Not for you; but for Suki and I. Did you know that I like to take classes not just teach them? Of course, by the time I schedule the classes that work for clients it leaves little time for us. Thank goodness for online classroom learning.
We have taken a few previous online dog-training classes but I will admit without accountability (i.e. having to attend a physical location every week) I tend to drop off. Plus the previous classes were educational I could pass onto my own clients not just for myself. I learned how to make obedience more fun for the human to learn and how to run a better puppy class. I did go back and finish the courses but in my time not the course structure.
You may be shocked but in the 5 years I have been teaching pet-owner fun agility, my own dog has never learned to execute the weave poles. We tried a few different approaches including the channel method (that I teach students), mark and reward, and drive to reward. Nothing sunk into her brain the way I was working my communication to her. I joined an online agility weave class.
My girl is 9 years old. I practice what I preach; age doesn’t matter when teaching something new. We are in week two at the time of this blog and so far her skills are great, mine not so much! I tell students in class, the weak link to a cue is usually the human. I get it – really. Remember I mentioned accountability? It is the fun of working with my dog this time that will keep me going. We have practiced every day(sometimes twice a day) and she is definitely happier for it. Isn’t that what it’s all about?
Stay tuned. I will let you know how the class is goes. So far so good!