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Agility Seminars with Rachel Pearson
Join us for a weekend of learning and fun with Rachel Pearson! We’ve put together a fantastic lineup of seminar sessions with something for everyone. We’ll kick things off on Friday with a workshop for Young Dogs—dogs 6–18 months old. On Saturday, we’ll dive into stimulus control. Sunday morning focuses on building distance and obstacle commitment, followed by a Sunday afternoon session on developing independence through jump cues. Rachel’s seminars are chock full of information, so both workers and auditors will benefit greatly. Details for each session are listed below:
Friday, January. 2, 5:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.: Young Dogs: The early months of an agility dog’s career can be difficult to navigate. There is so very much to learn! While their bodies may look like grown dogs on the outside, on the inside there is still so much growing occurring, and so there is still a lot that the dogs can not do safely in training. These months are a great time to work on conceptual skills and the very beginning of obstacle foundations. Strategic training allows us to teach the dog all of the skills they need to understand to perform obstacle sequences, but without actually doing obstacles themselves. This workshop will focus on concepts and skill building. Teaching commitment, duration behaviors, how to prioritize verbal cues, stimulus control, and behavior chains. Appropriate for dogs 6-18 months. The dog must be able to work off leash around other dogs. It is highly encouraged that the dog know how to go around a wing or cone and how you stay for a brief amount of time.
Working spots (limited to 7): $150 members/$180 non-members
Audit spots (unlimited): $40 members/$60 non-members
Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 pm.: Do It When I Cue It: Stimulus Control: Based on Rachel’s very popular online class (Stimulus Control Games), this seminar addresses how to obtain control of our reinforcements, how to apply stimulus control to our reinforcement and obstacles, and how to apply it to our ring performance. Stimulus control means that when we cue a behavior, the dog reliably performs that behavior—“tunnel” prompts taking the tunnel, not grabbing a toy. Because of this, stimulus control is at the core of everything we train. Many common agility issues—broken start-line stays, missed contacts, or off-course tunnels—stem from weak stimulus control.
Dogs who struggle in the ring often show similar challenges around reinforcement: snatching toys, fixating on hands, or leaving their handler to find rewards elsewhere. Stress behaviors like sniffing, barking, spinning, biting, or disengaging can also appear when dogs don’t understand how to earn reinforcement. These issues often occur together because dogs lacking stimulus control around rewards become frustrated and inconsistent in performance.
Rachel’s stimulus control program helps teams build clarity and confidence around reinforcement and apply those skills to agility behaviors. The workshop covers the difference between stimulus vs. impulse control, how to develop stimulus control through positive reinforcement, clean training mechanics, using different types of reinforcement, maintaining control in the ring, and more.
Working spots (limited to 7): $250 members/$280 non-members
Audit spots (unlimited): $60 members/$80 non-members
Sunday 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Training Distance and Commitment: Want your dog to power through obstacles confidently—even when you’re not right beside them? Build the skills that keep your runs smooth, fast, and controlled! In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn how to increase your dog’s independence on course, strengthen obstacle commitment, and improve your handling choices at longer distances. Perfect for teams looking to tighten up tricky lines, shave off seconds, and boost overall confidence. Let’s level up your teamwork and send work! (This is not full course work, but may include short sequences of jumps/tunnels.)
Working spots (limited to 7): $150 members/$180 non-members
Audit spots (unlimited): $40 members/$60 non-members
Sunday 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Creating Independent Jump Cues: Take your agility teamwork to the next level by developing true independent jump skills—no micromanaging required! In this focused workshop, we’ll build clear, reliable cues for backsides, threadles, and other technical jump behaviors so your dog can confidently read the obstacle while you move ahead on course. By teaching these as obstacle skills (not handled responses), you’ll gain tighter lines, cleaner execution, and more freedom in your handling.
Handlers should be able to place a toy or use a Treat & Train. Perfect for teams ready to level up their precision, trust, and speed! This session is also appropriate for very young dogs (at least 7 months old) who aren’t sequencing, as long as they understand the concept of going around wings and can handle the placed reinforcement.
Working spots (limited to 7): $150 members/$180 non-members
Audit spots (unlimited): $40 members/$60 non-members
*NOTE: No refunds will be issued unless we can fill your spot.
**if you are not sure if you and your dog have the skills for a particular workshop, Rachel encourages you to contact her directly at info@strategicdogsports.com. She is happy to answer your questions and may even schedule a private lesson to help you prepare.
Learn more about Rachel Pearson here.
