***THIS CLASS IS NOW SOLD OUT!
THANK YOU FOR EVERYONE WHO SHOWED INTEREST! FUTURE DATES WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON OUR SITE AND FACEBOOK PAGE!***
AKC FIT DOG Level 1 Virtual Group Class Six-Week Course Starts!
First Live Class: March 27th, 2023 at 7 pm CT
TAUGHT BY? Lauren Tsao, MS, CDBC, CPDT-KA, Level 3 AKC FIT DOG Instructor
CLASS START DATE AND TIME? The first class starts Monday, March 27th, 2023 at 7 PM Central Time (course classes run every Monday for six weeks straight at 7 PM central time.) Graduation day is May 1st, 2023 at 7 PM central.
LOCATION? Virtual over Zoom - anyone can attend anywhere in the world!
COST? $150 per dog for the six-week course (six 1-hour virtual classes) - limited to eight dog/owner teams
PRE-REQUISITES? Puppy Foundations or Basic Obedience. Dogs and humans must know about training with treats using luring, capturing, and shaping and be able to focus during class. Because this class is virtual, reactive dogs who are not owner-handling reactive/aggressive are welcome to join us!
PLEASE NOTE: This class IS NOT for dogs in need of rehabilitation or physical therapy. This class is for healthy dogs with no significant prior injuries.
Does this count towards my dog’s AKC FIT DOG Title?
YES! But the AKC requires that you attend virtual classes live or submit videos of you and your dog doing the exercises in the course for instructor feedback each week to make sure your dog was actually taught the skills.
What Is AKC FIT DOG?
The AKC FIT DOG program is a program developed by the American Kennel Club and taught by AKC FIT DOG Instructors. Our AKC FIT DOG courses are fun and fitness-focused to help you get your dog into shape! You will learn proper form and safety while doing various fitness exercises to improve your dog’s balance, flexibility, stamina, and overall body fitness. Improvements in these areas can help preent future injuries, while dog and owner have fun training with positive reinforcement-based methods at the same time! Many exercises taught in class also double as cute crowd-pleasing tricks too!
Attending our FIT DOG six-week course (even virtually) makes your dog eligible for points towards their AKC FIT DOG titles too!
AKC FIT DOG Level 1 Virtual Course Modules & Taught Skills
How Does This Virtual Thing Work?
How this course works and what it comes with:
You will get access to our virtual FIT DOG course with detailed pre-recorded example videos of proper form for each exercise, as well as instructional training videos on how to train the skills to your dog.
Don’t have time to read any written course content? No worries! We have an audio option for all written portions of the course so you can listen to your lessons each week too.
In addition, you will have access to one live Zoom group class each week to learn the skills from each week’s module as it is released. During these live classes, you will get live feedback from your instructor and train along with others.
You additionally can post your own videos in the private course discussion boards or email them privately for feedback from instructors throughout the six week course.
At the end of the course, you and your dog will be assessed virtually to see if your dog has learned the skill well enough to move onto FIT DOG Level 2.
Required Items For Class:
Make sure you have your items for class ordered in advance! This course is an equipment-heavy course and having the proper equipment for safety during the exercise is very important, so make sure you have these items in advance.
”Why so much equipment!?”: We understand the equipment itself is an investment. The course teaches you how to safely use these items in a wide variety of ways for dog fitness going forward and you should use long after class ends. The benefits of the course are best felt if you keep up with practicing these fitness skills with your dog after the course ends and are using proper, stable equipment that can be modified to suit your dog’s changing needs through their lives. So, we encourage students to think of this as purchasing fitness equipment for themselves - you wouldn’t just learn to use the equipment properly and then never use it again. You would learn to use the equipment properly with a trainer and then use it for your lifetime to keep up with your fitness afterward. This class has this same concept in mind. We have marked when each piece of equipment is needed by in the list below, so you can plan purchases/equipment creation accordingly.
Balance Pad (XL Size - any color, though dogs can see the color blue well. Needed by module #1.)
*highly recommended* Blue-9 Klimb Set with Safety Plugs (medium to large dogs may benefit from two Klimbs for the tuck sit, fold back down, and kick back stand exercises so the dog can lay and stand naturally on a raised platform, but these behaviors can also be trained on the ground. (Other training platform brands for dogs that are no more than a foot tall can be used, but your instructor will have two Klimbs and they will be used to show various Klimb modifications for different exercises through out the course.) (Needed by module #1.)
Four, Six, Eight, or Twelve Cavaletti Poles for Dogs (Four is the minimum required and you can make your own at home instead of purchasing. Poles should be set no higher than two inches off the ground for our purposes for this class. Needed by module #3.)
Two Rubber Feed Bowls (Needed by module #2.)
Regular well-fitted flat collar or Balance Harness (Needed by module #1.)
Regular 5 to 6-foot leash (Needed by module #1.)
Low profile dog bed or mat (Needed by module #1.)
High-Value Treats (we recommend CloudStar Chewy Tricky Trainers or Sojo’s Simply Treats) (Needed by module #1.)
Optional Items:
Klimb Traction Mat (good for dogs who slide on the Klimb and as a target. Needed by module #1 for dogs that slip or module #2 to use as a target.)
Klimb Short Legs (good for shorter dogs who struggle to get onto the full-height Kilmbs and can be used with the Klimb to create a wobble board for the obstacle courses.)
*Note: This class is taught using positive reinforcement-based methods. For safety, no prong collars, choke chains/slip leads, or e-collars (stim or shock) will be allowed in class. When using the fitness equipment, dogs should have either a regular flat collar or a well-fitted harness that does not restrict movement.
About Your Trainer:
Lauren Tsao has years of professional hands-on experience working with a variety of dog training cases from puppy training to dog aggression using positive reinforcement-based training methods to get results and foster desirable behavioral changes. Lauren has a Bachelor’s in Psychology and a Master’s in Applied Animal Behavior and Welfare, which she applies to her work with animals and their owners. Additionally, she’s a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA), AKC Approved Level 3 FIT DOG Instructor, Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC), and Certified Trick Dog Instructor (CTDI). She was voted Mississippi’s #1 Positive Dog Trainer by SniffSpot in 2022. Read more about her here.
