Mental Resilience in Agility and Competition Dogs – Sunday, May 19

With Bobbie Bhambree-Wirkmaa, CBDC, CPDT-KA, Certified Dog Behavior Consultant

Prereq: Teams should be able to run short sequences of jumps and tunnels. There will be no contacts or weaves.
Description: Got FACE? – Focus And Connected Engagement in the Agility Competition Ring

Mental resilience takes time to develop; every dog is different when it comes to how long it takes and what is necessary to support the dog. Mental resilience is a combination of impulse control, confidence, the ability to recover from an event, and the desire to try again—all of which we will explore and continue to develop in this workshop.

There are many reasons why a dog might be able to perform in one context and not another. During the workshop, we will continue to uncover the gaps in your dog’s understanding and by way of training and behavior modification, fill them. These gaps could be a result of training plans that skipped steps that your dog needs, environmental stressors, lack of impulse control, or even fear. By examining your dog’s performance and discussing how you have trained with your dog thus far, we will be able to create a plan specific to your team’s needs. You will play games and practice exercises that will bring your dog’s focus back to you while building enthusiasm and drive, regardless of the venue or level of the show.

In this seminar, you will:

• Learn how to respond to your dog’s feedback in the moment to keep them working with you
• Learn how to better manage your dog and the environment to minimize mental fatiguing
• Continue to build focus and connection in your dog, even when things go wrong in the ring
• Further build impulse control in your dog, even in the face of stressors and distractions
• Further expand the toolbox of exercises to support you in decreasing your dog’s anxiety
• Further build confidence in your dog for the bigger shows

Limited to 10 working spots. Auditing unlimited.
$190 for members, $220 for non-members $45 auditors

Questions?

Email Lynsey with questions.