My ideal backup target is just an inch off the ground. Be sure to warm up with some "stretching" reps so the dog understands it's a target!
For many dogs, this is a difficult step. Increase distance very slowly and always mix in easier repetitions so that it is not always getting more and more difficult for the dog to perform. A verbal cue and/or hand signal can be used once the dog is consistently backing up, not turning around, and some distance is worked through.
Here Freya shows backing up when both feet are off the target!! She sometimes sits and that in the past would have guaranteed she wouldn't backup, but she's able to do that here! Sometimes she stops when her rear feet hit the edge but she doesn't step up. I still mark and gently push her back with the reward she earned. (note I added the verbal backup cue here because she's been consistent for me, but this was the first session I did that! Don't add the backup cue until you are confident the dog is going to offer it!)
Here Cougar is starting to get pretty consistent with a distance of three feet. Note that the movement is still very awkward for her and not at all fluid! I should have switched to a lower target before building to this distance. This higher target isn't great for the style I want.
Speck is working with a low target and a small distance. He's kinda hoppy with his backup motion still.
If Speck doesn't start to do more stepping instead of hopping in the next few sessions, he would be a good candidate to combine some of this rear foot target work with the channel method listed below.
Crookedness???
If the dog is backing up crooked but still reaches their target, then this isn't something I worry about in the early stages!! The target itself will help correct the dog if you're only paying when the dog makes their rear feet on it! You should see your dog start to sidestep to the target if they initially miss it.
Here's a visual example of how the farther away you get form the target, the narrower the dog's options are for the angle they take. If you're 2ft away from a large target, the dog has a big range (and that's ok!). And as you get to 6ft then their angle for being correct naturally gets smaller.
But what if the dog is missing a bit and chooses to self correct to get back on? That's ok too! As long as the dog moves sideways instead of turning around, I reward. I want the dog to know that the target matters! However, don't progress on distance if this is happening a lot!
Here is Wren who shows a strong preference for backing off crooked to my left. Since she's still in the early stages, I'm letting her self correct her angle and I'm occasionally helping with her reward even if she only gets one foot on (I'll stop doing this as she progresses.) I'm also purposefully setting her up so that more of the target is to my right and the space she has is narrower to be accurate. This is drawing more attention to her crookedness and force her to think about the target more!
If your dog is not figuring out how to move slightly sideways to self-correct, you're close to the target, and you're just not having success, let's look at a few other ways you can help your dog:
- Taller target. Is your dog really noticing the target and caring about it? Taller isn't great once you want distance, but it's helpful to draw attention to the target in the beginning! Most crookedness errors I see are because the dog doesn't have enough value for getting to that 2on2off position! They are too focused on the cookies in our hand.
- Using a barrier on one or both sides. Place your rear foot target near a wall or couch on one side to apply light pressure and prevent crookedness in that direction!
- Look at how you're rewarding the dog. Is the dog automatically eating and turning crooked before they even start backing?! Try feeding back between your legs a bit so your legs become a small guide to start the dog off right. Or sit on the floor and stick out your legs in a V (or use gates!) to get that initial angle started!
As Wren's backup progressed, that little lean to my left/her right went away! But a more persistent starting angle to my right/her left started to come. You can see in this video that it's a small lean that is hugely exaggerated by her start angle. She was self correcting, but we were struggling with her start angle. I first tried using my legs to try and set her angle but this greatly confused her so I went to using some light barrier pressure to try and prevent her from starting off crooked.
For bigger crookedness, you may want to use a channel.
Here is an example of combining a channel with a rear foot target. Freya Kitty is pretty content to just sit in the channel but she can offer tiny backups in here when both feet are off her flat target.
Step 4: Wait for the Cue
Proud of your dog's backup? Now we can work on them actually paying attention to what your cue is! For TEAM, the anticipation of backing up is the biggest reason for a "Not Yet." Your dog needs to wait calmly in front of you until you give that backup cue.
