Gamification with Terry Ryan

Gamification is the buzzword for a popular trend in adult education. Dog training classes fall under adult education, even though we seem to be (somewhat wrongly) concentrating on the dogs. Terry has almost fifty continuous years of experience as a dog-training class instructor. Her classes have included carefully conducted games to increase the reliability of core behavioral skills amid distractions. Each game has an application to everyday life situations. The games stress education rather than competition, and fun rather than chaos. Not interested in “games?” Replace the word “game” with the phrase “fluency exercise” and we’ll still be on the same page.

Teaching a dog training class is not easy. Not only do you need to be a skilled trainer, but you need to keep a group of dogs and people focused and motivated. The use of training games to teach new behaviors and improve others is one way to make your classes more successful. This 3-day course is based on Terry’s new book Gamify Your Dog Training, which contains over 70 different games that help people and dogs practice basic manners and good citizenship skills while having fun. A shorter version of this course has been taught at Clicker Expo.

In the course, Terry will demonstrate how she gives feedback during the games and how she chooses games to match the skills and needs of her learners. Time is taken on the spot to observe canine body language and to identify application of skills to everyday, good citizen manners. Strategies are discussed for helping dogs and dog owners be confident and successful in different situations, situations that are presented here as games, and then later in the real world.

The course material will be conveyed by Powerpoint presentations, video, interactive exercises, demos and hands-on work with people and dogs. Terry Ryan teaches 100% of the course!