Andrea Harrison, Guest Instructor (Mental Management)

I have struggled to find a trainer in my area that would consistently work with my reactive dog. We often got dumped in the summer, classes cancelled, or was told that we weren't part of the trainers focus. I thought that I would never be able to improve my training beyond reading and watching DVDs. I thought that I would never get personal feedback. I felt discouraged and excluded from the dog training community. I thought that I would always have mediocre training and a mediocre relationship with my dog. A friend recommended FDSA and I enrolled in "It's All Tricks" with Deborah Jones at Gold level. In 6 weeks my dog has become more confident than I've ever seen her. She is more motivated and eager to learn. Furthermore, my confidence as a trainer has improved. I finally feel like I have a resource that I can rely on. At FDSA it doesn't matter that my dog is reactive, we can finally work on exercises that would have been completely inaccessible before. Deb has been absolutely wonderful to work with. She provides kind, encouraging and constructive feedback with meaningful critique. This experience has been the epitome of what I have always dreamt that training my dog would be. I cannot be thankful enough to have discovered FDSA. It has given my dog and I a second chance at having a successful, meaningful relationship. I cannot wait to enroll in more classes. I wasn't so certain that online classes would be REALLY useful - I am blown away by how much one can learn and implement through the online system - certainly makes it possible to participate in novel learning experiences that would not otherwise be available!

A great course - so worthwhile for teams at all different levels. Even at bronze I found it to be fantastic. It felt like it was personal instruction for me - for both of my dogs, each very different. Taking courses from the Fenzi Academy gives you a chance to "work" with many different highly skilled/positive instructors and even today it isn't easy to find that many trainers who are primarily positive at competition levels. I feel like I come away with a new skills or insights from each class I take (4 so far).

I am continually amazed at how much I learn with each class. Watching both the teacher's video's and the student's videos gives me lots of opportunity to think through the elements and break it down for myself and my dog.