Activity Training Groups

Dogs can do incredible things with their noses. They detect explosives, find drugs, search for invasive species of animals and molds in buildings, and can even detect Covid-19, as evidenced by dogs having being used on several international airports in virus detection trials! Using the dog's natural competencies to work with its nose is not only a lot of fun, it is also a great activity that can be carried out together with your dog.

Nose work is a comprehensive exercise for dogs - therefore, this is an ideal activity for achieving a balanced frame of mind for our dogs. At the beginning, you only work with one odorant. Later, depending on the performance of the human-dog team, more elements are added and the dog learns to differentiate between different odors. This course enhances your dogs natural abilities and aptitudes and fosters trust between handler and dog. He learns to focus and not be easily distracted.

For those who have attended the Nose & Scent Beginners' Course, we continue training using different locations and odorants, developing the dogs' skills to higher levels of competence.

Our own body language as dog owers is often unclear or even contradicting. When communicationg (not only) with our dogs, this often leads to misunderstandings. Therefore, this course focuses on body language and timing aspects of communication. Body Language Circle Training is good mental and physical stimulation for your dog and enhances the bond between you both.

We continue to work on the more subtle aspects of body language circle training.

Having fun and joint activities are our aim. You will learn to teach your dog all sorts of tricks. Accompanied by motivating music, we will work on various tricks from a simple "slalom through the legs" to the "jump into my arms", individually tailored to the respective dog and their owner. At the same time you learn to understand your dog's body language and to motivate him even when facing distractions. Learning to do tricks together will strengthen the relationship and trust between you and your dog, and you will master a series of tricks as a team. During the course, we only work with positive reinforcement. A clicker and small soft treats are used as aids.

The advanced tricks course is for teams who already work well together and have mastered a basic series of tricks. Here, you will take your skills as a team to a higher level - all with loads of fun and in the good company of other "trick teams".

This class will let you try out this competitive activity: if you and your dog like it, then we would love to have you join the Martha & Friends Crossdogging Team!
Known as the "Bundesliga of Dog Clubs", this is a fun activity for you and your dog which allows you to compete with other Crossdogging teams from canine training schools in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The tasks change weekly and are made available to participating dog training schools by the company Crossdogging GbR.

Crossdogging involves circuit training in which two people work on each station. One person completes the given task as often as possible for two minutes, the other counts the number of runs. Then the team swaps and when both have completed the task, it goes on to the next of the 5 stations. The teams are not aware of forthcoming tasks until each training session. The tasks involve several different disciplines within dog sports. Sometimes tricky, sometimes more athletic, from agility and retrieval to body language, circle training and tricks performed by the dogs - there will be something for everyone.

Known as the "Bundesliga of Dog Clubs", this is a fun activity for you and your dog which allows you to compete with other Crossdogging teams from canine training schools in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The tasks change weekly and are made available to participating dog training schools by the company Crossdogging GbR.

Crossdogging involves circuit training in which two people work on each station. One person completes the given task as often as possible for two minutes, the other counts the number of runs. Then the team swaps and when both have completed the task, it goes on to the next of the 5 stations. The teams are not aware of forthcoming tasks until each training session. The tasks involve several different disciplines within dog sports. Sometimes tricky,
sometimes more athletic, from agility and retrieval to body language, circle training and tricks performed by the dogs - there will be something for everyone.

Dog Fitness - Zen Dog Gym is about mindful movement. We train the fitness of our dogs, strengthen their balance, co-ordination and strength. This promotes a conscious body awareness in the dog, and communication between human and dog is improved through joint exercises.

Would you like to exercise your dog and at the same time do something for your own health and fitness? These sessions are for you! We practice different kinds of fitness exercises and our dogs stay with us throughout. Some of our exercises also involve fitness training our dogs, and others, improving his obedience. This course is (mostly) about human fitness though - join in the fun every Tuesday morning!

In the Play and Fun Group for small dogs, your dog has the opportunity to play, romp and learn together with other dogs under controlled supervision. In addition to the fun, we will also incorporate concentration, relaxation and co-ordination exercises into the sessions, so that your dog goes home having had both mental and physical stimulation.