Play. And....shameless advertising.
On and off I've talked about play on this blog. Maybe more on than off.
I happen to find the topic completely fascinating - You and your dog; interacting in a manner that is interactive, rewarding and joyful. Maybe using toys or food but often with nothing at all. How can a dog person not be fascinated?
Indeed, so fascinating that Deb Jones and I ended up writing a book about it, titled "Dog Sport Skills: Building Relationship Through Play".
That's the good news; a book is in the pipeline. The bad news is that it isn't likely to be ready for awhile, as it is the second book in the series. While written, we'd like to publish the first book....first. Hopefully you're waiting on pins and needles.
So...what's a person to do while waiting?
Well, step in Tracy Skenlar from Agility University, who has asked me to teach an on-line class for her. Any topic I like. Obedience, relationship, Focus, etc.
And I picked play, because it is so completely cool.
Deb Jones agreed that I could use elements from the book to simplify my life....so this class will borrow heavily from the chapters in the book that cover the skills of tug, food play and personal play (just you and a dog). Thanks Deb!
If this topic interests you, I'd love to have you in the class. While the working and auditing spots have been taken, there are observing spots available. As an observer, you can do all of the reading, watching, listening and learning that you can hold. Indeed, you can keep on reading for six months, twenty four hours a day. Seven days a week. Soon you'll be teaching me!
And when the book comes out? Well, I hope you'll run right out and buy it!
But in the meantime, I hope to give potential players lots and lots of lots of help getting their companions to play and to interact in the most positive way possible. I'm putting a fair amount of time into designing this class, so hopefully you'll get your money's worth and then some.
Intrigued? Check out Agility University; Building Relationship Through Play, at: http://www.agility-u.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=60&virtuemart_category_id=25&Itemid=278
The class starts October 31st. You'll notice that the class costs money; $75 for an observer spot. And I usually just give it all away for free right here, which is totally fine and I will continue to do that. But hey; I've got a couple of kids to put through college, so this time you'll have to pony up some money if you want to play. I sure hope you'll join me! If it's fun then I hope to teach another class in the spring - I have a totally different topic in mind:).
27 comments
No, it goes on the entire time; you can log in whenever and read/view whatever has been posted – videos, homework, etc. I’ll post comments all the time as I have time to log in and see what has been submitted. As an observer you can come in and view whatever interests you.
It’s sort of like this….you have the option to “watch” the lessons that I teach over six weeks to other participants. Since the lessons are recorded videos and written responses, it doesn’t matter when you log in and watch. If you find that some dogs are more similar to your own, you’d probably focus on watching their videos and my responses to them. Does that make sense?
In terms on lectures, I’ll post them once a week but you can read them whenever you want. Same with homework; I’ll post it once a week (along with Lyra performing as the demo dog) but working people submit when they have time and I respond when I have time – over the week. Then you read and watch videos when you have time.
It will depend on the questions that the workers and auditors ask – if they have limitations then I will address them as they come up.
Auditing spots are taken, so you would be an observer. The workers will have assignments – you can choose to do them (I would if I were you) but you will not get feedback from me. I will be assigning reading/written assignments and video assignments to workers. You can see their completed homework along with my comments on it. I’d think with 12 workers and 15 auditors (who do ask questions about the materials), most people will be able to identify with a good portion of what they see. Think of it as a DVD course – you can choose how much to follow along on your own.
I treat all dogs the same regardless of size or breed – I think the trick is to find the information that works for your dogs. Maybe personal play or food play would end up being more valuable to you than toy play. On the other hand, I include “chase” as toy play, regardless of whether the dog actually grabs the toy.
I hope you some info for seniors with limitations !