Fenzi Courses

BostonBanker · Jun 20, 2015

Thanks for that feedback. I feel like it is getting harder to tell based on descriptions lately. Reading the philosophy on the site, I could take it a couple of different ways. I know that her reputation is as positive trainer, but I wasn't sure how much that is graded on a curve when you come from an obedience background.

After a bad seminar experience (because why would you ever assume a modern agility trainer is going to be anything but positive?), I'm a bit gun shy about signing up for anything with a trainer I haven't actually seen teach. But at least with an online course, it would be easier to just disappear than with an in-person seminar or lesson.

I'll do some reading this weekend and see if it looks like something I want to do. I've been tempted by a lot of her classes with similar topics, and at some point I figure I just need to take a shot. This would be a pretty good time of year for me to do one.

Elrohwen · Jun 20, 2015

She's very very positive only training. She has some really cool ideas (at least to me) for how to get reliability and very high level behavior using entirely force free training. She's also amazing as a teacher and balances being supportive while giving really helpful advice. I haven't been as pleased with the teaching skills of other trainers in the school but they are still all positive.

BostonBanker · Jun 21, 2015

Feeling very good about the class after reading some on the blog - thanks again for pointing me to it. I think I may try to get into a gold spot for it with Gusto. It seems like it might be on track with what I want to work on with him.

Elrohwen · Jun 22, 2015

I'm definitely doing Engagement at bronze. Watson desperately needs it, and I'd love to start it with Hazel now.

Otherwise I'm torn. I want to take Intro to Nosework to start Hazel, but I'm not really in a hurry so I might wait until the next time it comes along. It's offered again in December and it would be a nice winter thing for us to work on.

My other option is the Remote Reinforcement class. I have a Treat & Train and I'd love to figure out new ways to use it.

amberdyan · Jun 22, 2015

I'm definitely taking the engagement class. I'm in the Fenzi Students facebook group and Denise mentions is every once and awhile. I think it's going to be amazing. I have been disappointed with another trainer, but don't even think I've ever heard anyone complain about one of Denise's classes.

Elrohwen · Jun 22, 2015

amberdyan said:

Her classes and her instruction are always awesome. I kind of want to take Engagement at Gold with Watson, but with the puppy I don't think I can commit the time. Maybe I'll take it at Bronze now and consider Gold down the road if it's really good.

Oh, and BostonBanker, if you are going to sign up at Gold, make sure you are ready to go right when registration opens. I have a feeling this class will be one that sells out in seconds.

BostonBanker · Jun 22, 2015

I just marked it on my work calendar. I will put a 'do not disturb' sign on my cube if need be!

Elrohwen · Jun 22, 2015

BostonBanker said:

Haha. I do the same thing! I actually signed up during the meeting one time because I knew the class would sell out. I had my credit card info in Notepad so I could quickly copy/paste before anyone noticed I wasn't paying attention.

Linds · Jun 22, 2015

Ok, so I've never taken any of these classes but strongly considering doing so.

Was looking at this one for this go around at Bronze: CLARITY AND CALM IN A CHAOTIC WORLD, HANDLING DISTRACTIONS

And this one next go around: THE JOY OF TEACHING

Thoughts? Any one take either of those?

xpaeanx · Jun 22, 2015

A lot of us took the prey drive class with Jamie Robinson and were really, really disappointed in her teaching. The lectures were very poorly worded and videos unclear and never seemed to lead to anything. She teaches a lot of classes I want to take too. :-(

I haven't taken a class with the other one, so idk.

Linds · Jun 22, 2015

xpaeanx said:

Boo! Thanks for telling me though, money is tight and I don't want to spend it on a class that isn't going to be well worth it.

Elrohwen · Jun 22, 2015

xpaeanx said:

I was going to come here and say the same thing. I really did not like the Prey Drive class and I think it's the only FDSA class that I didn't get a single thing out of.

I'm currently a Bronze in Andrea's "It's All In Your Head" class. So far I like her. My only complaint is that I want more content, since there isn't a whole lot for me to actually work on (like actually training my dog) I wish there was more to read and learn. But the material she has posted is good and her feedback to Gold's is always good.

PerformanceDog · Jun 23, 2015

Elrohwen said:

That's what I am planning on doing! Next term I want to take:
1. Shades play class- toys developing cooperation and play.. I want to learn her games I hear about and I really liked her as an instructor from her foundations class.
2. The remote reinforcement class. I recently got a treat and train and I (and the dogs) absolutely love it. Not sure if I will learn much in this course, but if it gives me a new idea of how I could use it I will be happy! It should be fun either way.
3. Intro to nosework. I feel like I do not have a good grasp on how to go about training this sort of thing, so just looking as something new to learn.

I only take courses at bronze because it is much more affordable this way and I feel like I do not need the assistance, maybe once I have taken basically all the classes I want at bronze, and there was one that I think would really help me at gold I would do it. But for now, bronze is the way to go for me! I also don't have the time for gold being in grad school anyway!

Elrohwen said:

Yes, I love the amount of content some of the trainers have in their lectures.

I am love with Denises classes. I am in Denise's courses, definitely enough stuff to find something that is a new perspective, something you haven't thought of before, or just to ponder. I love her classes, I am in bridging the gap right now, which she said I'd pretty similar to her engagement class.

I also like shade a lot. And I am taking an agility class from nancy and she posted 41 lectures. Love all the reading and videos these trainers have.

