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Growing Up FDSA - Free Ebook

Course Details

3 WEEK CLASS - In this fun 3-week class, you’ll learn how to teach your dog the skill known as “Thing in a Thing”: put one object into another object. This versatile behavior is the foundation for many advanced tricks, practical skills and dog sports behaviors.

Using clear communication and shaping, we’ll break the skill down into easy to follow steps so dogs of all experience levels can succeed. You’ll learn how to build reliable object pickup, targeting, and accurate placement into containers such as boxes, bowls, baskets, or other props. 

This class is a great foundation for teaching skills such as a formal obedience retrieve, a reliable deliver to hand with toy play and fun tricks such as Putting Toys Away, Basketball, Ring Stacking, Bowl in Bowl and more. 

We will be using food as a reinforcement, no prior experience or behaviors needed for this class. 

What You’ll Learn:

  • How to introduce and shape the “Thing in a Thing” behavior
  • Techniques for improving accuracy and consistency
  • How to add distance, different objects, and new containers
  • Troubleshooting common challenges
  • Fun variations like toy cleanup, sorting games, and trick routines

Teaching Approach:

 

Sara BrueskeInstructor: Sara Brueske

Sara Brueske (she/her) has been training dogs for over 15 years, and has experienced a large variety of breeds and sports during that time. Having graduated as a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner ... (click here for full bio including Sara's upcoming courses)

Syllabus

View Full Syllabus

Week one

  • Thing in a Thing - What? Why?
  • Teaching TIAT core behavior
  • Seeing TIAT in the wild (variations)

 

Week Two

  • Generalization
  • Variations
    • Toys away
    • Basketball
  • Increasing arousal for toy play

 

Week Three

  • New environments
  • Variations
    • Toy deliver to hand
    • Ring stacking/bowl stacking
    • Handler’s Choice

 

Prerequisites and Equipment

 

Registration

GOLD LEVEL $149 - Students may ask instructors questions and post up to six minutes of video per week for instructor feedback.  Access to all class materials and can post to class forums. 

SILVER LEVEL $99 - Students may ask general questions in the discussion forum and post ONE 90 second video per week (3 total) for instructor feedback. Access to view all class materials and class forums. 

BRONZE LEVEL $49 - Students have access to all class materials and may view all class forums.  A Teacher’s Assistant (TA) will be available for this class. Instructions will be provided in the classroom after registration.

For additional details on enrollment levels please view our Getting Started section on our Help Page.

Three week class will start May 1st and end May 21st, 2026. 

Registration opens April 22nd at 10:00am Pacific Time.

F3007 Subscriptions

F3007: Thing in a Thing and Beyond!

F3007 Gold
$149.00

Three Week Class

GOLD

F3007 Silver
$99.00

Three Week Class

SILVER

F3007 Bronze
$49.00

Three Week Class

BRONZE

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

 

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