Your dog can wait in a sit if that's easier! Or you can use a chin rest to have them calmly wait. But be careful that if you are using a chin rest that your removal of your hand is not the cue to start backing up! You want to either cue the backup directly from the chin rest, or take your hand away, pause, (reward in practice!) and then cue the backup.
Since many dogs will struggle with being able to process cues with their beloved rear foot target behind them, I find it easiest to start with another foot target to have them wait on. Grab a front foot target and put it far enough away that your dog can't be on both the rear and the front foot at the same time.
Here I'm working on Loot waiting for the cue to back. You can see that sometimes when he's on the front foot target he forgets about the rear foot target and what backup means! I need to do some quick reps of get a cookie on the front foot target, then backup quickly to the rear. Unfortunately, he's having a hard time this session, but hopefully it gives you an idea of a setup!
If your dog knows a chin rest, you can use that too! Keep in mind that the removal of your chin rest hand will quickly become the cue to backup if you always cue a backup after. Try to do a small chin rest, mark/reward, then present your chin rest hand again. Give the backup cue with hands starting at your side, but make sure your dog isn’t able to predict when your hands at your side will lead to a backup vs leading to another chin rest or just a cookie for waiting!
Here Mayhem then Loot demonstrate how I work to use a chin rest to help them wait. I am working on getting my hands to my side, then presenting the chin rest cue or cuing the backup. Mayhem is a bit twitchy in wanting to backup as my hand goes away and you will also see how her chin rest quality starts to deteriorate as she thinks through this exercise! Loot takes a little time to settle but then does well, although his backup is more hesitant!
Overview
1. Start with the dog in their 2o2o position.
2. Try to feed the dog several cookies while they keep their rear feet on the target. Gradually move your cookie hand further for each reward. Try to get at least three rewards in before they come off!
3. If the dog moves off the target, reset them back onto the target.
4. Over several sessions see the dog start to stretch to keep their feet on the target!! At this point, you might see occasional one step backups!
5. Once your dog is consistently backing up to the target, make sure you start to reward them for the 2o2o position, but then also release them to a cookie in your hand at a small distance so you can set their start point.
6. Wait for the cue!! For the dog to truly understand what backup means, they have to get out of offering mode and pay attention to what your cue actually is! Have your dog wait in either a sit position or on another target until you give the backup cue.
Testimonials & Reviews
A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ...
The sport of obedience never interested me before. But when looking for my next class, I read the summary of Laura's class. It sounded interesting, it was a foundation class so I was confident I could do it so I gave it a shot. Now I'm in love with the sport of obedience. I love Laura. She was fun, her instructions were clear, plenty of videos to watch for examples. She gave us options and made her expectations clear. She always found something to reinforce but at the same time coached us to be better. I will definitely be taking Laura's level 2 in December and hope for another Gold spot
I am so glad I took the TEAM class this term. The course material was extensive and well organized. I feel we have made good progress towards our level 1 certification. Laura provided very awesome videos and comments which were detailed and easy to follow. You'll definitely want this course in your library!
Two exercises for this class -- pivot and backup -- were ones I have struggled to teach my dogs for literally years. With this class, I had improvement on both in MINUTES
Taking my first class at Fenzi Academy was an incredible experience start to finish! My instructor was incredibly knowledgeable and was helpful to my individual needs. When I ran into road blocks with my dog's progress and nothing was working, she came up with solutions for my guy that were positive! This is one place that you can find just about any sport you could possibly want to learn with your dog and I'm excited to continue this adventure with my whole canine family! Lori R.
Thanks Laura and well done! You did a brilliant job considering the huge amount of information you had to impart and the range of different skills you were teaching. The clear breaking down of each skill into smaller steps in the lecture notes (and each step with its own demonstration video) was perfect. I'll be referring back to your lecture notes for a long long time to come!
Laura has helped me in so many ways throughout this class. She is quick to respond to class homework. Her comments are always positive and she always gives detailed instructions. Laura has a real gift for catching the "little things " that need improvement, and motivate me to do the extra work necessary to improve my skills. Her gentle guidance has helped me become a better trainer.
