Agilabilities

Play-training
&
Team-building for Dog Sports

Who are we? Located in Portland, Oregon, we are a husband and wife team dedicated to teaching handler/dog teams to develop a fun working relationship that can culminate in competitive dog sports. We are both members of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) and Certified Pet Dog Trainers (CPDT).

We share our home with four dogs, who’ve inspired us to teach play-training to others. Are our dogs “titled”? Yes. If we’d not been successful trainers and teachers, we would have nothing to offer you! Our three adult dogs have attained advanced titles in the sports of agility and flyball and are listed in the breed’s Hall of Fame for their performance accomplishments.

What do we do? We assist clients in learning about or improving their skills in the dog sports of agility and flyball.

How we do this? By utilizing the concepts of team-building skills and leadership in teaching their dogs these sports. In agility, the team is the handler and dog. In flyball, the team is linked to other dog/handler pairs.

We use dog- and people-friendly motivators such as play-training, targeting and occasional treats to stimulate a positive attitude toward training, performance and, ultimately, competition.

What makes your instruction different from others? Well, we’ve spent considerable time successfully competing in these sports and educating ourselves on how people and dogs learn; specializing in sports training. Our education in these fields will never be complete. Our belief is that the best instructors are those who creatively solve training puzzles with several teaching methods at their disposal. No one approach works best for everyone or every dog.

We believe that you get the most from individualized, personal training. Whether you are a beginner, or an experienced competitor with a desire to hone your skills, we work with your needs and goals.

Classes range from one-half to 1 hour long. You’ll be playing with your dog and learning the skills for agility or flyball during the entire session. You’ll also have fun games for homework.

Click on the bouncing ball to learn more!