Agility Foundations 1 & 2 Obstacle Mastery 1 & 2 Beginning Sequencing (Sub-Novice) Novice Handling Intermediate Handling Advanced Handling Distance 1 & 2 Puppy Agility Back to Basics
We use only positive training at Martini's Ranch taking from several well know trainers to provide a well rounded training program. Training philosophies such as Susan Garrett's Operant Conditioning and DASH, Greg Derrett's foundation training, Maureen Strenfel's Training Theories on Foundation, Susan Salo's jumping techniques, Bud Houston's distance work, Linda Mecklinberg's Jumping & Handling, and a collage of many other top names are sprinkled into the mix. We use both food and toy motivation and clicker work for shaping (clicker is recommended, but not required). Below are descriptions of what to expect during your training. Click on a class name above to advance to that class training description.
The goal of these classes is to set a solid form of communication between you and your dog that will be transferred to the course later down the road. This communication is called a "handling system" which you define according to your needs on of the dogs course. Along with this communication, you will also teach your dog body awareness skills and body strengthening exercises to build a well round canine athlete.
In the first session, we concentrate on fundamentals such as; Focus, Dog to Handler Positions, Solid Stays, Recalls, Motivation, Drive, Self Control, and building body awareness for a strong canine athlete. We will learn many motivating "games" which will help teach dogs the "rules" of agility and handling and well as make training fun.
In the second session, we concentrate on having the dogs work on their movement around us such as when to accelerate, when to decelerate, when to go forward in front of us, and how to work laterally from us. A continued focus on body awareness is key as well learning more fun agility games to keep things light while on the road to successful agility.
The goal of these classes is to introduce and master the skills needed to execute all the agility obstacles with confidence, speed, and safety. In Obstacle Mastery 1, the goal is to introduce the foundation work for contacts and and jumping which will include many of the agility obstacles. We have a continued focus on the skills you learned in Agility Foundations and hone those skills to perfection. Most dogs advance to Obstacle Mastery 2 after 1 session. Obstacle Mastery 2 continues to reinforce the foundation work as well as introduce the remainder of the obstacles. It is not uncommon to stay in this class for several sessions before moving on to Beginning Sequencing. Dogs must be able to execute all obstacles confidently and safely before advancing to Beginning Sequencing.
What is most important to convey about these two classes is that it takes a lot of time for dogs to competently master all of the equipment, especially obstacles such as the weave poles and the teeter. Handlers should be patient with their dogs as they master these obstacles and not be lured into moving on in their training too soon. It's human nature to want to advance prematurely, but you will be doing your dog a disservice in doing so. A good rule of thumb is that you do not advance in your training of any one concept until the dog is performing the behavior correctly 80% of the time.
The goal of this class is to introduce to the dog that the obstacles are taken in an order. It is important at this level that the dog is trained to remained focused on the handler and not to chose for himself what the next obstacle is. Because agility can be self-rewarding to the dog, meaning he could chose to do any number of obstacles all by himself, it is extremely important that we start sequencing with only 2 to 3 obstacles, making sure that the dog stays focused on the handler. In this class we make sure to play lots of focus games and make sure to Play - Play - Play!!! Over time, as the dogs prove they can hold their focus while executing multiple obstacles (with the correct behavior) in a row, we increase the number of obstacles they can take. In addition, we work the most important part of the sequence, the start line. Through positive motivation and fun start line games we build a clear definition of what is expected of the dog at the start line. We also continue to work on basic handling skills such as front and rear crosses and directionals. The goal of this class is to have the dog working 6 to 8 obstacles in a row while maintaining focus on the handler and executing the obstacles with the desired behavior. Once the dog reaches this level, he can then move on to preparing for the ring in Novice handling.
