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December 2020 Newsletter and Training Tips
 
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Welcome to the December 2020 newsletter for TEAM!

It's been a long time and we have lots of exciting news to share!

In this Newsletter:

New TEAM Nosework Titling Program debuts this week

New TEAM Cooperative Care Certificate Program debuted September 2020

New Plus & Honors Cooperative Care Levels debuted November 2020

Updates to Level 1 & 2 Video Submissions for the TEAM Foundations Program

 
Article:  Progress via Complexity by Denise Fenzi

All About the TEAM Nosework Program Podcast!

Click Here to Listen!


We invite everyone to join our friendly, supportive Facebook community at  Fenzi NW TEAM Players.   In this group you can share your challenges or brags, and help to support others in their training adventures.  The group is hopping now with many members excited to get started on the new program!
 
TEAM Cooperative Care Program
by Deb Jones

It’s here! It’s finally here! After countless hours of effort and angst, I have a new thing to show the dog training world. And of course, now I have even more angst about whether or not the training world will love my new thing as much as I do! When you create something out of thin air you become quite protective and attached. It’s time to let go now though and share the Cooperative Care Certificate Program, developed and maintained in partnership with Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. 

Check it out at www.cooperativecarecertificate.com 

The Cooperative Care Certificate is a virtual video titling program for dog owners and trainers. People who are interested in earning the certificate will train 10 essential husbandry exercises to a passing level. The essential exercises are 1) chin rest, 2) lie on side, 3) restraint, 4) wearing a muzzle, 5) handling feet & nails, 6) handling mouth & teeth, 7) medications, 8) injections & blood draws, 9) eye exams, and 10) ear exams. . . That covers a LOT of ground! In addition, there are 3 levels of increasing challenge for each exercise. 

You may be wondering why you should care about earning a Cooperative Care Certificate. There are a number of reasons! First, you will be focusing on helping your dog learn some of the most useful life skills out there. Helping your dog become comfortable with his grooming and veterinary care is a huge benefit. All dogs will need this type of care throughout their lifetimes. You are giving your dog a great gift by helping him learn to tolerate these necessary procedures. Second, earning the certificate is external validation of your training skills. Your video submission will be reviewed by an expert in the area and you will receive feedback on how effective your training has been. Having an external marker for training success makes it clear that you have achieved your goals. Third, earning the certificate and sharing that information is a good way to help others see the value and importance of cooperative care training as a valid skill set. This achievement would be particularly helpful to those who want to teach cooperative care procedures to others. 

When I become interested in a dog training topic I tend to go very deep into it. The more I work with the concepts and ideas the more I find to pull apart, examine, and study. This has definitely been true of cooperative care work. It’s been 6 years since I first thought to myself “we need to focus more on this type of training for our dogs”. Many of us in the dog sports world have trained some pretty impressive behaviors and skills, yet revert to force and pressure for basic care like nail trims. It seemed to me that we were neglecting the important life skills like handling & husbandry and focusing more on training that was activity or sport specific. In terms of quality of life for our dogs we had it all backwards. 

As I dove deeper into the concept of cooperative care I found that there were some common misconceptions and misunderstandings about what it is and how to go about encouraging cooperation from our dogs. The first misconception is that in cooperative care work we are teaching our dogs what we want them to do. That’s actually only a small part of the process. Our bigger focus is on how our dogs feel about the handling and procedures that are necessary for their health and well-being. If they feel comfortable and safe then they are going to allow us to do a variety of things that might seem scary under other circumstances. I think of it as making deposits into the bank account of trust and good will that I’m building with my dog for their cooperative care work. I want to make huge deposits into that account so that when withdrawals are necessary I don’t become overdrawn. I strive to make husbandry procedures commonplace for my dogs. I want them to think “that’s just another weird thing that happens to us, but it pays off well!” 

The second misconception I often see is that people are so focused on the goal of getting the job done that they aren’t sensitive to their dog’s body language and feedback. For example, being able to cut your dog’s nails is good, unless your dog isn’t comfortable with the process. There’s tolerance, where you allow or endure something even if you don’t like it much, and there’s cooperation, where you are relaxed and calm throughout the procedure. Both of these are better than resistance! And sometimes tolerance is the best we can do. That doesn’t mean we should keep pushing when our dogs aren’t comfortable though. Just because you CAN do something to your dog doesn’t mean that you SHOULD. Continuing to push a dog that is barely tolerating something is going to lead to resistance soon enough. Working towards comfort and cooperation is a process and that process takes time. It’s important for your dog’s mental and physical well-being that you are sensitive to all the small signs of discomfort that you see. 

Our overall goal in developing the Cooperative Care Certificate is for people to become more aware of the need for this type of training, and for dogs to become more comfortable with all sorts of husbandry procedures. The Certificate Program provides an organized way to structure your training steps by breaking down the essential exercises into small reasonable pieces. Even if you don’t plan to earn the title it’s still a nice approach for your training plan. 

