So even though I had my second knee replaced January 18th I signed up for 2 more online courses through the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. We got a bit of a late start but on a roll now! The first one I took was so well written and presented in such a logical sequence that I was easily able to follow it so I had no problem deciding to continue with more courses! Here are the details of those courses! I would recommend them to anyone!
NW120: INTRODUCTION TO NW SEARCH ELEMENTS
This is the second course in our Nosework series, and continues on where NW101 left off. If you have not completely caught up with everything in NW101, that is okay. We will just progress from where you currently are. In general, we begin with the assumption that your dog has or is close to having the skill required for an ORT. We will work through each of the four elements required for the NW1 title - interior, exterior, container, and vehicle search - while looking at the unique challenges each poses. We'll also discuss handling techniques that you can implement to help support your dog in his search.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVTRp1aF4WE
Week 1: Foundation / Self-Assessment / Baseline
• Review of foundation games
• Review Intro to Interiors
• Self-Assessment and Baseline video
• Weekly Container exercise: Introducing food and toy distractions
• Acclimating your dog to crating for trial prep
• Introducing your dog to different Qtip holders
Week 2: Interiors
• Weekly Container exercise and progress report
• Introduction to Airflow and how it impacts hide placement and search results
• Hide Placement: What makes a hide Accessible and Inaccessible
• Line of Objects
• Cluttered Room
• Interior Search in a New Area, not cluttered
Week 3: Intro to Exteriors
• Weekly Container exercise and progress report
• Importance of the value of the reinforcer
• Exterior considerations
• Small area exterior in known environment
Week 4: Exteriors Continued
• Weekly Container exercise and progress report
• Expanding the search area in a known environment
• Assessing the difficulty of novel locations
• Exterior Search, small area in a novel, easy environment
• Exterior Search, larger area in a novel, easy environment
Week 5: Intro to Vehicles
• Weekly Container exercise and progress report
• Vehicle Search, Introduction in known environment
• Vehicle Search, using smaller hides and common placements
• Vehicle Search, easy novel environment, known vehicle
• Vehicle Search, easy environment, novel vehicle
• Vehicle Search, known environment with adding cold car
Week 6: Putting it all together
• Aging Hides
• Weekly Container exercise and progress report
• Developing independent start lines
• Building stamina with sequential element searches
• Introducing additional odors
• Revisit Self-Assessment
NW350: MORE PROOFING AND GENERALIZATION FOR ALL LEVELS
Do you want to make your team the best you can be? The key to success in Nosework is in Generalization and Proofing. This course isn’t a skills based course although skills will be enhanced and honed. It’s a course entirely devoted to trial preparation. Use a systematic process to identify your particular challenges and then design a customized preparation plan for your dog to build confidence, motivation and ease in novel environments particular to the level that you currently preparing for. All of our Nosework courses are targeted at getting you trial ready at whatever level you are at, but this course takes trial readiness to the next level. This course is appropriate for all levels of Nosework students and will give you the confidence you need to step to the startline.
This class is suitable regardless of your Nosework background or how you introduced odor to your dog. This class is designed to be repeated and to provide the online student with structure necessary to continue to build skills for successful trialing. (Bronze and Silvers will also be building customized plans!)
This is an excellent class for sensitive or environmental dogs as there is a heavy emphasis on the mental state of the dog.
You can expect in this class to see lots and lots of videos of different dogs working. One of the best learning methods is watching different dogs work. You'll find that your eye improves and your own ability to read your dog skyrockets! This class will not only showcase dogs working in the Gold threads but will also showcase a ton of dogs at different levels working throughout the lectures.
You can expect your dog to get much closer to being trial ready, and you can expect your own handling to improve by leaps and bounds! Hope to see you in class!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bydCbEzq9lY
Week 1:
- How to know when your dog is trial ready
- Introduction to Generalization and Proofing
- Performance baseline
- Handling Analysis - what to look for and how to self assess
- Assessing the handler’s trial readiness
- Mental plan for trialing
- Develop trial preparation plan for your dog (and you!)
- Generalizing the sensitive dog
Week 2:
- Review of basic Scent Theory
- Review of hide placement skills
- What to expect at a trial
- Approach to generalization
- Selecting training areas and training conditions
- Execute on trial preparation plan
Week 3:
- Generalizing Interiors and Containers
- Addressing scary interiors… it’s all about confidence!
- Taking Containers on the road
- Execute on trial preparation plan
Week 4:
- Generalizing Exteriors and Vehicles
- Thoughts on proofing and maintaining a healthy balance
- Addressing crittering and odor… chicken or the egg
- Execute on trial preparation plan
Week 5:
- Degrees of proofing
- Proofing skills and games
- Maintaining and building drive
- Startline routines are everything!
- Execute on trial preparation plan
Week 6:
- Combining generalization and proofing
- Go Big or Go Home… taking generalization to the next level when appropriate
- Developing stamina in searching
- Self assessment of trial readiness
