Focus
Foundation
Learn the basic obedience and communicationskills needed to
build a better relationship with your family dog or to start
competitive dog sports such as agility and rally. This class
is the foundation for all future training. It will increase
communication and awareness between your dog and you. Some of
the skills we will cover include attention, some off leash control,
ability to work around other dogs as well as people and distractions,
drive and motivation, confidence and basic obedience such as
sit, down, stay and come. We will train or improve basic obedience
skills such as sit, down, stay, loose leash walking, come and
no jumping. Other topics covered include: heel and side position,
toy drive, and motivation. The focus of the class is on improving
manners, gaining skills, and increasing confidence to build
a more enjoyable relationship and become an effective team.
This class is a prerequisite to Intro to Agility as well as
a great prelude to other obedience classes.
Intro
to Agility
In this class dogs will be introduced to many of the obstacles
in agility in a safe and controlled manner. The skills needed
to successfully negotiate the obstacle and the handling skills
will be worked on weekly. Attention, focus and motivation will
be practiced as the team builds confidence in an atmosphere
that centers on having fun. By the end of this class the dogs
will have a good working knowledge of many of the obstacles
(the a-frame, teeter and the dogwalk will not be completed but
we will begin shaping correct contact skills).
(Prerequisite- Focus Foundation, or Puppy II, or Obedience I)
Beginning
Agility (formerly called Agility Level I)
In this class handling skills and basic control will be improved.
Students learn to give timely commands, to provide consistent
and smooth body cues, and to develop teamwork with their dogs.
The rest of the equipment, specifically the contact obstacles,
will be taught including, a-frame, dog-walk, teeter. Different
handling maneuvers such as front and rear cross, post turns,
get outs, and come to side, will be taught and practiced. The
dog and handler teams will continue to improve their skills
and will become more proficient at simple combinations of obstacles.
(Prerequisite- Intro to Agility)
Novice
Agility (formerly called Agility Level II)
Novice Agility continues where Beginner left off. We will continue
to develop teamwork and increase handling skills. Sequencing
is performed off lead, therefore, your dog also must be able
to sit, stay, down, and come on command, off lead. Handlers
also develop the ability to switch smoothly from handling their
dogs off one side to handling off the other in the middle of
a sequence using front and rear crosses. The different come
to side maneuvers will be practiced using obstacles. Dogs will
be taught to move ahead and switch as needed from handler to
obstacle focus. We will work more off leash doing short sequences
of obstacles. Handling and agility skills such as front and
rear crosses, serpentines, 270s, get outs and threadles will
be worked on to gain comfort and confidence.
Intermediate
Agility (formerly called Agility Level III)
This class is designed to advance your skills and to prepare
you and your dog for competition, if desired. The dogs must
be reliable off leash and under good control. Handling skills
and combinations will be emphasized. Obstacle skills and team
communication will continue to be improved and strengthened,
as will speed and reliablility. Distance performance will be
improved and longer sequences will be done to work on specific
skills to better the performance of the dog and handler. Contact
equipment performance will be practiced and improved including
two-on-two-off and/or running contacts.
Advanced/Masters
Handling and Skills
The theme of these sessions will vary and the classes will teach
a variety of different skills and handling maneuvers. Some topics
may include distance work, perfecting weaves or contacts, improvement
of rear and front crosses, obstacle discrimination, distance
work, etc. Competition courses will be set up for a variety
of handling challenges. Learning how to walk a course and figure
out how to best run it will be emphasized. You will be faced
with and learn to handle all of the challenges seen in competition
and gain confidence, speed, distance, and polish.
Sequencing
This class is designed to improve specific handling skills each
session using short combinations of obstacles. Whether it is
front or rear crosses, serpentines or threadles, better contacts,
180 degree and 270 degree turns, speed, distance, or any other
skill, course sequences will be set up to challenge and instruct.
The ability to "read" a given sequence and determine
which handling techniques to utilize to ensure the cleanest,
most efficient path for the dog, is the single biggest challenge
for the handler. Practice and guidance in working through sequences
provide the handler with exposure to the many varieties of obstacle
combinations, and experience in applying all the available handling
techniques.
Agility
Run Thrus (Fun Runs)
Each session a different course is set up so you can practice
your handling skills. Do the entire course or work on a section
at a time. This is a great opportunity to polish up your skills
in preparation for showing or to give you a new place to work
your dog. We will have a novice course nested with an excellent
course.
For information about the next scheduled Fun Run, please
go to our Events page.
Skills
Reinforcement
Waiting for the next level class to begin but don't want to
lose the skills you have learned? One night a week you are welcome
to use the equipment to hone your skills and keep practicing.
An instructor will be on hand to offer suggestions and feedback.
Mostly appropriate for beginner and novice handlers.
Puppy
Agility Fun!
Take advantage of your puppy's natural curiosity and abundant
energy to introduce him or her to the fun sport of agility!
This class will focus on some fundamentals of agility using
puppy games that will utilize targeting, wobble boards, focus
and basic obedience skills. Puppies will be introduced to sights,
sounds, and techniques that are helpful toward building confidence
without stress on baby joints. Clickers, treats and toys will
be used for focus motivators. Class will help build your puppy's
confidence and strengthen your bond and partnership. The goal
is to create a dog that is engaged, focused and motivated as
well as one that is confident, well socialized, and eager to
offer behaviors and learn.
Some goals of the class include:
- Reliable & fast recalls, sit/down stays
- Building drive & focus
- Toy motivation
- Crate games
- Surface desensitization (things that move, make noise
and are elevated; hind end awareness )
- Introduction to some agility equipment (focusing on familiarization
and confidence building initially then shifting to obstacle
performance)
This class is designed for puppies 5 months to 1 year
of age. The class meets one day a week for approximately
one hour. Classes are limited to 7 puppies. Dogs will need to
have a crate, buckle collar or gentle leader, a 6 ft. leash
(nylon or leather), and
lots of tiny yummy
treats (don't feed dinner before class)!
The class will focus on building a positive working relationship
with your puppy using play, toys, and lots of treats.
Prerequisite: graduation from
Ideal
Puppy class (or similar in another school) or obedience
class such as
Focus Foundation;
or approval from instructor or Training Director. Other puppy
agility classes will follow this to continue to improve your
young dog's agility skills.
Private
Instruction
Contact us if you are interested in private agility lessons.
Practice,
practice, practice!
Join the Club and make your dog
a Lucky Dog! Get a membership and use the facility on your schedule
to practice whenever there is no other class or event. Membership
is not required for joining a class.
