AG190 The Glue for Future Agility Stars

This course is different than most agility foundation classes. Rather than introducing obstacle and flatwork skills needed to run an agility course, this class lays out the critical skills (the glue) your dog needs to be productive in agility classes and seminars. The glue will give your future dog sports star the resources and strengths to help create focus in high-energy environments, as in the sport of agility. Without this glue, dogs can become frustrated, anxious, fearful, over-aroused, or display undesirable behaviors that compromise learning.

Course Details

While this class is specifically designed for the dogs that will eventually compete in agility, any dog will benefit from learning these skills. Whether your dog will eventually compete in a sport or needs life skills as a family pet, glue skills will give your dog the necessary framework to create better communication and training practices with your dog.

This class is for dogs of any age - young dogs just beginning to train or more experienced dogs in classes, seminars, or already trialing. Puppies four months or older can learn these skills. The very young dogs might progress slower than those six months or older. Dogs that will benefit the most are the dogs in the six months to two-year age bracket.

Contact me with any questions.

Some of the many things your dog will learn in this class:

Stationing
Focused Wait
Standby
Release
Collar/Leash skills
Transport techniques
Down stay

Some of the many things you will learn in this class:

How to plan and organize efficient training sessions
How to move your dog effectively between repetitions
Why is speed nonessential and many times undesirable during learning
How to clean up communication with your dog
How and why to use event markers

Join us as we apply the glue to build a confident and well-adjusted future sports star.

Here's a video from the last day of class for Ginger and Sprite. In this session, Sprite is stationed during a training session with Ginger's older dog, Gemma. Ginger has carefully layered in more and more excitement while Sprite is stationed. And in this session, there is a lot of excitement as she sequences and rewards Gemma with tugging while reinforcing Sprite on the station. Look at how relaxed and quiet Sprite is on her station during the training.

Teaching Approach

This class takes a step-by-step approach to building various skills. Each step will have written instructions. In addition, most steps will have at least one corresponding video. Lectures are released in one batch at the beginning of the week. Feedback will mostly be written. Occasionally there will be video feedback done to help with subtle changes.

Warning!! This class is heavy on information during the first three weeks. However, the background and introductory information set you and your dog up for future success in training the skills. The last three weeks have less to cover and won't be as heavy on assignments.

This class will have a Teacher's Assistant (TA) available in the Facebook study group to help the Bronze and Silver students. Directions for joining that Facebook group will be in the classroom after you register.

Podcast

Here's a discussion Nancy had with Melissa Breau about this class on the FDSA Podcast:

Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast: E221: Nancy Gagliardi Little - "What it takes to learn agility"

Syllabus

Week 1

Clean Cues
Duration Behaviors
Freeze in Position (Offered Stay)
Release
Event Markers (Introduction, why, when, where, location specific event markers)
Training Session Goals
Speed vs. Thoughtfulness
Mistakes
Station Introduction

Week 2

Station - Increase Duration
Transport - Treat magnet, Tugging
Crating Suggestions and Discussion (dogs won't work on crating in this class but we will talk about strategies and issues that come up)
Standby
Leash & Collar On
Collar Give
Collar & Leash Pressure
Small dogs - Consent to be picked up

Week 3

Station - Reduce Reinforcement, Add Distractions
Down Position
Offered Down Stay
Down Stay - Eye Contact, Vary Handler Position, Slight Duration
Standby - Freeze, Duration
Transport - Leash, Carry Dog
Transport - Treat Magnet - Increase Distance

Week 4

Down Stay - Duration and Simple Distractions
Work Away From Reinforcement
Station - Eliminate/Reduce Reinforcement, Increased Distractions
Transport - Station to Recall
Standby - Add Work

Week 5

Station – Add Work
Down Stay - Lengthen Duration, Increase Distractions
Waiting Strategies

Week 6

Down Stay - Eliminate Reinforcement, Add Work
Station - Advanced Training

Prerequisites & Supplies

A portable dog cot or any type of portable station.

Dog mats that lay flat on the ground won't be used to teach stationing behavior.

You will need a cot or some type of elevated surface that has a distinct boundary. I have used the portable/fold up Carlson cot. I use the large for my medium dogs. It’s much larger than what they need but I love the portability. It is also very reasonably priced. If you have a very powerful dog, you might want to look into something more expensive that is built to handle a powerful exit from the station. There are some nice cots that are made for kids in daycare. If you do a search for "daycare cots" in your browser, you can find examples of these.

Other favorites are the Cato Board: https://catooutdoors.com/. The Cato Board is a very stable outdoor platform that is made specifically for dog sports activities. It can be used in all weather and it is supported so that it doesn't move when your dog gets onto or leaves the board. They are pricey, but I think you'll like them. Some dogs initially have trouble with the Cato boards because they are so close to the ground and the dog can easily step off.

The Klimb with a mat to prevent it from being slippery is okay as long as it is stable for your dog. There should be enough room for your dog to stand or sit comfortably.

There is no required position on the station.

Sample Lecture

Speed in Agility

Agility trainers struggle with the belief that they should allow their dogs to be slower and more thoughtful when training agility obstacles and concepts. Many agility dogs are expected to learn complex behaviors while being asked to pick up energy and speed, often in a stimulating environment.

Ask any successful athlete, and they will agree that it is more important to learn to execute the skill or routine first - slowly and accurately - before adding more energy, intensity, or speed.

When your dog is learning something new, it will take time to become proficient at the skill. However, this slow and accurate learning process has its benefits. Allowing the dog to perform the skill slowly with helpful reinforcement procedures will build confidence in the dog. This confidence, in turn, builds enthusiasm and speed. A dog that is frantic and hectic while performing is not focused on the execution. Building speed into an exercise before the dog understands how to use the body properly will cause many incorrect responses during the learning process. When that happens, it becomes difficult for the dog to figure out – especially when the human wants speed on top of it all.

After becoming more confident with their jumping skills or other obstacle performances, some of my fastest dogs picked up even more speed. It's crucial to understand that rushing for speed before knowledge or precision can lead to many mistakes. And depending on how you or your dog responds to those mistakes, anything can happen. You might have a dog that learns to ignore handling (creating off-courses at high speed) or a dog with frantic behaviors that cause more errors. You can even create the opposite of what you want - a dog that learns to move slowly. So, it's essential to be mindful of the learning pace.

Imagine if you were learning a new app or software package, and the instructor pushed you to execute faster than you could process. It would be frustrating, confusing, and stressful. Now, let's think about our dogs. They're learning a new skill; just like us, they need time to process and understand. Let's be patient and allow them to ask questions, just like we would in a learning situation.

Instructors

Nancy Gagliardi Little

Nancy Gagliardi Little (she/her) has been training dogs since the early 1980s, when she put an OTCH on her Novice A dog, a Labrador retriever. Since then she has put many advanced obedience titles on her dogs, including 4 AKC OTCH titles, 6 UD titles, 3 UDX titles, and multiple...

Registration

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