Backyard Training – Keep it Simple! 

Many of us have some amount of usable space to practice small exercises at home with our dogs.  Even with a number of indoor agility training facilities in our area, I can’t emphasize enough how supplementing your “formal” training time with practice at home is so important.  The more you can focus on small things (isolating and reinforcing individual skills such as stays, call to heel/hand, timing and placement of cues, etc), the stronger your teamwork will be with your dog.  The shorter the exercise, the more often your dog will get reinforced, too!  Also, I enjoy the challenge of working small sequences and practicing every single handling option.