Unemployed goblins - A holistic guide to life with a pet working breed

1. Introduction

   8 lessons

   1. Course overview
   2. Meet your trainer
   3. Who are my dogs?
   4. What is a working breed?
   5. The trouble with working breeds
   6. Considerations
   7. Reasons why past training hasn't worked
   8. Your dog is not stubborn

2. Clear communication

   12 lessons

   1. Introduction
   2. Common mistakes
   3. What is a marker?
   4. Basic marker system and how to charge them
   5. (Optional) Charging a clicker
   6. Continuation and release markers in practice
   7. Advanced marker systems
   8. Reward types and timing
   9. What does your dog find rewarding?
   10. Positive interrupters
   11. Positive interrupters in the real world
   12. Challenge: release marker

3. What your dog needs: Movement

   8 lessons

   1. Introduction and Myth busting
   2. Health, age and fitness considerations
   3. The problem with fetch
   4. What I do instead of fetch: ball searches
   5. The unsung hero of confidence building: jumping on surfaces
   6. Speaking of confidence building: box feeding
   7. Box feeding quiz
   8. Structured walks

4. What your dog needs: Mental Stimulation

   11 lessons

   1. What is real enrichment
   2. Getting started with food searches
   3. At home enrichment which won't cost you a penny
   4. How dogs learn
   5. What is freeshaping?
   6. Freeshaping muzzle conditioning
   7. Challenge: Freeshaping
   8. Trick training 101: spin, hand touch & chin rest
   9. Placeboard training
   10. Sendaround foundations
   11. Proofing: The 3Ds

5. What your dog needs: Freedom to express their natural behaviour

   9 lessons

   1. The predatory sequence and why it matters
   2. But my dog is a mix?
   3. Sport and activities for fulfilled working breeds
   4. Food searches in the "real world"
   5. (Optional) Exercise: Film a food search with your dog and share it with us

   1. Teaching a retrieve

      1. Teaching a retrieve: Theory & the hold
      2. Teaching a retrieve: putting it all together
      3. Challenge: The hold
      4. Challenge: The retrieve

6. What your dog needs: Companionship/Connection

   8 lessons

   1. Dogs are social animals
   2. Creating connection: engagement sessions
   3. Creating connection: Hand feeding
   4. The power of play
   5. Tug demystified
   6. Demo: Tug with Atreus
   7. Dogs that like to chase
   8. (Optional) Exercise: Film a play session with your dog

7. What your dog needs: Rest and structure

   9 lessons

   1. The importance of rest
   2. Routine vs Structure
   3. Settle training
   4. Windows of opportunity
   5. Windows of opportunity in real life scenarios
   6. The art of doing nothing challenge demo & challenge
   7. Impulse control vs Frustration tolerance
   8. Impulse control: Thresholds
   9. Impulse control: food

8. What your dog needs: A healthy balanced diet & emotional wellbeing

   6 lessons

   1. Introduction - arousal in working breeds
   2. Genetics matter
   3. What does diet have to do with behaviour?
   4. (Optional) Show us your dog's safe place
   5. Will reassuring a scared dog reinforce their fear? A nuanced approach
   6. Closing remarks