Practice Dog: Outside
Outdoor controlled practice-dog setups for family dogs, sport dogs and reactive dogs working on focus, neutrality, recalls and field skills.
Work your dog around a trained practice dog and handler on our fenced field. The practice dog’s behavior can be adjusted from calm and neutral to active movement or toy play, depending on your training goals. Useful for recalls, parallel walking, settling near distraction, neutrality, off-leash focus, and more. You run the session and we handle the practice dog.
Work your own dog around a trained practice dog and handler on our private fenced field. You set the agenda: We are there to handle the practice dog, not to direct your session. We won’t coach you or weigh in on your methods; how you train is up to you. Our non-negotiables are safety and control: the dogs will not interact, and we need to be confident that you can safely manage your dog throughout the session.
The practice dog is useful because his behavior can be adjusted to fit your goals. He can remain calm and neutral, move at a moderate level, or run and chase a toy at full intensity. This allows you to practice anything from settling near a quiet dog to holding focus while another dog is moving quickly nearby.
This setup can be useful for a variety of teams. Family dogs can practice real-life skills such as recalls, leash walking, settling, focus and responsiveness around another dog in a controlled environment. Sport dogs can practice field prep, warm-up routines, engagement, neutrality, transport to and from the field, and working while another dog is active nearby. Reactive dogs who are ready for carefully managed setups can continue building neutrality, recovery, handler focus and predictable routines around a steady dog at a planned distance.
Because the field is securely fenced with wire fencing, each dog may be able to work off leash within sight when appropriate. This creates a setup that is difficult to arrange in most public spaces while still allowing clear separation between dogs.
FYI: during very still or calm work, the practice dog may take brief reward breaks (usually about 30 seconds every 5 minutes) to stay happy and working well. Plan your reps around those natural pauses.
Please note that there may be dogs entering and exiting the building next to the field during your time. If you need a dog-free environment, or if your dog needs full control over which dogs are present on the property, choose Practice Dog: Entire Facility instead.
Want the whole place to yourselves? You can also rent the building and field together for exclusive use.