Elite Treats

Class Description

4 week course

Elite searches are fun and fast and furious! The key to having an elite dog is training a dog that can continue to search, and look outside the “box” into all areas for odor, they are not patterned trained, but odor obedient. To say that we have fun doing Elite searches is an understatement. This class is for every level of dog that is on multiple odors.

Week 1: Go Big, Go Bold

Big and bold is the game this week. Think bigger than you have done before, think interesting areas, and look around on your drive into work, or home from work. See that? That would make an awesome training area! Now the important part of the week, how are you going to set those hides to enhance your dog’s searching skill? This week we pick a place, make a plan, and have some fun!

Week 2: Elements? What Elements?

There are no vehicle searches, there are no container searches, there are no interior searches, there are not exterior searches in an Elite trial. Everything is in play, and odor is the only important thing. This week we take a look at combining your search elements, and how to teach a dog not to get “hung up” on searching just one element in your search.

Week 3: Fast and Faster

Elite work is about picking up and keeping as many points as possible when in a trial. Working quickly and moving through your search area affords you the best opportunity to get points. The goal this week is to set up searches that teach your dog to move quickly through your search area. We also address the handling skills to help you and your dog move together quickly without getting lost in a large or busy search area.

Week 4: False alert fix

Why did he put his paw on that box? Why did she look at me in that corner? In an Elite trial you can have false alerts but they will cost you. Why do dog’s false alert? This week we look at the most common reasons, and set up training sessions that help the dog understand the discrimination of when to alert and when the alert is not valuable (off odor).