Training at Canine Workout is geared toward competition, however, not all of our students choose to compete. Some of our students work toward the goal of having a well trained companion dog both on and off the leash.

Prices and schedules upon request — call Marsha or email Judy

Two important aspects of training at Canine Workout are the Bridging Process and the Progressive Class.  Read about them below in these excerpts from Marsha’s book  "Building A Bridge - from Training to Testing."

The Bridging Process & the Three Modes of Training The bridging process consists of three distinct modes of working with your dog. These modes are three different ways of communicating with your dog; each mode representing a unique approach to performing the individual obedience exercises. When you put them all together, you will have bridged the gap between practicing in your own backyard – where you are free to help and motivate your dog, and the show ring – where you are not permitted to help or encourage your dog in any way. ...By practicing the obedience exercises in the three modes of training, handlers and dogs develop better communication with one another. This not only improves our scores, it also enriches our everyday lives, helping us make the most of the precious time we have with our beloved canine partners and companions. The three modes of training that make up the bridging process are distinct styles of practicing that you and your dog will come to recognize, they are: the Wow (Motivational) Mode, the Confidence Building Mode, and the Testing Mode. As we learn and practice the obedience exercises in partnership with our dogs, we use these three modes to motivate, to gain confidence, and to test our performance of each exercise. ...In the first mode, Wow, it is your intention to motivate your dog by giving her lots of feedback, schooling her and helping her in every way. Your intention in the second mode, Confidence Building, is to help your dog build his confidence in his skill and understanding of the exercise so that he begins to realize that he can give a good performance without your constant support. And in the third mode, Testing, it is your intention to become familiar with working together in near silence, with commands but no feedback, while maintaining a strong thought connection, and relieving the stress with planned break-outs. ... As you work with your dog in the three different modes of training, you’ll gain a better understanding of your strengths and weaknesses as a team. You’ll be able to gauge your progress with each exercise as you practice it in each of the three modes, allowing you to fine tune every exercise. The personal best performance to which each handler-and-dog team can aspire is summed up in Marsha’s easy-to-remember formula: Dog Talent + Human Talent + Time Spent Practicing = Training Results. Having unrealistic expectations can lead to a lot of stress. We can relieve that stress by keeping our self-evaluations honest and our goals realistic.

The Progressive Class ...Like humans, dogs are social animals and learn by watching others in their community. The Progressive Class is a way to create a community that is tailored to the training experience. Instead of segregating students and their dogs into different levels of skill, such as beginner, intermediate, and advanced, a Progressive Class includes a wide range of students. In a Progressive Class, both dogs and humans learn almost as much from each other as they do from the instructor. In a progressive class, we come to understand and acknowledge the fact that we all are communicating with each other all the time. The dogs are learning from watching other dogs in the class as well as from being attentive to their human partners' commands and requests. Likewise, the humans are learning from watching their classmates working with their dogs as well as from listening to the instructor. As handlers, we can also learn a lot from simply watching other handlers work with their dogs. We deepen our understanding of dogs in general by watching dogs of differing temperaments, learning styles, and skill levels. The community of a Progressive Class can be enormously helpful to all the participants, canine and human. ...Each exercise can be performed at any level, so the lessons focus on the exercise itself, not on the level of the exercise. ...In a Progressive Class, everyone can have a training experience tailored to their own level and, at the same time, benefit from watching others perform the same or similar exercise at other levels of performance and understanding. Click here to learn more about the book!