Handling exercises...or something...for class...

[TheRedQueen]

I'm drawing a blank tonight...and have no ideas right now...I don't want to put it off and forget until next week either!

Here's the deal...I've got 12-20 junior volunteers from Fidos coming next week (13-18 years old) to participate in Puppy Class. Usually they work in one room (doing who knows what), and we work in another. This upcoming week, they're getting kicked out of their room, so I invited them to be in class with us. At least once a month, they all have "obedience" with the Therapy Dogs...so I want to do something different for them.

The puppies are all rather large right now, they're mostly large breeds and no one is "cute and cuddly". Last week I had four pups, this week I had at least twice that. Next week...who knows? It's a drop-in class.

What I'm thinking is stations around the room where the kids and dogs have to interact...one up on a table (we have a rubber topped grooming table) where the pups have to be examined like a vet or groomer. And there's where my ideas stop...I'm so brain-dead.

Any ideas would be welcome...

[BullyLady]

We played this way fun game in the first obedience class I took, they set up cones and then they gave us a plastic cup to hold upside down and balance a large foam ball on top of it. The ball was big so that it wasn't hard to balance, but if the dog didn't keep pace with you and pulled or lagged so that you had to pull the ball would fall off. Then we ran relay races, three dogs at a time, and the winning team's dogs got little bones as prizes. It was ALOT of fun and a good game to practice heeling or keeping pace with the handler.

[TheRedQueen]

We played this way fun game in the first obedience class I took, they set up cones and then they gave us a plastic cup to hold upside down and balance a large foam ball on top of it. The ball was big so that it wasn't hard to balance, but if the dog didn't keep pace with you and pulled or lagged so that you had to pull the ball would fall off. Then we ran relay races, three dogs at a time, and the winning team's dogs got little bones as prizes. It was ALOT of fun and a good game to practice heeling or keeping pace with the handler.

I'm putting this game down in my games list...but for this class I need something where the handler/owner can be in charge of the pup/dog, and work with a large quantity of teenagers also. The teens will be extra...at least a dozen of them. That's why I was thinking of stations...3-4 of them at each station, doing something different.

[Hoyden]

What about setting up stations that mimic portions of the CGC and ATT test. Where another person is needed, if there are three or four kids in a group, they can take turns.

• Being brushed by a stranger
• Sitting politely for a stranger
• Instead walking through a crowd, substitute cones with balls or dog treats on them that the dog has to ignore
• Ignore a noisy distraction, metal bucket with a golf ball or pebbles in it. Dog is asked to sit or do a trick ignoring the distraction
• Leave an open umbrella on the ground to be investigated, then have some one slowly open it
• Walking across weird or odd surfaces, wire crate laid on the floor, one of those bristly door mats for wiping gunk off of boots, a clear plastic floor mat, one of those big rubber mats that go in the back of SUV's to protect the carpet in the back, piece of truck bed liner that has been scrapped & cut down.
• Leave food on the floor in an area that you can block off. The dog has to walk through without snagging food off the floor. I'd suggest using crates or an ex-pen to create an area where they can walk in one end and out the other

Some other ideas:

Set up an "obedience/obstacle course" that has stations and the kids can do it in teams being timed. Winners get a yummy dog chew and bragging rights. Stations are cones or a table with directions, use one or a combination of the five basic obedience commands. Some ideas,
- Sit at one cone.
- Shake/paw at another.
- Jump over a low bar on the way to the next.
- Down for 5 secs at one (or how seconds you choose) or have the handler put the dog in a down stay and do five jumping jacks.
- Heal counter clockwise around one cone, clockwise around the next, then start clockwise at the last cone, complete the circle, then reverse direction & go all the way around again.
- Put a table straddling the course, the handler has to crawl under the table with the dog
- Then do something silly like have the handler hold a plastic folk in their mouth with a dog treat on it and feed it to the dog without getting slurped (You need to have a plate with soft dog treats impaled on forks already laid out)
- Push a walker between two points while holding the leash, the dog doesn't have to heel perfect, but it can't shy away from the walker either


If you really want to challenge and mix it up a bit, have everyone wear a mask or something strange, silly or obnoxious on their heads. Clown wigs, big silly hats, blinking alien antenna or reindeer antlers, large feathery hats, gorilla masks, scream masks, fireman's helmet with visor down, motorcycle helmet with visor down, hockey helmet with mask, etc.

In one training class, we were told we could bring an "unusual" friendly stranger so the dogs could get used to REALLY strange people. I had one friend in a gorilla suit and another in an Oscar the Grouch suit, complete with trash can come to class.

I think it would be interesting to have everyone come to class in some kind of costume and do a course with tasks using one or a combination of the five basic obedience commands. The idea is to desensitize the dogs to unusual people.

If these are dogs are therapy dog hopefuls and you have medical equipment around like crutches, manual wheel chairs, IV poles with tubing, walkers etc. I'd incorporate those things in, even if the piece of equipment is laying on the floor to be jumped over or leaned against a wall.

Something else you could do is have the dogs get used to electric wheel chairs if they haven't already. Have them sit by their handlers while John drives around them and in between them. You could have John call the dog so it puts it front feet up on the chair to get a dog treat. The object is to have the dogs unfazed by an electric wheel chair and willing to approach on command.


