Mari Valgma - The Moving Canine

🧩🧩 Our hugely popular YOUR FIRST MOVEMENT PUZZLE free live training is coming again! Boost your dog's confidence and stress resilience with these fun movement exercises! Movement Puzzles is a concept that was first developed to help sport and working dogs develop better body control and coordination while moving. It quickly became apparent that it not only helps dogs move with more precision and awareness, doing Movement Puzzles is also empowering for our dogs! Movement Puzzles help to improve your dog’s: ✅ confidence in new situations ✅ focus during training ✅ independence and distance skills ✅ ability to better deal with stressful situations Come and join us on this free live event “Your First Movement Puzzle” and find out how you can use Movement Puzzles in your training for powerful mental and physical benefits! This 3 part free live training will run from August 26th to August 30th. Interested? Comment YFMP under this post and we’ll message you with more information! Taught by Mari Valgma, CPCFT and the creator of Movement Puzzles concept.

Super cool wobbly DW bonus module

Super cool BONUS module inside Beyond Dog Sports: Dog Walk! Many agility dogs struggle with different dog walk models. Especially when they train only on one type of dog walk… and then go competing and are suddenly taken by surprise that the dog walk model at the competition moves differently. As a result your dog may get scared, slow down, miss the contact zone. And may become generally unsure about getting on the dog walks at competitions. And the trickiest part is that your dog can’t know before getting on the dog walk whether it will move more or less than your training DW. Which is why we’ve included this bonus module inside the course, targeting the "wobbly" DW challenge, including: ✅ all the progressions from exercises on the ground to the full up plank of the DW ✅ varying plank movement so that your dog is prepared for dealing with different DW models ✅ a clear system for checking your dog’s readiness for each exercise before you add speed - so that the exercises wouldn’t make your dog more scared of the moving planks! If your dog is feeling unsure on differently moving DW models, then we’ve got your back inside Beyond Dog Sports: Dog Walk 😉 So that your dog can fly up any DW model like Meri does here with the “wobbly” plank! Registration to Beyond Dog Sports: Dog Walk is open, but only until Thursday 11:59pm ET. Join us here: https://programs.themovingcanine.com/dw-course-2024/ (Note: this exercise requires several pre-requisite steps before it can be safely done at this height, speed and “wobbliness”. Please don’t try to experiment with this exercise just after seeing this one video clip)

The perfect DW performance

Can you show me a perfect dog walk performance… where the dog was struggling on the plank? You can’t. Because running on a plank is such a fundamental part of the DW performance. And the DW performance can never be perfect when the dog is misplacing paws off the side of the plank, slows down on the top plank, is struggling to adjust the gait… or falls off before even getting to the contact zone! Being able to run on a narrow plank with speed and precision is a prerequisite for hitting the contact zone. It’s a prerequisite for performing the DW with confidence. It’s a prerequisite for performing the DW SAFELY. Yet, running on a plank is often overlooked in DW training. And I get it - running on a plank may look deceptively easy, almost like walking on fallen tree trunks! But, in reality, running on a narrow & high plank in the middle of an agility course requires several highly specific skills from your dog. 👉 Like being fully in control of his body when entering the DW from various angles and obstacles and doing it with speed. 👉 Have impeccable reaction speed and balance to stay on the DW even if a misplaced paw does happen. 👉 Move with precision and confidence when high from the ground. 👉 Have excellent dynamic balance and coordination for adjusting gait while running full speed on a high & narrow plank. Missing any of these skills means that your dog may be misplacing paws on the DW, slowing down or even looking scared on the DW, not to mention slower contact zone learning and having to do even more reps on the full DW! Is that a risk you are knowingly willing to take? The painful truth is… your dog will need to learn these skills anyway. You can’t get a reliable DW performance without your dog mastering these skills first. And it’s up to you whether you wait for your dog to learn them through lumping while you do the contact zone training on full DW… Or you take full control over your dog’s DW training journey and te

Our DW course registration is OPEN!

💥 REGISTRATION IS OPEN 💥 😧 Is your dog is misplacing paws when getting on the DW, losing balance or falling off… or slows down, does lots of small steps on the top plank and has no confidence on a high, narrow surface, then THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU! 🎯🏆 Beyond Dog Sports: Dog Walk course is all about teaching your dog how to really run on a narrow and high dog walk plank with full body control, dynamic balance and coordination. So that she can run the DW with confidence, precision and speed… While you don’t have to worry about tricky entry angles and can trust your dog running the DW without misplacing paws! 🤩 As a bonus you'll notice that DW training will go a lot faster, you won't need as many repetitions... And your dog's contact zone hits will improve and become more reliable! Join us in Beyond Dog Sports: Dog Walk - an online course for running the dog walk with speed, precision and confidence! 💪 Start as soon as you join 📆 No fixed duration, work at your own pace 🎁 Lifetime access to all the contents We rarely offer this course these days, but several of our Movement Puzzles students were asking about it. So we decided to make it available again for a limited time only. Doors closing on Thursday, August 8th at 11:59pm ET (Eastern Time US)!!! We are not sure if and when we'll open this course again... So if you and your dog are struggling with the dog walk training, then now is your chance to fix it! Click here for more information and registration 👉 https://programs.themovingcanine.com/dw-course-2024/ I'll see you inside! Mari Valgma, CPCFT