She could see my shy boy for his sensitivity yet being eager. She re-directed us in ways that helped and supported him without over-energizing or shutting him down. And with just 2 silver videos, not 6 weeks of staring at us!!
Laura gives the most amazing detailed feedback. She has an excellent eye and can tell right away what will help a team succeed.
Registration
Next session starts: December 1, 2025Registration starts: November 22, 2025Registration ends: December 15, 2025
Registration opens at 11:30am Pacific Time.
TR101 Subscriptions
 Gold |
 Silver |
 Bronze |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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✖ |
Find more details, refund policies and answers to common questions in the Help center.
Course Details
Feeling stuck, intimidated, or overwhelmed working on obedience skills with your dog? If you feel like you’re not sure what to train, or if what worked for your last dog isn’t working for this dog, this class may be for you!
In the TEAM 2 class we provide structure as you build the skills your dog needs for TEAM, AKC, CKC, FCI, or the other obedience program of your choice! Let's break down the fancy skills you've seen in obedience trials!
In this class we introduce new skills while continuing to build the skills from TEAM 1:
- Retrieves [NEW for TEAM 2]
- Marking (look forward cue) [NEW for TEAM 2]
- Pivoting without a prop- left and right (the foundation for pretty heelwork!)
- Position changes in heel (and teaching a stand cue!)
- Scent articles
- Engagement-: "transitions" between exercises
- Sends to a target
- Jumping
- Stays with distractions
- Finishes
- Fronts (teach fancy front pivots to get that amazing lineup!)
Took the TEAM 1 class, but still working through the skills? That’s okay! Join us for TEAM 2 and we’ll continue to work together to get you unstuck and making progress.
The individual pieces of exercises are broken down for you in manageable steps. Introducing all these core areas from the start makes sure that obedience remains fun for both the dog and the handler!
Join us this term to take your and your dog’s obedience to a new level!
What is TEAM?
The TEAM titling program is a virtual program designed to help reward obedience trainers for breaking down their training and building a strong base of foundation behaviors.
Each level adds complexity for the dog-handler team, presenting them with a wide range of interesting skills to master right from the start. There’s no reason to hold back on training for distractions, distance work or the "fancy" skills while teaching your dog to heel!
Check out the full program on the TEAM website: https://www.fenziteamobedience.com/
Note: You do NOT need to be interested in TEAM titles or have taken the TEAM1 class to join! Many students use this class as a roadmap for AKC/CKC/etc. If you don’t have TEAM 1 in your library, it’s helpful to at least have
- Pivoting on a perch
- Position changes started in front of the handler
- Fronts with a platform
Teaching Approach
Lectures are released at the start of each week with all lectures released within the first 4 weeks. The lectures are broken down by each skill, often in multiple parts. I have written objectives and then written instructions for each step followed by multiple video examples for each step. The videos are usually between 30sec to 2min long and are taken from training sessions of a variety of dogs. I do not use voiceover or subtitles in the video. At the end of each lecture is a homework summary with the steps quickly summarized in order.
This class will have Teaching Assistants (TA) available in the Facebook discussion group to help the bronze and silver students! Directions for joining can be found in the classroom after you register.
Instructor: Lucy NewtonLucy Newton (she/her) has been training dogs and teaching dog training almost all her adult life. She was a search & rescue dog trainer, handler, and instructor and trained numerous personal dogs for wilderness search and rescue, as well as land and water human remains detection. Working with very active wilderness SAR teams, she worked on a large number of missing person cases in both urban and very remote wilderness locations. (Click here for full bio and to view Lucy's upcoming courses)
Syllabus
Because of the wide range of skills, students are not expected to master all 10 skills. About 3 skills will be introduced per week and gold students will have the option of working on any of the skills discussed from the current week or previous weeks. All lectures will be released in the first 4 weeks of class in order to give students enough time to focus on their desired areas.
The skills taught will be:
- Retrieve: Beginning steps to picking it off the floor and delivery to hand. Teaching a hold!
