DogSmart Detection Training

04/03/2025

03/05/2025

Space left in Beginners!

02/26/2025

Bond Head trial prep drop-ins:
Mar 1: Blanks and Threshold hides
Mar 8: Search planning
Mar 15: No class (Innisfil trial)
Mar 22: Exterior challenges

02/23/2025

Swansea Dog Obedience classes spring session is open for registration! Scent classes start Wed March 19th!

At Swansea, we combine praise, positive motivation and reinforcement to enable every dog to reach its full potential as a well-behaved companion or a participant in competitions. Our instructors are professional and highly experienced, some with decades of experience and multiple performance titles....

02/13/2025

Reminder there is no class this Sat Feb 15 due to the SDDA Judges Conference.

02/10/2025

Thank you Karen Baxter of Unified K9 for the photos of yesterday's workshop.

02/02/2025

A few photos from today's workshop. Attendees are welcome to post their own here too!

02/01/2025

Smart advice from Amy Cook (The Play Way) for owners of sensitive or reactive dogs.

"I had a management question from a client yesterday and in giving her advice I realized that this is something that the rest of you might also need cleared up, especially if you are familiar with my approaches. [I just decided I’m going to let you puzzle through it at the end rather than tell you outright first!]
Do we let them approach, let them look, or redirect them and move away?
There are times I want you to let dogs go investigate things, so they can learn up close, through interaction. There are times I want you to let dogs look at things, so they can learn from afar, without direct interaction. And there are times when I want you to interrupt looking and move on, so they aren’t focusing on the thing and learning things I don’t want.
Which are those things?
Your cheat sheet is this: If the feared object is inanimate and unchanging, not dangerous in any way, consider letting them approach on their own time, giving them autonomy. Don’t insist or encourage, but support them as they need it.
If the fearful situation is social, as with strange dogs or people, then it won’t be unchanging and will provide a lot of challenge to negotiate. This benefits from letting them look and take stock of what is going on. You can either let them make their own choices there and give no specific feedback or guidance, or you may give reward or lightly interrupt to titrate that exposure, depending on how close you are.
If the situation, regardless of what it is, is close enough to cause a reaction that you don’t want them having, it’s time to step in and redirect their attention fully onto something else and get some distance.

I may make some exceptions if something totally pedestrian and inanimate causes them to bark, like a fire hydrant or flower, as they’ll likely find their curiosity very quickly and shift modes, but in most cases we just don’t want any of that reaction rehearsed and they do need us to direct their behavior.
So, what do you do with barking at the sounds outside your front door?
Can you puzzle it out based on the information above? Is it inanimate? Is it social? Is it too much? Do you let them go see? Do you redirect?

01/31/2025

I may be able to get another Sunday for a Confidence Games workshop. Potential date is March 2nd or the 9th. Who would be interested?

01/18/2025

Finally some of the Level 3s!

01/12/2025

Only managed Levels1 and 2 again this week. Focus was on threshold hides with a light intro to inaccessible hides. Same again next week!

01/11/2025

Threshold hides today! Also, the parking lot is unloved so drive carefully!

01/09/2025

Working spots are full. Emails coming soon!
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01/05/2025

Who would be interested in a confidence building session one Saturday morning? No target odour, just mini challenges with food or toys to build grit, resilience and optimism. This would likely be at 10 am for 1 hour but it depends on level of interest.
Update: Saturday Jan 18 will be a 1-hour session with two of the games. This will be open to 4 of my regular students for $20.
Tentative date for the workshop will be Sunday, Feb 2 in Newmarket. Details will follow.