The Play Way Applied: how, why, and when we play

Friday, Oct. 6

11:00AM - 12:30PM

Experience Level: Lecture Only

In this lecture session, I’ll be going over the Play Way system itself, beyond just the how-to of the play itself, and into why we want it to be a conversation, what doors that opens for both reducing stress and pressure and allowing you to know a lot more about whether you’re over threshold or not.

We’ll also look at the principles of Look and Dismiss (LAD), and the ways we practice it on simple things so dogs get fluency in the skill and have it as a strategy!

Come learn how to apply Play Way in setups to facilitate new learning!

Presenter Bio

Amy Cook, PhD

Dr. Amy Cook (she/her) has her PhD in Psychology from UC Berkeley, where her research focused on the dog-human relationship and its effect on the problem solving strategies dogs employ. She is an International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) Certified Dog Behavior Consultant, a longstanding professional member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), and was one of the first trainers nationally to become a Certified Professional Dog Trainer through independent evaluation (CPDT-KA). Dr. Cook is the founder and creator of the Play Way here at the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy, and also teaches her active management system for reactivity, and her sound sensitivity protocol, all aimed at the reduction of stress in dogs. She has been training dogs for over 30 years, and has specialized in the rehabilitation of shy and fearful dogs for over 20 years.