- Fronts: Fading the prop, working on pivots in front
- Position Changes (sit, down, stand): Working in heel position, building in pauses, building greater distance, adding handler distractions
- Moving Engagement/ Social Play for working on "transitions" in the ring
- Pivoting Skills: Fading the perch with left pivots and starting pivoting to the right
- Finishes: 3 styles of finishes, fading props, proofing heel position
- Stay: duration, distance, distraction behind the dog, handler's back turned
- Jumping: taking a jump without handler movement
- Scent articles: Fading food lure in finding your scent, switching to a retrieve alert
- Mark: Teaching a cued look straight ahead, watch me vs look forward on cue
Release Schedule:
Week 1: Pivoting left and right in heel, Position changes (heel position and pauses), Marking, Send to Target
Week 2: Retrieve, Fronts, Position Changes (marching and distractions)
Week 3: Scent articles, Finishes, Position Changes (distance), Play/engagement
Week 4: Stays, Jumping
Remember each student can pick what they want to work on each week from any of the topics a lecture has been released on. Students will likely not be able to master all skills in the 6 weeks and will focus on topics they need the most guidance in.
Prerequisites & Supplies
The exercises in this class build off of those in TEAM 1.
It is recommended that Gold students have either taken TEAM 1 (OB115) with either instructor at any level (gold, silver, bronze), OR have passed the TEAM 1 test.
Many of the gold teams will still be working on level 1 behaviors while ready to start level 2 work with other behaviors!
It is HIGHLY recommended that students start looking a level ahead of where they are at early on. This prevents boredom for both human and dog, and allows the dog to advance in exercises that are well known without getting "stuck" rehearsing only the earlier level. Gold students will be able to work at the level they are currently at, even if it isn't quite level 2 ready!
If you do not have the TEAM 1 class, the following skills are prerequisites (NOT needed if you have the level 1 lectures!). While not all the skills are needed since you can't work through every single topic in just 6 weeks, I will refer students back to level 1 lectures for any skill that isn't ready for the level 2 notes:
- Pivoting in heel on a perch
- Understanding of how to teach sit and down with a front foot, rear foot target, OR a platform.
- Stay with a zen bowl/distraction on the ground
- Front to a platform
- Scent articles started (to food in a container or a smear of food on the article is ok!)
Equipment needed is dependent on which skills each team wants to focus on. Ideally, teams will have access to:
- Perch for pivoting (round bowl, phone book...)
- Dumbbell or other formal retrieve object (something the dog does not see as a "toy"
- Foot target for position changes (Whatever the team is used to such as PVC box, larger platform, front foot target, rear foot target...)
- Scent articles. Teams who have been working on a nose touch indication to a flat lid may continue that, or we can talk about switching to a retrieve alert if they are ready. Retrievable articles might be canning rings, leather bracelets, or traditional dumbbell shaped articles.
- Jump. Any jump will work!
Sample Lecture
Marking Pt1: Looking Forward
Goal of the Exercise
Marking in this context (as opposed to "marking" as the reward cue we use to bridge the time between the dog's behavior and getting their reward) is the act of a dog looking forward out toward another object, and waiting for a cue to be sent.
The dog can watch a thrown retrieve item and mark the location of the landing (especially useful if thrown into long grass!), or the dog can be given a mark by the handler which tells the dog when and where to look. This second part will be the focus of this lecture as it is not a natural behavior for the dog. Dogs have to be trained to follow a point and while they readily pick up on it (compared to wolves!) their first instinct is still to stare at your hand versus following the invisible line you are pointing out to the object.
Teaching a mark is a useful skill for directing your dog to retrieve something they didn't see thrown and for directing your dog to a specific item/cone/target when there are multiple choices for the dog to choose from. It can also be used to point out the next task your dog is to do such as looking ahead to mark their "go out" location in Utility, or the first obstacle in agility.
Here is an eventual goal behavior of Vito working in Utility. I mark him to look forward to his go out location so he knows what to expect, and then stand up straight waiting for the judge to start the exercise and tell me to send my dog. I want my dog to continue to look where they should be going next.
