As most of you probably know, I own the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy where I teach one or two classes each term.
Starting on August 1st, I’ll be teaching “Ob-ility” for the second time. The first time around was a whole lot of fun for all, and I have every expectation that we’ll have just as much fun this time too!
But…what is Ob-ility?
Ob-ility 1 is a fast paced and movement oriented way to teach obedience skills. After learning the basic exercises for “fly” and “thru”, I’ll demonstrate how to use them to teach any dog several fundamental obedience exercises. All dogs will be introduced to the ob-ility method of teaching the broad jump, high jump, recall, directed jumping, and gloves (no retrieves required!). Dogs who enter the class with more obedience skills may also be introduced to the obility method of drop on recall, retrieve on flat, and the signal exercise. We’ll work with the skills that you and your dog possess, and add a few new ones to keep you busy! This class is appropriate for any dog or puppy with or without fundamental obedience skills. The only requirements are a basic off-leash recall, enough focus to have your dog ten or fifteen feet away without losing him, and a safe environment for your off leash dog to practice!
Ob-ility is simply a way of breaking the exercises down so that the movement parts of the exercises are separated from the other parts. This makes the work a lot more fun and “flowing” for the dog, and allowed you to teach advanced concepts much earlier than is typical. If you enjoyed Heeling Games, then this might be right up your alley.
Here is a video showing Team Stella from the last Obility class. After mastering the basic fly and reverse fly, they moved on to broad jump and directed jumping. Look at how much fun this team is having!
And here’s a video of Lyra working through each of the pieces of an ob-ility drop on recall. Is it starting to make sense now?
If you’d like to join me in Ob-ility, then mark your calendars! Registration opens on July 22nd and class begins on August 1st. All learning is on-line and prices range from $65 for a bronze spot (observer with access to all lecture materials and a readable forum) to $260 for Gold spot (extensive individualized video review and feedback in the forum).
This term we’ll be running TWENTY classes, so if you’re unable to get the quality of positive reinforcement instruction that you’d like locally, you might find that this is a truly excellent, and often superior, option to either private lessons or group classes. Students who start with us tend to stay – and often take three or more classes at a time!
See the entire schedule here, and contact me directly through the “people” link if you need help selecting the right class for your situation:
http://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/schedule-and-syllabus