If you want to connect with folks who are also interested in this type of training feel free to join my Facebook group “Cooperative Care with Deb Jones”. You’ll find lots of help and support there. I also have a YouTube channel of the same name with plenty of video examples. I hope you will take a look around the new Cooperative Care website for more information and ideas as well. We have plenty of resources for you there. Poke around in all the little nooks and crannies. Try out all our links. Then get started on your cooperative care training with your dog. Can’t wait to hear what you think and how it goes! 
 

TEAM Program Updates

We're making changes to TEAM1 and TEAM2 base levels. Rather than performing all ten exercises in one video run - we are going to allow TWO videos, edited together, after the fifth exercise. So - you can videotape exercises 1 - 5, stop the tape and review it and then videotape exercises 6- 10.  Splice those together and submit to us as usual. Both videos need to be taken within 7 days of each other. The split must be after the fifth exercise. The location must be the same for both sets of exercises.
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We're hoping that this change allows handlers to reduce technical frustrations and feel more comfortable with their ability to succeed and move up to the higher levels. The website will be updated soon to accommodate this change.

Don't forget to join our friendly, supportive Facebook TEAM Players Group!
TEAM Cooperative Care Plus and Honors Levels
 
As the Cooperative Care Certificate Program grows and evolves we will focus on developing new and interesting challenges for you and your canine training partner. The additional levels of “Plus” and “Honors” are now available as additions for each of the existing basic levels.  We believe that these requirements more closely approximate real life examinations and procedures. 

The two criteria we will be increasing are duration and accuracy/fluency.

For duration at the Plus level you will be expected to divide the exercises into two sections. The first section will contain Exercises 1-5 in order as a continuous chain. The second section will contain Exercises 6-10 in order as a continuous chain. For duration at the Honors level you will be expected to submit one continuous video of all 10 exercises in order. Please note that you are free to use reinforcers as you desire throughout the submission.

For accuracy at the Plus level you may earn a “not yet” for two exercises (8/10 passing). For accuracy at the Honors level you may earn one “not yet” for the entire submission (9/10 passing). In addition, the requirement to chain the exercises together means that those exercises will need to be more practiced and fluent to be performed well on the first attempt.

You must earn the basic certificate at each level first. Then, you can choose to do the Plus level and then the Honors level. Or, you can move directly to the Honors level and skip the Plus level altogether. For both Plus and Honors levels you MUST attempt all the exercises, no skipping.

Progress via Complexity

by Denise Fenzi


I often talk about adding “complexity” to training.  When I say complexity, I mean adding something, anything, that is a little bit different or new than what you did the last time you worked with your dog.

In heeling that could be going a few steps further, placing a toy on the ground, working in a new space, adding a change of pace for the first time, changing your energy, etc.  And that complexity could (should?) be tiny!  Almost unnoticeable to your dog or anyone observing.

When I train, I add complexity to almost every session but not to every exercise or behavior that we practice.   My general rule of thumb is to add complexity to two or three behaviors and the rest is fun, easy, and light training – doing what we already know, relaxing, and having a good time together.

Yesterday, I added complexity by incorporating a recall between two targets (standing close to make success more likely), started a stand stay focused on a target (instead of a sit-stay), and worked on standing between my legs without grabbing the toy in my hand (by adding speed to the picture).

In addition, we messed around with a whole lot of stuff – playing with toys, position changes and rehearsing super easy behaviors so that we could have a ton of success and build our confidence as a team.

If you train this way, and if you know the behaviors that you will need for your dog sport, then you will make it there, assuming your dog has the temperament for whatever sport you are targeting. Really, you can’t go wrong!  Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, adding a tiny bit of complexity to each lesson, and after a month or so, it will be obvious when you look back that you’re closer to your goals.  Hopefully, that will give you the needed motivation to proceed in the same way for the next month.

There’s no need to focus on one behavior until it’s complete.  I almost never do that because it’s boring for me and I think it can put too much emphasis (read: Pressure) on that one thing.  I find it’s better to use as much variety as possible and over time, circle around so that you cover all of the needed bits. Just a little complexity over here and a little over there….until we have the picture I want.

If you train with tiny bits of complexity, then one day you will have reached your needed set of goal behaviors.  You can’t miss.

But what if you don’t have any goals in training?  What if you just like to train your dog and mess around?  That’s fine too!  You can add complexity if it takes you closer to your “happiness”  or “skill” goals but if not, then it doesn’t matter. There is no greater good in dog training if everyone is content.

But if you want to progress towards a specific thing, then this is an easy way to do it if you don’t want to create charts and structure to keep you on track.

It’s all about finding what works for you.
Upcoming TEAM Classes at Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Get Ready to Sniff!! Fenzi TEAM Nosework: Level 1 Prep Workshop with Stacy Barnett  starts December 13th.  Registration Now Open.

Courses that started December 1st - Join in Progress!  Registration open until December 15th.

TEAM Sports Foundations Level One with Heather Lawson

Introduction to Nosework with Julie Symons

Nosework Search Elements with Melissa Chandler

Yes Please! Cooperative Canine Care with Deb Jones & Judy Keller
Copyright © 2020 Fenzi TEAM Titles, All rights reserved.


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