And here is final picture for the TEAM2 test: dog looks at you when you return (a cue is allowed, but I would suggest that you train the dog's default to be looking at you unless told otherwise), pause, cue the look forward and remove your hand, pause, then release forward.
Stage 1: Teaching the Look Ahead
Since most dogs will readily stare at cookies or their favorite toy, we will begin by using their reward as a lure. For this exercise, I place my chosen reward in a bowl or on a target lid to make it clear to my dog that they will be getting released to it. Since I don't allow my dogs to be released to distractions on the ground, the bowl/target quickly becomes a cue to my dog that they will be able to get the item at some point.
Start with the dog on a stay (on a platform can be helpful!) as you place a single cookie in a dish and set it out about 2-5ft away. Return to your dog and encourage* them to look forward at it! When you see your dog looking ahead, use a special release cue that tells the dog they can have the reward in the dish such as "dish!" or "Cookies!".
*Encouraging them to look at it can be pretty much anything at stage 1! This can be talking to your dog about the yummy items, pointing at it, a collar grab restrain, pretty much anything! (See the problem solving section below for ideas if your dog is stuck!)
Loot starts on a platform to help him wait, return to him and gently touch his chest and assume a track start to try and be clear I'm not looking for focus. As soon as he looks at the dish I release him with "cookies!" which is my marker cue to tell him he can have the treats in the dish! He anticipates the second rep and I let him go, but make sure he's in a sit for the next rep.
Some dogs will find it easier to start in between your legs to make it clearer they are allowed to look forward.
Here Wren is starting between my legs. I'm struggling a bit with how to give her a signal to look forward, but overall she's doing well!
The setup is simple, but many dogs will struggle with various parts of this first step.
1. Your dog struggles to stay as you encourage them to look forward.
2. Your dog dog stays, but won't look at the dish. They think it's a trap!
Problem Solving: Dog Won't Stay!
If your dog has a hard time staying as you encourage them to look forward, try either grabbing their collar with your opposite hand (right hand) or having them on a leash you hold behind your back!
Here Chilli is a bit more advanced as they are working on some duration of looking forward, but they are using a leash to help Chilli wait!
And here is an example where I grab Loot's collar as I return to him
Problem Solving: Dog Isn't Looking Forward
Many dogs will think this is a trap! They might be hesitant to look at the dish, especially if you've already done a lot of "Zen bowl" training for focus!
If your dog struggles with this first step, switch to tossing the reward in front of them versus placing it. As your dog watches the toss, you can release them before they have the opportunity to look back at you! You may also want to be out of heel position for this exercise as your dog likely has a strong foundation of keeping eye contact in heel! Move to the right side of your dog, a foot out in front of your dog, or even try having your dog between your legs!
I recommend also pre-placing a cookie in the dish before you return to your dog and get ready to toss a 2nd treat. That way if your dog does happen to look forward before the toss, you can capture that look and give your dish cue!
With this technique, it's also helpful to give a verbal "look" type of cue right BEFORE you toss the 2nd treat into the dish. This can help the dog expect the toss, and thus look forward on the verbal cue!
Grace is showing this technique. She's a bit hesitant to release on the cue here even though she has a lot of practice already in knowing that "cookies!" means run to the dish!
And here Ginny is working on this. I'm holding her collar to prevent her from going early. You can see she isn't quite getting it yet!
Here Ira has also struggled with looking at the dish. Mom slides it forward so the dog is looking at the MOTION of the dish. On the first one she isn't quite sure yet, but the next two she nails the focus forward! Mom is just starting to delay the release to the dish until after the dish has stopped moving! She's also adding in a chest hold here as a reminder of oppositional reflex/restrain games. This could actually stick as the dog's eventual cue to look ahead.
Here is Nala who also has a very strong foundation of giving eye contact with the Zen Bowl! I discover with her that she remains looking at the bowl while I'm setting food in it. It's the start of my standing up that makes it hard. So I quickly send her a few times with my hand lingering at the bowl. When I realize that this can start a hand signal I try switching to my other hand (the one closest to her). I release with the marker cue "cookies."
