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) your dog needs to be productive in agility classes and seminars. The glue will give your future dog sports star the resources and strengths to help create focus in high-energy environments, as in the sport of agility. Without this glue, dogs can become frustrated, anxious, fearful, over-aroused, or display undesirable behaviors that compromise learning.
While this class is specifically designed for the dogs that will eventually compete in agility, any dog will benefit from learning these skills. Whether your dog will eventually compete in a sport or needs life skills as a family pet, glue skills will give your dog the necessary framework to create better communication and training practices with your dog.
This class is for dogs of any age - young dogs just beginning to train or more experienced dogs in classes, seminars, or already trialing. Puppies four months or older can learn these skills. The very young dogs might progress slower than those six months or older. Dogs that will benefit the most are the dogs in the six months to two-year age bracket.
Contact me with any questions.
Some of the many things your dog will learn in this class:
- Stationing
- Focused Wait
- Standby
- Release
- Collar/Leash skills
- Transport techniques
- Down stay
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 is speed nonessential 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 sports 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 during the training.
Teaching Approach
This class takes a step-by-step approach to building various skills. Each step will have written instructions. In addition, most steps will have at least one corresponding video. Lectures are released in one batch at the beginning of the week. Feedback will mostly be written. Occasionally there will be video feedback done to help with subtle changes.
Warning!! This class is heavy on information during the first three weeks. However, the background and introductory information set you and your dog up for future success in training the skills. 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)