Don't miss out... DOORS CLOSING IN LESS THAN 48 HOURS! 🔥🔥🔥 Movement Puzzles really are a special concept and every day it becomes more and more clear it can help so many dogs and their guardians live more fulfilling lives! Here are just a few of the benefits our students have reported about their dogs after having started with Movement Puzzles: 🏆 Being more efficient and faster in their nosework searches 🏆 Dog's movement is more precise and better coordinated 🏆 Having the confidence to try new things after being scared for a long time 🏆 Becoming less reactive to other dogs! 🏆 Feel a lot calmer in previously scary situations (like planes flying above their training area!) 🏆 Startle less when hearing household noises 🏆 Better distance skills in agility! 🏆 More focused during training! 🏆 Less frustration during training sessions. Less barking, better engagement! 🏆 Calmer during training without losing the enthusiasm. No more frantic and reckless movements! If you've been thinking about joining us in Movement Puzzles Academy then there's no better time than NOW. So that you and your dog can start enjoying benefits of these fun exercises TODAY! Doors closing already on Thursday, July 4th 11:59pm Eastern Time (US). Click here to join us: https://programs.themovingcanine.com/mpa We can't wait to support you on you Movement Puzzle journey! Mari

I love walking the talk - following the same advice for my own training as I give to dog handlers. There’s nothing better than doing a new and fun coordination exercise and thinking how this fits in with dog training… and how we can include something similar to canine coordination and body awareness training. When posting videos of my own sessions I often get messages like “This is great for agility handlers” or “Every person doing sports should also do these exercises!”. That is true… but not how I see things. I don’t do this kind of training because I play sports. I’m actually not involved in any sport at the moment. I do it because it makes me happy, it makes me more comfortable in my own body, I move with more ease and can easily climb a fence if I need to (don't ask me how I know that ) Also, when I'm starting to feel overwhelmed or frustrated by something happening in my life, then all I need to do is a coordination training session and my brain feels a lot happier! The benefits of physical activity, coordination, balance and movement training are the same for EVERYONE! It improves mobility and flexibility, it keeps the brain active, improves focus, helps to avoid depression, delays the onset of dementia. It also helps you feel more comfortable and confident in your body! Just to name a few. These benefits are not only for a sports person to become better at sport. The benefits apply to everyone and improve quality of life for EVERY individual. And the same applies to our dogs. Doing physically meaningful activities, coordination and fitness training isn’t just for dogs recovering from injuries or dogs involved in sport training. The benefits (both mental and physical!) apply to every single dog. Next time you find yourself thinking that doing X or Y exercises look cool, but you or your dog don’t really need it because you don’t do sport… Well, think again, because the benefits of physical activity aren’t limited to sport - physical

One of the more common mistakes I see with Movement Puzzles is that people confuse the 2 bowl game with Vito’s “thinking game”. After all, in both games dogs are doing exercises independently from the handler while moving from one bowl to another to get the reinforcement. And yes, when I got started with Movement Puzzles, I also thought that the 2 bowl game and Vito’s game were the same thing… However, after having taught Movement Puzzles to hundreds of students, I can honestly say that the 2 bowl game and Vito’s game (at least how it’s commonly interpreted) are two very different things. In fact, approaching Movement Puzzles with a “it’s a Vito’s thinking game” mentality can result in opposite results than we’d hope from Movement Puzzles 😨 Here’s why and what to do instead. ❌ In Vito’s game there is no verbal/audible marker that precedes the reinforcement delivery. Handler is completely silent and delivers treats in bowls. ✅ In 2 bowl game we always use an audible marker that lets the learner know the reinforcement is coming. That removes a lot of frustration for many dogs as they don’t need to keep an eye on you to know when they get the treat! ❌ In Vito’s game only the correct behaviors are reinforced and when the dog makes a mistake then the handler withholds the reinforcement. Dog figures out the correct solution by trial and error. However, withholding reinforcement and waiting for the dog to figure it out during Movement Puzzles often results in the dog making more mistakes in the long run. I’ve seen this approach also crushing a sensitive dog’s confidence because she thought doing the exercise was the only way of getting reinforcement. In Movement Puzzles we want the opposite. ✅ In 2 bowl game/Movement Puzzles we reinforce EVERY SINGLE REPETITION. If the same mistake happens twice, we change the setup to get the desired behavior. 🙌 That training approach results in no frustration training session

Luring vs patterns

Patterns are super powerful and one of my favorite tools to use in my training. In fact ALL of our Movement Puzzles and confidence boosting exercises use patterns. Why are patterns so powerful? Because: 🏆Patterns offer structure and predictability - our dogs love that! 🏆 Feeling of “I know this! I can do this!” 🏆 Patterns also release dopamine in the brain, speed up learning and improve memory. 🏆 When combined with SPLITTING, you will get independent performance WITHOUT having to lure or cue your dog. Will transfer to real life situations faster! 🏆 You can quickly teach all kinds of new situations by using the same pattern. Just swap the prop you are using for a new one! Comment "2bowlgame" and we'll send you our foundation pattern for all Movement Puzzle exercises!