Stage 2: Adding in the Hand Signal and/or Verbal
Most trainers will use a hand signal to tell their dog when/where to look ahead. Since your dog will be starting from heel position, the most common signal is lowering your left hand to your dog's head level. You may need to bend your knees with a small dog! Hold your signal still either directly above their head or in the space between your dog's head and your leg. Remember this hand signal is about giving a direction for your dog to look. It will not give your dog permission to actually run out! Hold your signal still and wait for your dog to stop staring at your hand and actually look ahead at the reward like you have been working on. Release your dog verbally and without moving your hand forward.
This stage isn't a full step for most dogs. More than likely you were already using a hand signal in stage 1. The main goal of this stage is to start to formalize it.
You may also decide to use a verbal "look" type of cue before your hand goes down. Because most dogs respond easier to a signal vs a verbal, give your verbal "look" a half second before your hand moves.
Note that I always "reinforce" the look ahead by giving them their release cue to forward/to the dish.
While the technique of reinforcing the look forward by feeding the dog from your hand can be successful, it is not one I recommend at this stage. Often a dog could inadvertently learn to face their nose forward but they are still thinking about what the handler has versus actually applying their full focus forward. The technique of rewarding from your hand would be best for a dog who already has very strong focus forward and needs to learn to relax a bit before being sent.
Stage 3: Focus First
Now that your dog is eagerly looking forward and isn't confused by the presence of your hand, we will start to teach him that looking forward is only to be done when given the cue. Contrasting an "auto watch me" (this will be the dog's default behavior) with "look ahead" (only on cue now!) may be initially confusing but will start to cement the concept that your hand going down actually means something!
Before giving your mark signal/verbal, make sure the dog is looking at you first. Feed your dog several times from your hand before giving them the mark signal to look forward.
Note that some dogs may naturally look down to swallow after each reward. And while this itself isn't a problem, it does make it hard to get flow. If that is your dog you may need to jump to the problem solving section and/or skip the rewards from your hand if your dog is doing pretty well with looking at you first.
Here is Zumi working on this concept. I start to add in rapid reinforcement for looking at me before marking. This is where a marker cue like "yes" or a click that tells the dog food is coming from your hand is important! In this old video my clarity is there on my cues. You'll see me clicking for focus, but after the mark signal I also click or even say yes as I release her! That's super confusing to the dog! I recommend only using a clear "dish"/"cookies" type of cue to send the dog forward and not click before the send.
And here Loot is working on this skill. I feed him several treats quickly before touching his chest and assuming his track start. I *skipped* to this step a little earlier with him then I do with some dogs as I thought it would make more sense with him to have a clear difference of when he should look at me and when he shouldn't. He already had a lot more experience with a Zen Bowl and looking up at me before starting this marking exercise and I could tell he was getting unsure on what the rules were. The look ahead is not solid yet, and still on a chest touch versus a hand signal.
Here Wren is nailing the idea of focus first but she sometimes struggles to look forward, especially as I try to get to a full 1 second of duration before the release. A few times I have to re-mark her when she looks up too early. And at the end I find she's not quite looking forward at the target but off to the side. I don't want to practice releasing her too much with this off look. Fortunately, I figured out she was looking at her dinner bowl, and I changed the angle I was working on!
Problem Solving: Working on Focus around the Dish
If you are struggling to get your dog to actually look at you, review our automatic leave it homework first from TEAM1. You may need to back up to holding the dish in your hand and getting eye contact!
Once the dog is looking at you and not the dish, give your dish marker cue and lower the dish for them to eat. Work up to doing a quick discrimination exercise of "yes" = cookies from your hand, and "dish" = grab a treat from the dish. Work this with the bowl in your hand to prevent errors before putting the dish on the ground.
Here Splash is working on giving me focus with the dish and I primarily mark "yes" and reward from my hand before throwing in a "cookies" rep where he sends to the dish
And here is an example with the dish on the ground and Ginny reviews easy focus on me, and the difference between "yes" and "cookies."
