Calm, Cool, Collected

Calm, Cool & Collected

Many agility dogs perform beautifully at home but struggle once the excitement of a competition environment pushes them over threshold.

Off-course obstacles, lack of collection, bar knocking, or broken start lines are often not training problems—they are arousal regulation problems. The dog understands the skills but loses the ability to think clearly when excitement rises.

Calm, Cool & Collected provides the tools to help dogs develop better impulse control, emotional regulation, and focus, allowing them to stay responsive and thoughtful even in highly stimulating environments.

Through targeted games and practical training exercises, dogs learn how to regulate their arousal level, respond to cues, and stay mentally available to their handler both in training and in competition.

The lessons include simple training habits and proven games used with high-level agility dogs before major events or after time away from training.

The goal is to create a dog who can stay calm, think clearly, and perform reliably across different environments.

This Course Is Ideal For

• Dogs already doing agility who struggle with over-arousal

• Teams looking to build better impulse control and focus

• Dogs who perform well at home but lose control in competition environments

Prerequisites

Dogs should already have foundation skills including:

• Crate games

• Retrieve

• Perch work

• Hand targets

• Multiple wraps

These foundation skills are taught in Shape Up Pup, and this class builds on those behaviors to develop greater control and clarity on the agility field.

Course Format

This class is delivered as a downloadable PDF document.