Course Details
No two puppies are alike because no two situations are alike. What a puppy needs in my home may be different from what that same puppy needs in your home. In this presentation, I’ll show you how to build desire, confidence, and joy for training in your sport prospect by observing your puppy’s behavior and adjusting your training goals accordingly based on the life you have together and the skills that puppy needs to thrive with you and the sports that you choose! As much as we’d all love a straightforward checklist of things to train and when to train them, that just doesn’t exist!
You’ll learn how to:
- Teach a series of foundation concepts
- Balance life skills with sports skills
- Decide which concepts to continue building or shelf temporarily
- Decide when your training plan needs major re-routing
- Decide when your training goals need adjusting
- Know when to return to previously shelved training projects
- Balance drive and speed with control and precision in your training
This presentation is for any dog sport enthusiast with a young dog or plans of a puppy in the future, and also any instructors or coaches out there looking to expand their curriculums. While the foundation concepts will focus more on agility, the concepts can be applied to any sport.
Learning to prioritize the education that your puppy needs when they need it is one of the most important skills in developing a successful training program. It is never a “one size fits all” situation, and we can all grow as trainers by learning to meet the individual where they are and focusing our attention on building the skills they need and reinforcing the ones that are coming more naturally to the dog.
Ready to change the way you think of foundations? Don’t miss this presentation!
About the Instructor:
Megan Foster (she/her): I have been training in agility for nearly my entire life. With nearly 25 years of experience, I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of dogs within a large variety of breeds.
I began my agility journey with an American Eskimo and a Westie, both loaner dogs from people in our local training club. In 1999, I began competing with my first Shetland Sheepdog, Buddy. While running him, I knew that agility was what I was meant to do.
In 2003, Ty, another Sheltie, became a part of my life and my agility career took off like a rocket. He was 3 years old and not completely sure of himself, but together, we blossomed into an incredible team, on and off the course! In 2005, I attended my first National event and took fifth place in the $10,000 Dog Agility Steeplechase Finals with Ty. That same year, I became a USDAA Judge, as a 13-year-old Junior Handler, the youngest ever. Since then, I have competed at the Cynosport World Games twelve times, with eight different dogs. I have also attended the AKC Nationals three times with my border collie, Smack. Smack and I also attended the International Team Tryouts three times, earning a spot on the European Open team in 2015, representing Team USA in Germany that year. I have also had my share of disappointments when it comes to sports prospects. My second border collie, Shock, was unable to compete to the levels that I had dreamt of due to noise sensitivity and other health concerns that arose late in life. My Parson Russel Terrier, Shrek, is one of the one talented dogs that I have ever gotten to train, and yet, he very clearly told me that competing was not for him. It is my experience with all of these dogs, that has molded me into the trainer I am today. My current up-and-coming superstar, Sprint, a border collie, is a direct representation of all that I have learned and that I continue to learn about living and competing with these amazing creatures.
I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my partner and our five dogs: Skittles, Shock, Skrik, Shrek, and Sprint. I coach dog agility online full-time at the FxAgility School, travel to present seminars, and coach other agility professionals on their training programs and business ambitions. It is my goal as an educator to guide other dog sports enthusiasts on their path to excellence. Regardless of experience levels, breed choice, goals, and lifestyle, it is my extreme privilege to watch teams build a sustainable version of agility for their team.
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