Aged and Engaged LIVE with Lori Stevens
Aged and engaged live!
WITH lori stevens
A KPA LIVE!™ Class featuring real-time training and coaching WITH Lori
Your Dog is only as old as they feel
Join Lori and help your dog retain or regain skills and energy for their whole life.Sold out! Sign up to get notified about future LIVE classes and enjoy our monthly Education newsletter featuring training tips, videos, and more.
It’s never too late or too early to work on your dog’s long-term health and fitness! Although we can’t stop the aging process for our dogs, this class will teach you how to slow the mental and physical effects of aging in all dogs, and even how to help older dogs regain muscles and abilities that have atrophied.
As dogs age, hind-end strength, stamina, and proprioception decline while mental acuity and sensory skills weaken. Consequently, many dogs begin to have difficulty with ordinary daily activities, like getting in and out of cars or going up and down stairs.
Whether your dog is 4 years old or 14 years old, by dedicating a few minutes each day to the specific movement and fitness exercises taught in this class, you can help your adult dogs retain (or regain) these functions well into their older years. The benefits will make their daily lives easier, and it will help them remain more engaged with you.
In this class, you will learn a range of exercises and routines that will enhance your dog's physical resilience and mental acuity throughout their lives. This class will help your dog maintain or improve strength, function, flexibility, proprioception, balance, and confidence. For older dogs that have become somewhat withdrawn, you can see the change as they become more engaged.
In this four-week class, canine fitness and movement expert Lori Stevens, will guide you through simple steps that you can take with your dog to help ensure their enduring welfare long into their golden years. From consent and cooperation to paw work and movement, Lori’s holistic approach to the well-being of the whole dog will benefit you and any dog fortunate to share their life with you.
Each unit of the class introduces a new general skill for you and your dog to develop. Lori will teach you some of the many useful applications of each general skill and then coach you to train a fun application of each skill with real-life benefits for dogs of all ages. Throughout the class, you will learn about and teach your dog to perform various behaviors selected to help keep your dog mentally sharp and physically fit for as long as possible. Refer to the unit descriptions below for more details!
Lori will coach Excel students to train their dogs in the fun and engaging suite of behaviors presented in the weekly curriculum—each behavior selected specifically for its applications to the welfare of aging dogs. The week-by-week curriculum coordinates with both the weekly schedule of real-time classes conducted over Zoom and the class discussion forum.
Both the Zoom classes and the discussion forum will have direct coaching and instruction from Lori for each Excel team. No worries if you cannot attend at the scheduled time; classes will be recorded. The LIVE class includes Zoom classes, the student discussion and video-sharing forum, feedback from Lori, and a curriculum of recorded lectures, video demonstrations, and assigned exercises for you to practice with your dog.
Zoom classes are on the following Wednesdays at 1 PM PT/4 PM ET: February 7; February 14; February 21; and February 28.
Dog movement and fitness, with proper posture and alignment, are Lori’s specialties and this curriculum brings her expertise to you in a new class specifically created for the KPA LIVE format. Join Lori and make aging gracefully a reality for your dog.
PS If you enjoyed the Aged and Engaged ClickerExpo Learning Lab, you will love this deep dive multi-week learning journey experience with Lori.
LEARN, PRACTICE, SHARE
LIVE learning brings concepts to life
LEARN
Six weeks of training, a week-by-week curriculum integrated with four LIVE virtual classes with real-time coaching, interactive learning, and Q&A. Super educational, super fun.
PRACTICE
The LIVE week-by-week curriculum integrates with, and prepares you for, the weekly LIVE class. New levels of advancement each week!
SHARE
Ask questions and share insights, pics, and your training videos. Celebrate progress together!A week-by-week curriculum guides your learning every step of the way. Each week, join your classmates for one of four LIVE classes for real-time training and personalized interactive coaching, plus Q&A with your instructor. You will see other students practice the behaviors, hear your instructor’s feedback, make adjustments, and improve their training. Each of these Zoom-based classes is two hours long. All students get access to the full week-by-week curriculum and class forum. In each Zoom class:
- Engage students watch training and your instructor’s coaching and can ask questions through Zoom chat.
