Tricks with a Purpose

Friday, Oct. 6

9:15AM - 10:45AM

Experience Level: Novice & Above

Tricks aren’t just for fun anymore! This lab will focus on training tricks that offer more than meets the eye. Each of the tricks taught is specially picked for improving body awareness, developing critical thinking skills or for strengthening specific muscle groups.

Sara will talk about looking deeper into behaviors traditionally taught for entertainment to see how they can help you reach your training goals. Join us and see what tricks are hidden up our sleeves, you won’t be disappointed!

Presenter Bio

Sara Brueske

Sara Brueske (she/her) has been training dogs since she was a young child, and has experienced a large variety of breeds and sports during that time. After graduating as a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner in 2011, she jumped into the professional dog training world. She began teaching group classes and private lessons at On the Run Canine Center in Minnesota. At the time she was also competing in agility and disc dog, as well as fostering for local rescues.

In 2014, Sara was hired by Purina as a dog trainer to perform dog sport shows at Purina Farms in Grey Summit, Missouri. Her number of dogs quickly grew to fill the need of the job. Currently she has thirteen dogs of varying breeds and origins including a boston terrier mix, a papillion, several Australian koolies and Belgian Malinois. Sara and her dogs work to convince people to do more with their dogs,  and to get involved in the dog sport community, while teaching them about responsible pet ownership.

After six years working as a full-time performer, Sara now teaches on the topic of dog sports full time. While disc dog and tricks are some of her specialities, she also is passionate about creating clear communication between handlers and their dogs, as well as teaching a solid foundation for any sport. Sara believes in positive reinforcement not only for dogs, but for their handlers as well. Her biggest joy in training is watching a handler and dog become partners and grow as a team.

Currently, Sara trains in the sports of disc dog, agility, IGP, mondioring, scentwork, and dock diving, as well as being a trick dog enthusiast. She actively competes in agility, mondioring, dock diving, and is planning on trialing in scentwork soon.