I'm very excited (and privileged) to be presenting my first ever Fenzi Dog Sports Academy class this October term.
I've been taking Fenzi classes, workshops and webinars myself for so many years now. I love the variety of topics, knowledgeable instructors, and the value for money. You get a ton of information in a class. I looked back in my library, and I started taking classes in 2016!
Presenting for such an awesome worldwide learning provider has been a dream of mine, so I'm very excited to be running this class.... especially being the first New Zealand teacher for FDSA.
Here's the details you need to know about class. If you have questions feel free to email me on hybriddogtraining@gmail.com
Where do you find the class, and how do FDSA classes work?
All classes in the October session can be found here. FDSA classes are run through the Fenzi website. Each week lecture materials are published. No matter what your course level of enrollment is, you get to see all the lectures, and all the forums. This includes the gold students and what they post, and also the instructors responses and feedback. You also get access to a Facebook study group, which means you as a group can discuss ideas, and give each other feedback, even if you are not a gold student.
Gold students get to ask as many questions as they want on their homework forums, and post a certain number of minutes per week of video for feedback. Silver students get to ask questions, and post two 1 minute videos for feedback.
Your classes stay in your library forever, and you always have access to your library if you take at least one class a year.
What will this class cover?
We will be covering; general fitness information, key exercise principles, developing an eye for form, taking data, teaching a range of different fitness exercises with discussion on how they may be specific to agility, when and how to progress exercises, looking at exercises to help dogs with correct form for some agility skills, and putting exercises together in workouts. This class will cover some theory, and lots of practical material.
There is a large amount of material in lectures. Don't feel overwhelmed. Access what you need, when you need it! I'll be publishing the entire week's lectures in one go at the start of the week, so you can scan through all the material and prioritize what you want to work on.
What will this look like week to week?
Each week in 'Fit to Jump' looks quite different. In the first week there is more lectures as we cover relevant fitness theory, and then the basic fitness skills. It's quite a lot! Then in the middle few weeks there is a mix of lectures discussing agility skills, and the body movements required, as well as learning a bunch of awesome fitness exercises. The last few weeks are less intense lecture wise with less theory material, and in practice we move to full workouts.
What equipment do I need?
The starting equipment is pretty minimal! You really only need a long stable platform, two smaller stable platforms, some cavaletti, and a couple of cones. There are other things that are useful, and more advanced dogs may need some additional gear to provide extra challenge.
I'm happy to answer any questions in forums to help you figure out what gear might help you, and I'm a pro at suggesting ideas of alternative ideas for equipment substitutions.
What dogs are suitable for class? What level of class should I enroll in?
All dogs that are sound, and have clearance for fitness work are suitable for this class. If your dog is younger (less than 18months) I would recommend considering joining class at Silver, or Gold so that we can ensure you are doing the exercises (and amounts) that are appropriate for the individual dog. The same goes for older dogs (older than 7 years old). We technically class these as 'geriatric', therefore some individual feedback would likely be of benefit to you.
If your dog has had a previous orthapedic issue, or injury, you need clearance from your dog's main healthcare provider for class. Again, in this case, even with clearance for fitness I would recommend considering Gold or Silver so we can ensure your dog is working on appropriate exercises. For these dogs form is especially important, as they often have ongoing compensations for their initial injury. Therefore feedback to perfect form would be extremely helpful.
Other people who may find gold helpful are people with an interest in developing their own understanding of canine fitness to a high level, handlers with dogs doing sports other than agility, and more advanced dogs who have already started their fitness journey.
The class description talks about agility. Does this mean that the class wont be suitable for non agility dogs?
No! Whilst there are lectures where I discuss agility specific movements, and skills, all the general fitness theory, exercises, and workouts are appropriate for all dogs.
If you are taking this class and you do another sport (or sports), consider a gold spot so we can tailor some of the exercises and workouts to your sport.
I hope you'll join me in class! Kelly
If you have questions feel free to email me on hybriddogtraining@gmail.com
Remember you can sign up from 22nd September here.
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