Then I tried one with kamal and was disappointed, I talked to Denise about it and she said based on what I like in trainers, kamal wasn't the trainer for me and refunded the course.

So if anyone is debating on whether or not a course is right for you, chat with Denise on Facebook, she is awesome and very helpful and honest about whether or not a course is the right fit for what you are wanting to do/learn/improve at (and if it's not she will say which classes are a better fit) AND whether or not the instructor is a good fit as well for what you are wanting in a trainer!

Elrohwen · Jun 23, 2015

PerformanceDog said:

I took Shade's toy course and it was really good. It didn't really solve Watson's problem (running away with high value toys in order to shred them), but I'm going back and re-reading stuff to apply to Hazel. She's more toy motivated than he is anyway, and I think the course is most useful for starting a dog off right vs fixing bad patterns. The info is really specific too - like playing the two-ball game and exactly when and how to advance towards one ball. She also posts videos of her puppies totally not getting it at first, and then a few months later when they get it, which makes me feel better. I don't want to just see trained dogs, or dogs who are naturally good at tugging and retrieving. She clearly builds a lot of these play behaviors from the ground up with her dogs which makes me hopeful that I can do it too.

I plan to take Denise's play class the next time it's offered. Maybe even at gold. Watson has really good personal play skills, and I don't think I use them as much as I should.

I think Remote Reinforcement will be especially good for Hazel, since a lot of the stuff is fairly basic/foundational which is exactly what she is working on. I also want to use it for proofing Watson's go to mat, so he can chill out there while I train her, but that's the only thing I can think of to use it for right now.

I did Nosework the traditional way with Watson, where we did at least 6 weeks with only food, and another 6 weeks with food+odor. I hated it and I don't think it was necessarily at all. Laurelin really liked the intro to odor class at FDSA and how it was taught - straight to odor. I think that was with another instructor who has left, but I think the idea is the same. I'm definitely going to start Hazel that way and then pop her right into the intermediate local class.

Interesting! I saw an upcoming engagement class from him and I was considering it. What didn't you like about his teaching?

PerformanceDog · Jun 23, 2015

Oh that makes me so happy to hear about shades play class! I keep hearing about one ball vs two ball. And I know what that means, but I don't know all the rules or guidelines she uses so I am really excited to learn from her about those games!

I think what I may not have liked may have been due to the class being newly offered (the shaping one) and it was very basic, although taking basic classes does not bother me as long as I get to see the trainers perspective. I like to see the same thing taught by various people as I feel like I am more well grounded that way.

BUT what I described to Denise of the trainers I liked vs this class with kamal she told me kamal isn't what I would want in a trainer and suggested I didn't take his courses as I would likely continue to be upset with each of them.

In his shaping class, there was hardly any lectures. He would post a video (sometimes no writing for his lecture) and wouldn't really give a lecture in the video and it would just be watching him do a training session. Some of his videos he would talk. I also found his shaping to be much more luring instead of shaping. And after 2 weeks and having like 3 lectures or something posted with little information and very basic skills (get dog on object, get dog in box) with nothing really in the lectures of how to progress from that step to more complicated steps like distance, duration, smaller or less stable objects, etc. it was just very disappointing.

With that being said, I was only in the class for 2 weeks, maybe it got better, and I have heard from people that like him he starts out slow and gets better. But after talking with Denise maybe he just isn't the instructor for me. I have heard good things about his heeling classes and such. But I am not into his teaching style from what little I saw. It was just so different than the instructors I've seen in the few FDSA classes I have taken. Denise posts extremely thorough lectures at least every other day in BTG. Nancy posting all 41 comprehensive lectures within the first week. Shade having so many video examples in all her lectures. I just like being bombarded with information/examples. I think keeping all the lectures is what makes the classes worth it, and kamals class was not going to do that for me.

Elrohwen · Jun 23, 2015

I love a ton of info too, especially if I'm taking the class at bronze. If you're working gold you get individual feedback and the instructor can tell you where to go, but at bronze I just want lectures and videos and lots of stuff to take in. That's really what I'm paying for at bronze. It also needs to be enough info that I can re-read it a year later and remember what to do. It can't all be based on the forums and gold feedback, because I don't have access to that forever, or the desire to wade through every single gold thread looking for nuggets of info. I can see why that class would have been frustrating!

I'm tempted to try Conformation Skill Building, but then I remind myself that I never work on conformation stuff and I don't really care about it that much, so I'll skip it for now. Though Hazel will be harder to show than Watson so maybe she will need me to be less sloppy about it.

Elrohwen · Jul 20, 2015

Fenzi registration time again! What is everyone taking?

I'm definitely doing Engagement at bronze. I'm undecided about my other class.

I'm considering the Bogeyman class to see if gives me ideas for dealing with Watson's over arousal issues. Has anyone taken it?

BostonBanker · Jul 20, 2015

I REALLY want to do Engagement, but a sudden purchase of a Variocage is making my money very tight this month. I need to do the math tonight and figure out if I am going to get myself in a bad spot if I do the class.

xpaeanx · Jul 20, 2015

There are a few classes I REALLY want to take, but I think I need to sit out again this session. Luckily you can sign up for Bronze until the 15th so I have some time to see where things fall.

amberdyan · Jul 20, 2015

In definitely taking engagement at bronze. I'm really excited about it.

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