Continuing Education: Advanced Skills Class
Taking your training skills to the next level, this class is a bit like going from High School (the Foundation Programme) and into University, in that:
1. You pick your own courses (exercises), either from what is already on offer in our Menu of Skills, or you can ask for help with other behaviours that you would like to teach your dog.
2. You can purchase different numbers of classes, to suit your purse and how much you wish to learn.
There is a limit of maximum of 4 students per class.
In addition to the scheduled classes on Wednesdays at 6pm and Saturdays at 1pm, Advanced Skills Class students are welcome to also attend the (Foundation & Advanced) Drop-In classes.
MENU OF SKILLS
Students may choose as many or as few exercises, as they please. How far you get with each exercise will of course depend on how much you are able to work at home, and how often you come to class!
- Advanced Doggie Zen
Building on the Foundation Programme’s “Leave It”, this is the ultimate self control exercise – and it makes a great party trick, too.
- Advanced Targeting
e.g. target chin to hand for medical procedures, target paw to hand with duration for paw examination, nail clipping or blood draw, target nose and rear end for opening and closing doors, ring a bell to be let out, etc.
- Go-out
(includes obedience trial style requirements, and is also useful as a foundation for advanced draft tests or any time you want to be able to send your dog somewhere on his own)
- Heeling
on and off leash, inc Walking Through a Crowd and Reaction to Passing Dog
(includes CGN, official obedience trial and rally trial requirements)
- Jumping
(includes obedience style jumping requirements – most dogs LOVE to jump!)
- Item Recognition
Teaching your dog the names of different objects. At the first level, this is done by targeting the object, but if you combine this with Retrieve, your dog will learn to retrieve the objects you name. How many objects can your dog learn to differentiate between? Once you get over the first three or four, your dog will have ‘caught on’ and the more he learns, the easier it will be!
- Reorient after Wait
(building on the Foundation “Wait” exercise, to where the dog can eventually be off leash and will automatically reorient towards you as soon as he has gone through the door/barrier)
- Retrieve
inc Retrieve a Hot Dog
(includes also obedience trial style requirements, i.e. retrieving a dumbbell – please bring your own dumbbell, or order one from Cowichan Canine, if you wish to do this exercise)
- Scent Discrimination
Find the one that smells like me! Includes scent games and obedience trial scent retrieve, whichever way you prefer to go.
- Sit-Stand-Down at a Distance
Using hand signals or verbal cues, this exercise includes obedience trial style requirements.
- Skateboarding
Teach your dog to skateboard! Sorry, we can’t offer surfboarding, but once we move our training facility to Hawaii, that will be available, too….! (-I wish!)
- Stand for Examination
inc Appearance & Grooming and Politely Accept Petting
This exercise includes CGN and obedience trial style requirements. If you wish, you can also learn how to teach your dog to self-stack for the show ring.
Other exercises are developed upon request and then added to our Menu!
PREREQUISITES
a) Foundation Programme Graduation Certificate
b) Parvo/distemper vaccination certificate no older than 3 years, or parvo/distemper titer certificate no older than 1 year.
c) Handler must be able to work with dog without having to use the leash to control the dog and the dog must be able to work off leash, or with the leash dragging, during part of each class as well as tolerate that other dogs may be working off leash in its vicinity.
ORIENTATION
As this is a new and specialized class, we do not commonly have scheduled Orientation classes. Instead, as soon as we have at least two people signed up and waiting to start, we will put on an Orientation class, and then these students can start attending classes. As in the Foundation Programme, the Orientation class is without dogs. For the Advanced Skills Class, Orientation is a 1-hour theory lesson that includes:
- How to design and work with a Shaping Plan
- How to apply the principles of Variable Reinforcement
- How to click for behaviour and feed for position
- How to apply the Premack Principle
SCHEDULE
Wednesdays at 6:00 – 6:45 pm
Saturdays at 1:00 – 1:45 pm
COST
12 classes: $95.00
20 classes: $150.00
30 classes: $210.00
40 classes: $250.00
REGISTRATION FORM
Download the registration form here:
Registration Form Adv Skills