DISTANCE LEARNING
ONLINE GROUP ZOOM LESSONS
We, at Trainers to the Rescue have been teaching online classes since 2020, and found many skills lend themselves to online learning. These skills can be taught in a very small space. Being required to video yourself also forces you to take a good look at exactly what you are teaching your dogs.
Our online classes are taught in two phases. Phase one is a Zoom meeting that you can attend live (we normally have 4 working students). If you are a working student, you will work during the live Zoom meeting, working on the skills or challenges presented that week. If you are an auditor, you may listen and ask questions during the live meeting.
Phase two is watching/posting videos via a Private Facebook group. One of the class TAs takes the zoom meeting and edits them into practical chunks. This way you can watch the material on your own schedule. Our TAs also create supplemental materials to more clearly demo techniques or concepts that might have happened during the live class. The group is also a place to ask questions between meetings to make sure you are on the right track. Yes, we can even help you set up your software and hardware.
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The online group Zoom lessons we are currently offering are outlined belowed.
ADVANCED RETRIEVE
The Retrieve outline is for 14 weeks, with the possibility -- if there is interest -- of another few weeks of more material. I'm really excited about training you both, the handler, and your dog through fun proofing games, how to prepare for problems before they occur, how to work through problems as they are happening to give your dog the best information and continue to move the team forward. We will address the retrieve in both the context of competition obedience (Open and Utility) and the retriever field. The skills you'll learn in this class should make earning Fetch titles a breeze, too.
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The live Zoom meeting will be Tuesdays 6-7 pm, starting 11/5/2024.
If any working spot is interested in working in-person with me for the Zoom meeting, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have you join me in the Studio room. It doesn't have to be the same person every week, so keep that in mind.
There will be ongoing support and additional material posted in the Facebook group. I'll be setting up a new Facebook group for this new class/cohort.
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For 14 weeks of class, this will be $360 for a working spot, which is less than the cost of two, in-person classes. Audit spots are $180. I am happy to set up a payment plan with you; absolutely ask!
The pre-requisites for this class are:
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Completion of Intro to Retrieve online (available to audit for $180), or
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A Retrieve on the Flat (Stay while item is thrown, Grab when sent to retrieve a stationary item, Hold and Return to handler, and Present and Hold until told to Release item). It doesn't have to be perfect as long as you are committed to progressing on all of those components alongside the new material we will be covering.​
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Having a reliable retrieve opens so many opportunities in obedience, field, tricks, service work, and home life. I'm looking forward to teaching this class!
INTRO TO RETRIEVE
Introduction to Retrieving takes you and your dog from recognizing the elements of a formal retrieve, priming for the grab all the while supporting our dogs with a good hold, to throwing the dumbbell/retrieve item.
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Each element of the retrieve is taken down to palatable and achievable pieces for you and your dog. We go through how to prevent common pitfalls such as the dog not gripping the dumbbell and running away with the dumbbell, while preparing the human and dog team for inevitable problems.
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This 16+ weeks of content can be audited through our private Facebook group. As you work through the classes, you are welcome to post your homework/videos for feedback from the instructor and peers.
ADVANCED HEELING
In order to accomplish the level of detail that I believe you'll need to be self-sufficient and successful in the long-term, the Heeling outline is for 18 weeks, with the possibility -- if there is interest -- of another few weeks of more material. I'm really excited about making the time to train both you, the handler, and your dog through fun proofing games, how to prepare for problems before they occur, how to work through problems as they are happening to give your dog the best information and continue to move the team forward. You'll learn what you need to have confident, reliable off-leash heeling in challenging environments, and how to be the best handler and teammate for your dog. This is really detailed stuff; I'm basically doing a brain dump of everything I've learned about heeling. My goal is that you'll have almost everything you need to analyze problems and create solutions for the career of your dog. I write "almost everything" because we are always learning and acquiring new tools!
The live Zoom meeting will be Thursdays 6-7 pm, starting 11/7/2024 - 4/17/2025 with some gaps in weeks for travel. The gaps will be great opportunities for you to catch up, post video and questions, and for your admin team to create supplemental material for the group. As always, there will be ongoing support and additional material posted in the Facebook group.
If any working spot is interested in working in-person with me for the Zoom meeting, I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have you join me at the training center.. It doesn't have to be the same person every week, so keep that in mind.
For 18 weeks of class, this will be $400 for a working spot, which is less than the cost of three, in-person, six-week sessions. An audit spot will be $200. I am happy to set up a payment plan with you; absolutely ask!
The pre-requisites for this class are:
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Completion of Foundation for Heeling online (available to audit for $250), or
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Team has some competency with basic heeling skills: Heel Position, Attention/Engagement, Start, Halt, Right/Left/About Turns, Changes of Pace, Left/Right Circles. You can still be using lots of rewards, but you cannot be using a lure to keep your dog in heel position. Your heeling doesn't have to be perfect as long as you are committed to progressing on all of those components alongside the new material we will be covering.
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In this class we are doing the assembly needed for reliable teamwork, which leads to confident, successful heeling. It's really exciting when you suddenly realize YOU ARE HEELING, when the week before it didn't seem possible. I really want you all to have that experience, when it all comes together.
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FOUNDATION FOR HEELING
Heeling is HARD. It is a lot of skills on the human, and it's a lot of skills on the dog. Furthermore, the human and the dog have to work in tandem to achieve the smooth and fluid partnership we dream about. Demystify heeling by breaking it down into smaller skills from defining heel position, adding movement, learning how to cue, handler body language, teaching turns and arcs, changing speeds, attention, and more. We help you build the technical skills for the human and the dog to assemble the "big series of little skills" that make up heeling.
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This 18+ weeks of content can be audited through our private Facebook group. As you work through the classes, you are welcome to post your homework/videos for feedback from the instructor and peers.
AVAILABLE ONLINE CLASSES FOR AUDIT
Work at your own pace through our videos and materials in our class Facebook groups that you will gain lifetime access to. You will also have the benefit of the student community to bounce ideas off of. Instructors and TAs will provide feedback to questions and videos, as well.
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The current classes we have available for auditing are:
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Tiger Puppy (performance puppy skills)
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Intro to Retrieve
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Intro to Heeling​​