Course Details
Do you have a dog that chases the ball, yet won’t bring it back? Plays keep away with toys? Tugs but won’t let go? Bites you instead of the tug? Obsesses over toys, yet won’t listen to a single thing you say? Is your dog so high in drive for toys that he can’t think? Or do you just want to channel that prey drive right from the beginning and add the attitude your dog has for tugging or chasing toys to the obedience ring?
If so, this class is for you! Join me as we explore how to play games that channel that prey drive. Playing with toys with OUR rules creates a dog that plays with us instead of against us! We are specifically intending the toy play to be used as a reinforcement for sport behaviors, which makes this class a wonderful foundation for most sports.
This class is most appropriate for dogs that are attracted to toys but need fine tuning in how to play with them. We include ways to build drive for toys but generally, dogs with little or no interest in chasing and biting toys will have limited success in this class. The tug part of this class can be quite physical on the handler, so wear gloves and expect to gain some bicep muscles!
Please be realistic about progress during class! Even though it is 6 weeks long, in reality, many students take this class over and over, as it takes most dogs/handlers a year or two to attain good toy skills.
This class will have a Teaching Assistant for the October term! The TA helps facilitate discussion among the bronze and silver spots and reviews some videos. To take advantage of the TA, you need to join the specific class FaceBook group.
Here a video showing a little of what we work on:
Teaching Approach
This class can be overwhelming! I release the basic steps of the chase and the fetch game all in the beginning of the class, and then as the question comes up in a gold or silver thread, I release the discussion lectures one at a time. Subjects are presented in steps, and are meant to go in order. For instance, the chase game has X amount of steps and each step is a separate lecture. Written bullet points, along with short videos showing each bullet point is the main format. Feedback wise, I give short concise written instructions, aiming at changing one or two things in the session. I absolutely love giving instruction once a day instead of twice a week (shorter videos versus long videos) and the class subjects support that.
Instructor: Shade WhiteselShade Whitesel (she/her) has been training and competing in dog sports since she was a kid. Always interested in how dogs learn, she has successfully competed in IPO/schutzhund, AKC obedience and French Ring. Her retired dog, Reiki vom Aegis, IPO 3, FH 1, French Ring 1, CDX, was 5th at the...(Click here for full bio and to view Shade's upcoming courses)
