Duration Hold/Retrieve (Virtual) – Wednesday 6:00pm – Liz Maslow

Want a strong, motivated retrieve of the dumbbell and a good foundation for utility exercises? Do you want a dog who enjoys playing tug & fetch, where they actually bring the toy back to you and release it? Do you want to be able to teach your dog intermediate, advanced, & even elite tricks that involve your dog holding something in their mouth? Join me as I teach you how to create a firm hold, the end skill in the complex retrieve chain. Our basic goal is a dog who thinks that the holding skill is the best part of the whole thing, and hurries to get there when we ask for a retrieve.

Dogs are expected to be strongly motivated by either food or to have the basic toy skills (bringing back to drop or tug, and dropping toy on ground as well as shaping within the toy game concepts) if the handler wants to use toy skills as a reinforcement.

We will spend some time on refining both food and toy reinforcements, figuring out what is the most exciting for teaching this hard behavior.

Other skills we will practice:

• chin rest
• fronts-or almost a front, sit on or off a platform.
• Nose Target

Teaching Approach:
Lecture and real time practice sessions. Written homework will be sent after each class.

You will need:

• A laptop, computer that can be manipulated, or iPad to join via zoom video
• A small quiet area for working, away from other household pets

Recommended for dogs who have taken at least Basic Canine Manners

Instructor: Liz Maslow

Registrar: Sondra Makkonen

Email Sondra with questions about registration.