Demo Dogs week one | diamondsintheruff

Diamonds in the Ruff

Demo dogs - week one orientation

We invite one lucky dog FROM each class to be our demo dog at the first week orientation!

The instructor will demonstrate how to help the dog find the desired positions, how to mark the behaviors so the dog understands exactly what they did to earn a reward, and how to teach hand signals.

This is positive reinforcement training. Demo dogs will be treated gently and with respect.

There will be no forcing into position or correcting.

Would your dog make a good demo dog?

A good demo dog should be:

friendly, outgoing, comfortable with new people
food motivated, hungry and willing to take food from someone new
able to wait reasonably quietly during discussion or other dogs' demo time

A good demo dog need not be:

perfectly behaved - if your wild child jumps up, we can demonstrate how to teach him to keep four on the floor!
trained - the goal is to have dogs who don't know much, so the audience can see them learn

If your dog is selected to be a demo dog:
(The same applies for all dogs joining us the following weeks!)

Please bring your dog hungry - give a partial meal or skip the meal before class - bring high value rewards if you'd like. We will also provide them.
Bring a non-slip mat for your dog to lie on. (Like a bath mat or kitchen rug.) Practice teaching your dog to settle on his mat at home to make his down-time during lectures easier. Your pup will hang out with you when the instructor isn't borrowing them to demonstrate an exercise.
You may bring a non-squeaky chew to keep him busy during lecture time. (Stuffed Kong, bully stick, etc.)

Equipment: Please bring your pup in a flat buckle collar or harness with a 4-6 ft flat leash. Gentle Leaders or Halti head collars are recommended for dogs who may pull excessively or have personal space issues around other dogs.

No choke chain or prong collars, no chain leashes. No retractable leashes. Shock collars are not allowed on the premises.