Parkour, also known as “urban agility” is a great sport to boost confidence, build strength and strengthen your relationship. Parkour is a challenging, but fun activity to do with your dog. It includes, jumping, climbing, and balancing. All dogs can participate in some form of Parkour. Once you start Parkour, you will look at the world completely different. You will always be on the lookout for places to parkour with your dog.
It is fun to look at the environment and find all the new ways to participate in Parkour. You can use trees, benches, walls, logs, playground equipment, picnic tables, boat docks, stairs, the list is only limited by your imagination. Inside can include laundry baskets, exercise balls, scaffolding, carts, stairs, and boards. Parkour should be done in a safe manner, evaluating all obstacles and surfaces before ever asking your dog to interact. This class will cover safety including how to safely spot your dog.
The sky truly is the limit when it comes to Parkour!
This class will provide video instruction on how to teach the different obstacles under International Dog Parkour rules. Videos will include the founders and students of IDPKA, including my 2 dogs, members of the Dog Parkour training page, and videos from the IDPKA workshops. You can visit the website at http://www.dogparkour.org/
This course will cover intermediate, expert, and championship parkour.
There are no scheduled sessions for this class at this time. We update our schedule frequently, so please
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Registration will begin at 11:00 AM Pacific Time.
For answers to commonly asked questions see our FAQ page.
Silver level for this class is offered as "Working Silver". In addition to asking GENERAL clarification questions about the class lecture materials, silver students will now have the opportunity to submit two short videos, one minute each, for critique and review. You may submit two questions. Each question MUST have a one minute video attached so the instructor can actually answer a question that they can see. The question must relate to a topic in the class and the video must be a demo of the question. Please see the discussion forum for a detailed explanation - feel free to sign up at bronze, read the explanation, and then come back here to upgrade to silver if that interests you, and if space is available.
If you are interested in a bronze level subscription, you can sign up at any time during the registration period.
Syllabus
This class will cover all Intermediate and Expert Level Obstacles as well as Championship
Platforms (or can use tic tac board on blocks) Check Goodwill, thrift stores, Play it again sports. Platforms are used for teaching a lot of the obstacles. Portable platform to take to new places and work in the environment.
Intermediate Level – Dog must go up to a stable, flat obstacle tilted at 45 degrees or higher and perform a tight turn, similar to that on a flyball box. All 4 feet must touch the obstacle. Each foot should not touch the object more than twice (once is ideal) and contact time should be minimal. Behavior should be performed in both directions. This is sometimes known as a rebound.
A tictac board has a foam surface glued to a wooden board. I was able to get the board and foam mat cut at my local home improvement store. You can also use a yoga mat or any foam floor material. My board is 30X36 and works well for all my dogs.
Use your tictac board and cone, the tictac board should be slightly raised (2-4”) with the cone in front. Have your dog go around the cone trotting on the board. Mark just as they peak around the cone to encourage the “drive” around and off the board. Be sure to go both directions. Make sure your dog is going on and off the front of the board. (You can also use your leg/knee for your dog to go around instead of the cone if it is easier)
Once you have mastered the above step. Angle your tictac board just slightly, the back is propped up about 4”. (I just removed the 4X4 from under the front of the board.) Continue as above, asking your dog to go around the cone (or your leg/knee). Practice both directions. Mark as their nose comes around the cone and toss the cookie to encourage them to drive off the board and not stop in a 2 on/2 off position.
Once you have mastered the above steps. Continue to raise the angle of the board and repeat going each direction, making sure all four feet make contact with the board. The next step is to put the back of the board on half concrete blocks or something of similar height, then move to full concrete blocks.
You can move with them and then plant your foot/leg where the cone was. This will give your dog some drive to the board and then use your leg to drive around. I find it easier to toss the cookie if I face the direction they will come off the board. So I would use the leg on the same side they are on for them to go around.
Once your dog is solid at going around with all four feet making contact and driving off the board, lean it against the wall. It may be a different picture to your dog, so support any interaction. At this stage, I only use my body for my dog to drive around. I would no longer use the cone. Continue working both sides.
Make sure the board is solid and will not fall with the impact of your dog. I actually step on it at an angle, like my dog will hit, to make sure that it is steady.
As you get to higher angles, move the board up slower. At this stage, even a small adjustment makes a big difference to your dog. Progress slowly!
Start taking your tictac board to new environments. You can prop the board against a building as long as there is grass to support the board and a soft landing for your dog. Any interaction with the board should be rewarded.
I had to mute this video, you couldn’t hear anything but the wind whipping around the camera. I think the progression is very important and the volume is not really needed.
You can then put the tictac board on the obstacle you would like to perform your actual tictac and then fade it away.
And now you have a tictac!!
Kevin:
Holly
Bam:
Blaise – tree to table:
Expert Level: Dog must go up to a stable, flat obstacle tilted at a 90 degree angle to the ground. All 4 feet must come into contact with the obstacle. Each foot should not touch the object more than once, and contact time with the object should be minimal. This is sometimes known as a rebound. Dog must demonstrate tic tics turning both directions.
Once your dog has mastered Intermediate tictacs at a 45 degree angle, continue increasing the angle of the board. PLEASE REMEMBER: As you increase the angle, move the board up slower. At this stage, even a small adjustment makes a big difference to your dog. Progress slowly!
Each time you start a tictac training session, start at a lower angle than you left last time to get your dog “warmed up” before increasing the angle. And as always, don’t drill this exercise.
When you get to the finished product, you can put the tictac board on the obstacle/wall first and then remove it to help your dog generalize. It is a VERY exciting session when your dog finally does it – I know!! “happy dance” :) And as always, don’t drill this exercise.
Expert TicTac examples:
Testimonials
A sampling of what prior students have said about this course ...
Another wonderful class with Melissa! Always a great positive experience.
Melissa's encouragement gets all the students using R+ with each other. The dogs and students all progress on their parkour journey.
Great six weeks!! Wonderful way to introduce new skills in a relaxed and safe manner. Details of each exercise in the videos assured success. A must -do for teams interested in having fun in a non-stressful envrionment and building confidence!
This class was a great experience and so much fun! My dog gained a lot of confidence. We could work at our own pace, there was a lot of great information presented and shared with students. I highly recommend this course!
Melissa is so helpful, upbeat & encouraging! She is always right on the money with suggestions.
