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11:30 Intermediate – Advanced Agility Skills w/Anne
November 4, 2020 @ 11:30 am - 12:30 pm
11:30am: Intermediate/Advanced Agility Skills
We will be working exercises in this class to help you improve your fundamental skills for seeing and setting the line of your dog’s path, the timing and location of your front and rear crosses, and distance work including sends and lateral distance. This class is for dogs that are working on and developing their skills on all of the obstacles in agility with the goal of being able to perform them independently: jumps, tunnels, contacts, and weaves. The dog should have both on and off-side weaves, and no longer needs lures to complete the 12 poles. Your dog should have either a “touch” on all of the contacts or a trained running contact performance, and can work a short distance away from you. Dogs in this class need to work reliably off-leash while maintaining focus on the handler, as the goals of this class include preparation for more advanced training and possibly doing agility trials in the future or are already competing. The focus of this class is to train a clear understanding of performance and build your dog’s confidence on the obstacles, and reinforce the rewards you will use in class. Plan on rewarding your dog frequently during the sequences to improve their understanding of the game.
Class arrival time: 11:00am: We will need help setting/building your exercises for the day. Please come to the trailer first to help with equipment, and then when I am tweaking and numbering the course, you can get your dog and crate out of the car. Thank you!
Dates for the 5-class session – please note these on your calendar:
November 4, 11, 18 December 2, 9
No classes on November 25th. Make-up date in the event of a cancellation is December 16th.
Cost per dog per session: $100/GVDC members, $125/non-GVDC members
*GVDC Membership Information: https://www.goletavalleydogclub.org/about/
*All classes take place at Girsh Park in Goleta, behind Costco: https://www.goletavalleydogclub.org/practices/
*Payment for the class session is due on the first day of the session, checks are made out to “GVDC”
*Dogs showing aggression towards people or other dogs will be asked to leave
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Please watch this video on teaching a dog to engage with toys, even if they are not toy motivated:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YirGWq6mb1U
Prior to starting classes, it is highly recommended that you teach your dog to engage with toys and how to play tug – as we will be doing a lot of this in the classes. Please bring tug toys to class with you each week. If you have a dog that prefers food toys, bring those to class as well. Linda Keating sells lotus ball toys that can be filled with treats and tossed as a reward. If you need an idea for a food toy, please pick up one of these at Home Depot
http://www.viewtainer.com/Viewtainer-Standard-Series–br-2quot-x-4quot-br–5-x-10-cm-_p_8.html
For all Agility Classes, please bring with you each week:
Your dog on a flat buckle collar or front-clip harness. Bring a variety of delicious meaty treats for your dog, water and a bowl, a chair for yourself, shade for your dog, clicker, 4 or 6 foot leash (no flexi’s please), and ideally a crate or pen for your dog. Please bring a toy or two that your dog really enjoys, to use as a reward throughout the class.
For a dog that is not yet motivated by toys or for a pup that needs some cool new ones, please look at the treat pouches lined with bunny fur and fleece and other creations, made by our own Linda Keating. Linda is often at classes and can be reached via email at 44linda@cox.net , and you may be able to purchase from her at Girsh Park: http://kibatoys.com/main.sc
Email Zipnkiwi@aol.com to enroll in classes. Enrollment opens on Friday at 7:00am.
Anne Swan, CPDT-KA Certified Professional Dog Trainer
Agility, Rally, and Focus classes for Dogs
Group training for dogs and puppies