Intensive dog training workshop: At home we all have an IGP 3

“You get what you reinforce, not what you want!”
Bob Bailey

How to take an exercise from the training field into the real world, and how to reward so that the dog really understands what to do?

In the garden he sits on the first word. On the training field too. Then you come to the car park in front of a shop and…? Most people think the dog is being stubborn or disrespectful. The truth is much simpler. The dog never learned the exercise as a separate skill. He learned it as part of one picture: the place, the ground under his paws, the time of day, and whether your hand is in the pocket with treats. The dog connected the time, the place and the situation.

We are coming back to Horka nad Moravou. After the reactivity workshop in July and the three pillars in September, we take a topic that decides if your training is only a hobby once a week, or something that works for you in everyday life.

Main topics of the workshop

• Generalisation as a controlled process: why does the dog not transfer an exercise he knows in a familiar place? Where is the line after which the dog stops learning and starts guessing, and how do we see it?
• The power of context: what the dog connected with the exercise without you planning it, and how to break these links on purpose. Working with the environment, with distractions, and an explanation of so called superstitious behaviour.
• Timing of the reward: the difference between marking the behaviour and the reward itself. Why half a second decides, and why a reward three seconds later teaches the dog something else than you wanted.
• The reward system in practice: when the exercise ends, when the dog gets the information to continue, and when we finish. How to work with variability so the dog keeps the will to work even in a long training session.

The result is a dog who responds anywhere and anytime, because he understands the exercise itself, not the scenery around it.

We do not work with templates, we work with principles. Every step has a reason and you will know why you do it now and in this way. An exercise that works only in one place is not a finished exercise. It is the start of the work.

Who is the workshop for

The workshop follows the two previous ones, but you do not have to attend them first. It is for you if:

• You know the difference: great at home and on the training field, back to the start anywhere else.
• You reward and it does not work: you feel you give enough treats, but the result does not match. It is not about the amount, it is about the moment.
• You want reliability, not luck: you need to know when an exercise is really learned and how to see it.
• You train for sport or for work: at a trial you stand in front of a judge with no rewards in your pocket. Generalisation shows you how well the dog really understands the exercise.

You will not take home a finished dog, but a method that shows you which stage your dog is in and what the next step should be.

Details

The floodplain forests of the Litovelské Pomoraví protected area and the facilities of Lovecká chata give us a place to train in real conditions, not on a sterile training field. For the topic of generalisation this is essential.

Where: Lovecká chata, Vodní 197/50, Horka nad Moravou, Czech Republic
When: 16 to 18 October 2026
Capacity: 10 teams (handler and dog)

Fees

Handler with dog (team): €150
TWA clients (team): €130
Observer (participant without a dog): €90
Additional dog of the same handler: 50% discount on the applicable fee
All fees are paid in Czech crowns. The amounts in euros are only indicative and depend on the current exchange rate.

Programme

You can arrive on Friday 16 October in the afternoon. Rooms can be left on Sunday after the end of the workshop.

Saturday 17 October
8:00 – 9:00 breakfast
9:00 – 10:00 meeting of all participants, generalisation and rewards part 1
10:00 – 13:00 training
13:00 – 15:00 lunch and dog walking
15:00 – 18:00 training

Sunday 18 October
8:00 – 9:00 breakfast
9:00 – 10:00 meeting of all participants, generalisation and rewards part 2
10:00 – 13:00 training
13:00 – 15:00 lunch and dog walking
15:00 – 18:00 training

The times are approximate and can change with the weather and other circumstances. If the weather is bad, we have a warm and dry place.

How we work

We lead every training individually, with respect to the needs of the dog. That is why more dogs do not work on the field at the same time. We add another dog only when the problem we work on needs it.

We also recommend that when you are not training, you come without your dog and watch the other teams. With this topic it matters twice as much. Timing mistakes are hard to see on your own dog, but on another team you see them at once.

Registration and payment

The registration becomes binding when you pay the deposit of €65.

The deposit is non refundable. It can be fully transferred to another participant, who you find yourself if you cannot come. Please pay the deposit after you get our e-mail confirming a free place.

In the registration form please write if you want accommodation, for how many people and for how many nights.

Payments are made in Czech crowns. If you send the money from a euro account, the amount credited to our account depends on the exchange rate of your bank on the day of the transfer, so it can be a little different from the euro figures above.

IBAN: CZ95 0600 0000 0002 47387008
BIC: AGBACZPP

Variable symbol: 20261610 (if your bank does not have this field, please write the number as the payment reference)

The rest of the training fee: you can pay on the spot (in cash or by QR code) or by bank transfer, so that the money is on our account by 15 October 2026 at the latest.

Accommodation and meals are paid directly at Lovecká chata. Lovecká chata now accepts payment cards.

“Between the behaviour and the reward there is one second that decides what the dog takes away. That second is controlled either by you, or by chance.” – TWA