Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - BH315: Hidden Potential: Tapping Your Reluctant Dog's Talents

Course Details

This course is all about dogs that have been labeled as shut-down, down-stressors, shy, or low-drive. Dogs that run fast in training but slow in trials, dogs that have good days and bad ones, dogs that give up on training, and dogs that seem to prefer the couch to the clicker. This course will help you to build confidence, address the stress, and tailor your training to bring out the potential of your reluctant dog.

Teaching Approach

Lectures are released weekly, in one chunk. They include written instructions, and often video as well. My feedback tends to be detailed and compassionate. My classes tend to be very conceptual, rather than skills-based. That means sometimes we have deep philosophical conversations, not just "do this, then this." I focus on clean training, so some body awarness and the dexterity to handle food is required. In general, I can work with you and your dog's limitations, and will be honest if something is a problem--whether or not it's something we can change. My honesty is kind, I do not consider myself "blunt," but I will not lie to you to preserve your feelings. Typically students walk away from my courses with a deeper understanding of their particular situation, and a plan to move forward. I like actionable steps, and I will focus on giving them to you, even if we are also philosophizing together.

Instructor: Sarah Stremming

Sarah (she/her) has been working with dogs in the realms of performance training and behavior solutions for over a decade. She currently operates online through her business, The Cognitive Canine. Her special area of interest has long been helping dog owners address behavioral concerns...(Click here for full bio and to view Sarah's upcoming courses)

Syllabus

View Full Syllabus

Week One

Never wrong, sometimes more “right”

Putting yourself out there

Identifying the issues

Week Two

Consent Signals

Opting Out is Ok

Operant counterconditioning

Week Three

Opt out signals

Fading “not wrong” reinforcers

Stress reduction in trials

Week Four

Putting the consent signal to work

energizer games

what IS reinforcement

when repetition is aversive

Week Five

“sessions” for environmental comfort

testing “okness”

choice games

the power of the conditioned emotional response

Week Six

protected contact training

dog-guided bravery games

move toward/move away game

closing thoughts

Sample Lecture

Never Wrong, Sometimes More Right!

This week introduce your dog to the idea that she can’t make a wrong move. In this you’ll utilize two separate marker signals: one will indicate a low value reinforcer (depending on your dog this could be sliced carrots, frozen peas, cheerios, or kibble—be sure it is actually a reinforcer, not something yucky!) and another signal that indicates a high value reinforcer (something that is in clear contrast to the other reinforcer). EDIT: I no longer utilize two markers for this. If using two markers feels easy for you, then you can do it that way. But I find it is more important to be concise and timely with your markers than it is to inform the dog about the type of treat. You will introduce your dog to a targeting project and you’ll decide which behaviors earn low value and which behaviors earn high. This will largely depend on your dog’s shaping skill (and yours!) but I suggest keeping it simple while you are still learning. The key is that every move your dog makes gets paid for. We want to reframe their thoughts on training to be that training is a game they always win; all they have to do is play. You will introduce your dog to a targeting project and you’ll decide which behaviors earn low value and which behaviors earn high. This will largely depend on your dog’s shaping skill (and yours!) but I suggest keeping it simple while you are still learning. The key is that every move your dog makes gets paid for. We want to reframe their thoughts on training to be that training is a game they always win; all they have to do is play.

Potential Criticism of this Game

There are legitimate criticisms surrounding this game, I have discussed the two that I think are the most relevant below.

Matching Law and Confusion

If we reinforce something (say the “wrong” target) it will keep happening. This is why I would never use this game to train a behavior I truly cared about, or to train a behavior that absolutely needed to stay clean. For example I would not use this process to train a discrimination behavior because I would inevitably get false indication in the discrimination for the rest of the dog’s career. This game has a conceptual purpose; to show the dog that training is a game he can always win. It is not a smart way to train a behavior that is important to you.

The Toxicity of Disappointment

It is very possible that we will introduce disappointment to our dogs if we mark with the “less great” signal that indicates the carrots (etc), and disappointment is typically an aversive stimulus that could turn our dogs off the game. In my experience this is the LEAST potentially disappointing way to train; the dog always gets a payoff. Imagine a slot machine that gave you a little money every single time you played, versus one that only gave you the jackpot or nothing. Which is more disappointing? I know which one I would put my money in…

Testimonials & Reviews

Read All Testimonials

A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ...

I very much enjoyed this class especially as there were so many concepts that were new to me. I applied what I learned to my 3 yo Sheltie who has great agility potential but is shy of people in the ring. After the 6 week class, and not trialing during it, I took her to a trial at a location she had not run well at 2 months previously. The change in her performance was quite marked, the consent signal being hugely successful for us. In the ring we are still a work in progress as a team but now I feel I have a new set of tools that can really help in bringing out the potential of my young girl. Many thanks for a very interesting class.

This class is a mind blowing experience, it bucks common practice, often times can seem counterintuitive but Oh My God it works! I love that Sarah is such an advocate for the dogs and is turning people's thoughts upside down....for the benefit of our four legged companions who don't generally get to choose what sport the humans want to play.

I found the class and material really helpful and it gave me lots of ideas and tools to use with my own dogs and client's dogs. The consent signal has been working beautifully with both my dogs. It actually gave my "100% always ready" dog a way to tell me he couldn't run, he really had to use the bathroom.(Everyone was thankful that I listened to the lack of consent and left the ring.) I love your philosophy and how the dog ALWAYS comes first. I am embarrassed to admit that I have lost sight of that once or twice over the past few years when competition has made me a bit insane. It won't happen again, the relationship with my dogs is the top priority. Thank you for your knowledge, tools, and perspective!

It was great information! I've already been using a consent signal and acknowledging opt out signals. In some ways I was doing "sessions", but that lecture added some structure to what I had been doing, and it seemed to make a difference at a recent fun match. Can't wait for trials to start back up in our area so that I can put it to use there.

Sarah's class was informative and transformative to every gold student who embraced her message. There was so much to learn that can be applied to relationships with all dogs not just hidden potential dogs. Sarah's lessons were full of amazing insights, her responses were thoughtful, and her understanding of the topic was clear.

I truly enjoyed this course. My husband and I both love Sarah's podcast and blog, and this class was just another interesting and more in depth way of getting to learn more of how to help those dogs that have behavioural challenges in dog sport and life. I wish so much I had had this class back when I was training and competing with my 'hidden potential' dog... but I at least know now I have more tools should I own one of these dogs again :)

Registration

There are no scheduled sessions for this class at this time. We update our schedule frequently, so please subscribe to our mailing list for notifications.

Registration opens at 10:00am Pacific Time.

BH315 Subscriptions

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
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	✔	1 per week	✖
Receive instructor feedback on	Questions All videos	Questions All videos	✖

Find more details, refund policies and answers to common questions in the Help center.

Course Schedule

BH315: Hidden Potential: Tapping Your Reluctant Dog's Talents