After re-reading this, I realize that I am truly demented and it's a wonder Birdie hasn't run away from home yet.

[katiek0417]

I'm putting this game down in my games list...but for this class I need something where the handler/owner can be in charge of the pup/dog, and work with a large quantity of teenagers also. The teens will be extra...at least a dozen of them. That's why I was thinking of stations...3-4 of them at each station, doing something different.

What if you set up a station like a fast food restaurant, or like a Brusters/Dairy Queen, where you have to make your dog sit while you place an order and wait for it?

[TheRedQueen]

I'm putting this game down in my games list...but for this class I need something where the handler/owner can be in charge of the pup/dog, and work with a large quantity of teenagers also. The teens will be extra...at least a dozen of them. That's why I was thinking of stations...3-4 of them at each station, doing something different.

What if you set up a station like a fast food restaurant, or like a Brusters/Dairy Queen, where you have to make your dog sit while you place an order and wait for it?

I've got a pizza night planned for next month, where they'll have to walk up and get their pizza and sit around the table with dogs lying quietly.

[TheRedQueen]

What about setting up stations that mimic portions of the CGC and ATT test. Where another person is needed, if there are three or four kids in a group, they can take turns.

• Being brushed by a stranger
• Sitting politely for a stranger
• Instead walking through a crowd, substitute cones with balls or dog treats on them that the dog has to ignore
• Ignore a noisy distraction, metal bucket with a golf ball or pebbles in it. Dog is asked to sit or do a trick ignoring the distraction
• Leave an open umbrella on the ground to be investigated, then have some one slowly open it
• Walking across weird or odd surfaces, wire crate laid on the floor, one of those bristly door mats for wiping gunk off of boots, a clear plastic floor mat, one of those big rubber mats that go in the back of SUV's to protect the carpet in the back, piece of truck bed liner that has been scrapped & cut down.
• Leave food on the floor in an area that you can block off. The dog has to walk through without snagging food off the floor. I'd suggest using crates or an ex-pen to create an area where they can walk in one end and out the other

Great ideas...we do a surfaces night quite often...as we really want to hammer that home with our SDiT pups. I love the food behind the X-pen idea...as well as the distractions with cones and food. I like it!

Some other ideas:

Set up an "obedience/obstacle course" that has stations and the kids can do it in teams being timed. Winners get a yummy dog chew and bragging rights. Stations are cones or a table with directions, use one or a combination of the five basic obedience commands. Some ideas,
- Sit at one cone.
- Shake/paw at another.
- Jump over a low bar on the way to the next.
- Down for 5 secs at one (or how seconds you choose) or have the handler put the dog in a down stay and do five jumping jacks.
- Heal counter clockwise around one cone, clockwise around the next, then start clockwise at the last cone, complete the circle, then reverse direction & go all the way around again.
- Put a table straddling the course, the handler has to crawl under the table with the dog
- Then do something silly like have the handler hold a plastic folk in their mouth with a dog treat on it and feed it to the dog without getting slurped (You need to have a plate with soft dog treats impaled on forks already laid out)
- Push a walker between two points while holding the leash, the dog doesn't have to heel perfect, but it can't shy away from the walker either

We have a walker in class, and I make them work with it sometimes...we also bring the wheelchairs in sometimes. I should use them more, definitely. I like these station ideas...hmmm...very do-able!

If you really want to challenge and mix it up a bit, have everyone wear a mask or something strange, silly or obnoxious on their heads. Clown wigs, big silly hats, blinking alien antenna or reindeer antlers, large feathery hats, gorilla masks, scream masks, fireman's helmet with visor down, motorcycle helmet with visor down, hockey helmet with mask, etc.

In one training class, we were told we could bring an "unusual" friendly stranger so the dogs could get used to REALLY strange people. I had one friend in a gorilla suit and another in an Oscar the Grouch suit, complete with trash can come to class.

I think it would be interesting to have everyone come to class in some kind of costume and do a course with tasks using one or a combination of the five basic obedience commands. The idea is to desensitize the dogs to unusual people.

I've tried this before, and couldn't get anyone to bring costumes or even hats. I don't have enough stuff in my arsenal to bring by next week, but I'll have to start putting a bag of stuff together. We had a Chuck-E-Cheese mascot one time, come in to meet the Service Dogs.

If these are dogs are therapy dog hopefuls and you have medical equipment around like crutches, manual wheel chairs, IV poles with tubing, walkers etc. I'd incorporate those things in, even if the piece of equipment is laying on the floor to be jumped over or leaned against a wall.

Something else you could do is have the dogs get used to electric wheel chairs if they haven't already. Have them sit by their handlers while John drives around them and in between them. You could have John call the dog so it puts it front feet up on the chair to get a dog treat. The object is to have the dogs unfazed by an electric wheel chair and willing to approach on command.

They get to be around these fairly often...as they're SDiT pups mainly...and with all of the clients working in the next room, they see a fair amount of manual and power chairs, scooters, walkers, and the like...I invite the clients in all of the time, and the SDiTs get to go out and visit them. Even ones that are not Therapy Dogs (we only have one TD in puppy class) get to see that stuff pretty often!

After re-reading this, I realize that I am truly demented and it's a wonder Birdie hasn't run away from home yet.

I like it! Thanks for all of the great ideas!