PREREQUISITE

None

RECOMMENDATIONS

Continue with Verbal Cues and Hand Signals or Heel Work once this course is completed. You can also join one of our virtual classrooms, with Alyssa Rose, to learn about how Mat Work exercises can be used in real world training to calm nervous, hyper-excited or reactive dogs.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This module will establish patterned exercises that incorporate the three D’s of training: duration, distraction and distance. One week will be dedicated to each of these three elements. Training your dog to proficiency with these patterned exercises will be critical in helping your dog learn to regulate excitement and/or stress. You will essentially be putting relaxation on cue. These exercises will be introduced on a training mat in a low stress, low distraction environment, but they can ultimately be practiced and generalized in any environment and any context. For best results do all 3 weeks in your living room, and then repeat the training and generalize to new environments.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Mat Work training can be used to calm nervous, hyper-excited or reactive dogs; with guests entering home, with sounds outside, in your yard, when visiting family or friends.
• Learn the importance of establishing training in lower level distraction environments, like your living room, and progressively building to higher level distraction environments, like the park or the vet’s office.
• Develop a stronger relationship with your dog by respecting and fulfilling their need to connect and problem solve.
• Learn how to read your dog’s body language in order to identify stress, frustration, over-arousal or other factors that might inhibit your dog’s ability to learn or behave in a desirable manner.
• Improve the emotional and behavioral well-being of your dog by focusing on behaviors you do want to see, instead of trying to suppress the behaviors you don’t want to see.