Confidence builders
Some dogs simply prefer a gentler pace of life and find being surrounded by more bouncy and barky dogs far too overwhelming for them to be able to concentrate, yet still, the benefits of classes can be enormous and good robust obedience and recall is vital for a dog who might not feel comfortable if approached by strangers wanting to help catch them if they get loose.
All the skills we train for in this class are the same as those we would teach in our main classes, but by grouping the quieter, calmer dogs together, we can better ensure that their needs are catered for.
General class content
These classes are aimed at making sure that your dog is safe and responsive to you at all times when you are out and about enjoying walks, and to this end we gear much of each class towards earning our graded badges for each of the ‘big 5’:
- Sit / down stay
- Emergency stop
- Recall from distractions;
- Leave – don’t approach other dogs / food / people
- Lead walking
Each class will also include exercises from various dog sports and projects to work on through the week to build a great repertoire of tricks and skills, and quizzes and discussions to build your knowledge of all things dog.
In an open public venue, it will be essential that you are able to manage your dog up should we have other dogs passing and ‘joining in’ our activities, and this class will not suitable for very nervous dogs who are reactive from a proximity of any more than the width of a street, i.e. if your dog is getting very upset on sight of another dog, or person even if they are on the other side of the road, then we would need to look at some one-2-one sessions first.
Older, senior dogs and physically disabled dogs can also benefit enormously from the cognitive awakening that classes can offer. Solving problems, learning new skills and generally having a great time with their humans can go a very long way towards helping them stay mentally and physically fit and enhancing their quality of life.
In our confidence building classes, we take several elements from the T-Touch method to encourage better human – dog communication, trust and focus and look at games to help motivate our dogs to work with us and be less inclined to keep one eye out of opportunities to take themselves off hunting squirrels and rabbits.
If you have a nervous dog that has maybe missed out on early socialisation or has been attacked, you may want to consider some one-2-one sessions before starting this class as part of your rehabilitation programme.