Course Details
This course is different than most agility foundation classes. Rather than introducing obstacle and flatwork skills needed to run an agility course, this class lays out the critical skills (the glue) that your dog needs for productive learning in agility classes and seminars.The glue will give your future agility star the resources and strengths to help create focus in the unique environment surrounding the sport of agility. Without this glue, dogs can become frustrated, anxious, fearful, over aroused or any number of other undesirable behaviors that will compromise learning. While this class is specifically designed for the high-energy environment of agility, your dog can benefit from learning these skills for any dog sport.
This class is for dogs of any age - young dogs that haven't started classes, seminars, trialing, or dogs already trialing. Puppies that are less than six months should probably wait a little longer. Some four or five-month-old puppies will work fine, but they might not progress at the same speed as an older dog. Contact me with questions. Dogs that will benefit the most are the dogs in the six months to two year age bracket.
Some of the many things your dog will learn in this class:
Some of the many things your dog will learn in this class:
- Stationing
- Focused Wait/Standby
- Release
- Collar/Leash skills
- Moving away from reinforcement
- Transport techniques
- Down stay
- Ring Entrance
- Ring Exit
Some of the many things you will learn in this class:
- How to plan and organize efficient training sessions
- How to move your dog effectively between repetitions
- Why speed is not essential and many times undesirable during learning
- How to clean up communication with your dog
- How and why to use event markers
Join us as we apply the glue to build a confident and well-adjusted future agility star.
Here's a video from the last day of class for Ginger and Sprite. In this session Sprite is stationed during a training session with Ginger's older dog, Gemma. Ginger has carefully layered in more and more excitement while Sprite is stationed. And in this session there is a lot of excitement as she sequences and rewards Gemma with tugging while reinforcing Sprite on the station. Look at how relaxed and quiet Sprite is on her station while the training happens.
Teaching Approach
This class takes a step by step approach to building the various skills. Each step will have written instructions. Most steps will have at least one corresponding video. Lectures are released in one batch at the beginning of the week. Feedback will all be written.
This class is heavy on information and there is a lot to read in the first three weeks. However, a lot of background and introductory information sets the dog up for future success during those first three weeks. The last three weeks have less to cover and won't be as heavy on assignments.
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 that Facebook group will be in the classroom after you register.
Podcast
Here's a discussion Nancy had with Melissa Breau about this class on the FDSA Podcast:
Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast: E221: Nancy Gagliardi Little - "What it takes to learn agility"
Instructor: Nancy Gagliardi LittleNancy Gagliardi Little (she/her) has been training dogs since the early 1980s, when she put an OTCH on her Novice A dog, a Labrador retriever. Since then she has put many advanced obedience titles on her dogs, including 4 AKC OTCH titles, 6 UD titles, 3 UDX titles, and multiple...(Click here for full bio and to view Nancy's upcoming courses)