I did not do the exercise in heel in the above video, but work on that next! Make sure your dog know how to look at you when you are at their side and the zen bowl is in front of them. Do NOT tell the dog to mark/look forward at the dish in this context. Yet. The goal of this stage is to build up your dog's understanding of having default focus on you.
Next, try doing an around-the-clock game with a Zen Bowl. Start with the dish behind them where it should be easy to look at you, and gradually work that dish out in front. Instead of marking the dog to look at it before sending, send the dog only when they are looking at you for at least one full second. Your "cookies" cue will reward the focus on you. Don't transition back to telling the dog to mark/look at the dish until that eye contact is easy!
Here Marina demonstrates working on this skill. You can see her trainer does one "test" rep of cuing her to mark/look at the bowl towards the end, but the next rep she makes sure to reinforce Marina directly for the eye contact.
Some dogs will have a harder time transitioning from handler focus to object focus. For these dogs, stay close to your Zen Bowl and after giving your dog a cookie from your body for eye contact, go back into the encouragement position you used in the very first step. This may mean crouching into a track start, looking forward at the object yourself, and possibly putting a hand on your dog's chest to raise excitement levels!
Overview
1. Reward your dog for looking at a dish with food in it! Release them with a special cue such as "dish" or "cookies." Do NOT click or say "yes" as that will mean they get a reward from your hand!!
2. Add in a hand signal if you haven't already been using one. Typically this is your left hand lowered down to their head level. You may also wish to add a verbal "look" type cue right before your hand moves if you want!
3. Get focus on you before the mark signal!! You may need to warm up with the dish in your hand and getting eye contact! And/or practice pivoting away from the dish and then sending the dog only when they are looking at you before going back to the mark!
4. After the dog is looking at you, give the cue to mark the dish, then release to the dish on your "cookies" cue.
Testimonials & Reviews
A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ...
This is a great class and a great instructor. The team program is lots of fun for both handler and dog- it presents obedience skills in chunks that build neatly upon each other. Laura's videos are clear and very helpful- she has an excellent eye for each student's need, and is able to quickly find the tweak need to make the team successful.
I found Laura to be kind and understanding when I was having difficulty and genuinely happy for us when we made progress. I'm hoping to return for Level 3 to continue the fun challenges.
Laura, I can't thank you enough for all the feedback and video examples that you have given me the past 6 weeks!! I feel that I can now continue training Brodie by following the many suggestions that you have given me. I can hardly wait for T3! Also, I liked that you posted all the lectures at the beginning of the course. It gave me a chance to choose what I thought would be most beneficial for me and my dog.
This was a great class! We were able to work at our own pace and cover the exercises and skills that we needed the most help with. Laura was terrific, offered great critiques and a variety of strategies to tackle each problem, often running off to make a video with her own dog to demonstrate a point. It was like having 6 weeks of private lessons in whatever we most needed! My observation is that all of the dogs and handlers improved over the 6 week course. I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning foundation skills and perfecting them, and to anyone interested in the TEAM program.
Thank you,Laura,for all the time and effort you are putting forth making your classes so very valuable! Appreciate the extra videos you post for individual students!
Awesome lectures, awesome feedback , awesome problem solver, awesome timing of feedback to students, awesome ability to break down desired behaviors, awesome dedication as Laura has been known to whip out a new video for students so they have a visual aid, awesome ability to watch each and every moment of your video. Did I mention she was awesome? I can not think of one thing to recommend for improvement.
Registration
Next session starts: August 1, 2025Registration starts: July 22, 2025Registration ends: August 15, 2025
Registration opens at 11:30am Pacific Time.
The instructor will be participating in the FDSA in-person training camp in Ohio from October 4-6 and will not be available to answer class forums. Class will be extended to compensate and will end on November 13, 2024.
TR101 Subscriptions
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| Tuition | $ 260.00 | $ 130.00 | $ 65.00 |
| Enrollment Limits | 12 | 25 | Unlimited |
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