SILVER OBEDIENCE COURSE
The Silver obedience course is to reinforce what you have already learned and to teach you how to use body language and signals to develop your training techniques. You will also be learning new skills and practising them with greater distractions.
Develop Your Training Techniques
At a glance
- Who it’s for
- Bronze graduates, or dogs already at that level
- Price
- £129.99
6-week course, 1 hour a week - When
- Saturday afternoons
- Next course starts
- Saturday 10 October, 2:00pm
- Where
- Outdoors at the Training Grounds; indoors at Llys Nini when it is wet.
- A1K9 Training Grounds, Pontarddulais
- Llys Nini Animal Centre (RSPCA), Penllergaer
- Class size
- About ten dogs, never more than twelve. You can join up to week two.
- Bring
- A collar, a lead and treats your dog likes. Gaynor sells high quality leads and collars if you need them.
For insurance reasons XL Bully dogs, and dogs legally required to be muzzled, cannot join a class.
Now you are ready to continue to develop your dog training skills. Cementing what you have already learned, and preparing your dog for off lead obedience.
You will be mastering new and exciting disciplines, with greater distractions.
You Will Learn
Change of pace
Gaynor will teach you how to train your dog to go at the same pace as you, as you change from normal, fast, and slow paces while you are on the move. Changing the pace that you walk increases the dog's interest in what you are doing.
Recall with distraction
Recall is reinforced, this time with the distraction of other people, with their dogs on lead walking around you. Problem solving is done as we go, giving guidance and advice as it is needed. When you have called the dog back to you, Gaynor will show you how to get the dog to sit in front facing you. This makes it easy to put the dog's lead on when it is time to go home. This is called the present.
Recall is like a muscle, the more you exercise it the stronger it becomes.
Retrieving an article.
This exercise is one that your dog will love. Gaynor will show you how to get the dog interested enough in an article to retrieve it. Then guide you how to encourage him to return to you and release the article. This is a great way to exercise your dog. It is a very positive way to play with your dog that he will never tire of. Once he likes this, you can use it as a positive reward to teach him many other things.
Stay
Waiting is a natural part of a dog's life.
Teaching your dog to stay is an extension of this; patience will be rewarded with your dog remaining in the same position and relaxing. We will aim for a one minute stay in this class.
Instant down
Once shown the right techniques, you will be able to get your dog to drop into the down position. It is also the beginning of teaching your dog the safety down when off lead.
Agility
Agility courses are great fun, and dogs love the activity.
Dogs need to be over 12 months of age to complete a full agility course.
Younger dogs can enjoy some of the obstacles, such as going through the tunnels and controlled walking over raised walkways and learning to go through the weave poles.
Over the six week silver course you will have prepared your dog for off lead obedience, have more control over your dog in different situations, and continued your dog's socialisation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Can we go straight into Silver, Gold or Platinum without the earlier courses?
Yes, if your dog is already at the right obedience level. Gaynor judges that with a conversation, asking what your dog can already do, rather than a formal assessment.
Q2: How do the awards work, what if we don't pass, and where do we pick up after a gap?
Each week you learn something new, and in week six Gaynor reviews everything from the course. Get it all right and you earn that course's rosette; not quite, and you get an "achievement" rosette instead. You can still move up, and pick up the full rosette once you've got it on the next course. Coming back after a gap of months or years, most dogs restart on Bronze, but if you have kept up the training you can start at a higher level.
Q3: My dog isn't aggressive, just over-excited: barks and pulls to get to other dogs. Is a class right for him?
Yes, this is something Gaynor deals with all the time. Over-excited, friendly dogs are usually let off the lead first to run off some energy, and then brought back to work at their own level once they can concentrate. It is a normal part of class, not a reason to stay away.
Ask about Silver Obedience
Tell Gaynor a little about your dog and she will come back to you with whether this is the right course to start on.
How booking works
- Step 1
Send the enquiry once you have filled in all the details.
- Step 2
Gaynor replies to your email with all the information you will need.
- Step 3
Confirm your place with a £50 deposit: non-refundable, by bank transfer.
- Step 4
The balance to be paid on the first week of attending.
Where Silver Obedience fits
Junior through to Platinum is a step-by-step progression: each course prepares your dog for the next. Puppy Socialisation is a standalone class, so your puppy does not need it before starting Junior.
Successful participants of this course are invited to graduate to our:
Would you rather train privately? Gaynor also offers one to one sessions.