The goal of this class is to prepare you and your dog to go to trial. We will continue to work the basic fundamental skills as well continue to train the obstacle behaviors. This class works at getting you, as the handler, ready to walk and strategize courses as well as work on Basic Handling skills. Your dog learns to execute their obstacle behaviors and keep focused on longer courses. Start Line and Course Distraction work is also a big part of this class as you and your dog will be exposed to a whole new world of distractions when you trial. It is extremely important to keep this level FUN! Often times this is where you make or break an agility dog. We encourage handlers to resist the temptation to trial before they are ready. It is suggested that you take this class several times before entering a trial. Since this can be the most stressful level, we make sure to incorporate lots of happy play time for both you and your dog.
The goal of this class is NOT to get you through the Open level courses, but to prepare you for Advanced level competition. More and more we are seeing that the Open level courses have many of the same challenges as the Advanced courses. Therefore, we will work to prepare you for these challenges. This is the level many dog/handler teams seem to loose their focus and their obstacle behaviors fall apart. We also see a high percentage of dogs "shut down" at this level because they are confused or feel pressured be over handling on the courses. We focus on making sure the handling stays clear and fluid at this level as to avoid these common shut downs. We also spend a great deal of time revisiting the basics, keeping the obstacle behaviors fresh in the dogs mind. We work some of the tighter sequencing, obstacle discriminations, and advanced handling moves while working the course. As with all our classes, foundation work is constantly revisited to keep the game fun and rewarding for both of you and Play is encouraged at all times.
This is where most classes loose their "training" and turn into just an hour of running courses. But at Martini's Ranch, we realize the importance of training new challenges to our dogs and handling options to the human. This class still allows the handler to run courses as this is an integral part of training at this level. But additionally, we take a closer look at problem areas on courses, discuss handling options and allow the dogs to learn the correct way to execute them before running it at full speed on the course. For instance, when the 270 was introduced to the agility community, many of the advanced trainers simply threw their dogs at it on course and hoped for the best rather than showing the dog what was expected of them during the challenge. After all, we didn't just throw our dogs at the weave poles and expect them to do it, right? During this class you can expect to train a challenge area then run it on several courses. We also incorporate fun and games into the class to keep things fun for both you and your dog - Play Play Play!!!
The goal of this class is to set up a progressive chain of events so that the dog learns to move out, go on, and turn on command at a distance. With a structured training schedule, dogs move through a 12 week course ( 6 weeks for each level) geared toward gaining distance on your dog without loosing control of them. The most important thing to keep in mind when training distance is that you do not loose control of the dog. Often times dogs learn to chose obstacles at will once given the opportunity to work away from the handler and since agility can be self rewarding to the dog, we will do or best to maintain the focus and control while gaining the distance. Remember it's Distance - Not Separation!!!
As always, we use positive training to help build behaviors that encourage distance between you and your dog. Handlers entering their dogs in Gamble or FAST will gain much from these to classes. Those who have "velcro dogs" may need to repeat Distance 1 before moving on to Distance 2. This is normal as these dogs need extra reinforcement that it is OK to work away. As with all our classes we keep things light and fun for you and your dog and encourage play throughout the class.
This class is designed to give any dog and handler the strong foundation needed to become a great agility team. Positive Motivation and Operant Conditioning are used to help shape the behaviors needed for success. A lot about agility can be taught to the dog long before they ever touch the equipment. We'll start with games that build drive and focus. We'll incorporate basic obedience in building the beginnings of the perfect start line including self control! We'll introduce cavaletti bars to help build body awareness and coordination which later will teach the dogs to jump with good form and judgment. We'll start them on their way to successful contacts which includes the moving board which will later become the teeter. We'll introduce tunnels which are very fun at this stage and we'll begin to teach them shadow handling which teaches you pup agility moves without any agility equipment. Puppies never bore with this class so it may be taken time and time again.
This class was designed for our seasoned dogs whose obstacle performance has become "sloppy" over the years or who did not learn the behavior quite they way you had imagined. This class meets twice a week and concentrates on obstacle performance rather than sequencing. We take them back to the beginning and retrain the behavior - shaping it until it is what we had hoped for when we started. It is recommended that dogs stop trialing while retraining so that you don't confuse the dog or allow them to slip back into their old habits. Positive training in used to rework these behaviors and we incorporate a lot of play to keep things light during this intense program.