- Excel students get personalized real-time coaching and feedback on their training during the Zoom class PLUS on-screen Q&A.
Miss a class? No problem. LIVE classes are also recorded.
Let's Begin This Fabulous Journey, Together
- Unit 1 Lessons
- Live Class 1: February 7th, 1 PM PT/4 PM ET
- Unit 2 Lessons
- Live Class 2: February 14th, 1 PM PT/4 PM ET
- Unit 3 Lessons
- Live Class 3: February 21st, 1 PM PT/4 PM ET
- Unit 4 Lessons
- Live Class 4: February 28th, 1 PM PT/4 PM ET
See What's Covered in Each unit
LEARN WITH Lori stevens
Lori Stevens (CPDT-KA, SAMP, CCFT, CPBC) uses humane and scientific methods to improve the health, behavior, and performance of animals. She continually studies the interactions among animal behavior, movement, learning, and health, and this effort is reflected in her innovative approach.
Lori teaches online courses called “How Movement Works: Training Skills for Building Confident & Balanced Learners” (see BehaviorWorks.org) and “Aged and Engaged” (see KarenPryorAcademy.com). She also teaches workshops and presents at conferences worldwide, including ClickerExpo where she has presented on movement (e.g. fitness) and aging dogs. Lori is the creator of the Balance Harness. Learn more about Lori on her website or on Facebook or Twitter.
Here's What You'll Be Learning UNIT by UNIT
1
On Target
Behaviors:
- Baseline and Data Tracking for Aging Dogs
- Chin Rest
- Chin Rest Variations
- Consent-Based Touch/Introduction to Bodywork
In Unit 1, Lori coaches you through establishing baseline data to capture where your dog is currently so that you can track progress accurately over the next four weeks and beyond. You will also teach your dog multiple variations of a chin rest behavior and, together with Lori, explore how this behavior can be used in consent-based care as your dog ages. You will practice consent-based tactile contact with your dog using short and intentional strokes like those used in tactile physical exams or massage. The groundwork that you lay in Unit 1 will have you right “on target” to meet the class goals!
Make your way to the discussion forum on groups.io as soon as possible. There, Excel students will share videos of their training from Unit 1 and receive feedback and coaching from Lori in preparation for the first Zoom class. Engage students can follow each Excel student discussion thread, share their progress, and offer kudos to their classmates.
In the first week’s virtual LIVE class, Excel students will get to know the other Excel teams as they practice the skills and exercises developed during this Unit. This will be Excel students’ opportunity to show off progress with the Unit material and receive coaching from Lori on any roadblocks that have appeared. Engage students will be encouraged to bring questions from Unit 1 to the Zoom class; Lori will answer each question and guide your transition to the next Unit. At the end of this Unit, all students will be ready for the next three weeks of engaging exercises.
2
Paws up
Behaviors:
- Longer Strokes - Bodywork
- Paws-Up
- Paws-Up Variations
- Consent-Based Nail Care
In Unit 2, Lori will teach you how to build on the consent work that you taught your dog in Unit 1! You’ll learn “longer strokes,” a bodywork technique used to encourage restful relaxation that helps keep your dog limber and helps reduce anxiety. In Unit 2, Lori will also introduce you to a Paws-Up exercise and variations of that behavior. The Paws-Up positions help aging dogs maintain or regain strength and balance. You’ll learn how to shift your dog’s weight in this position to further challenge his balance. Lori will also discuss the importance of nail care in this Unit.
In the groups.io forum, Excel students will be exchanging ideas and receiving coaching from Lori on their video submissions for the week. Engage students are always encouraged to share their progress. All students will be preparing questions for the Zoom class.
In the second virtual LIVE class, Excel students will demonstrate their progress with both the Unit 2 behaviors and the Unit 1 behaviors. Lori will coach each Excel team individually and will help troubleshoot the work they have done for the week. Engage students will bring training questions to the class for Lori to address live during the Zoom call.
3
more than a shake
Behaviors:
- Paw-to-Hand
- Paw-to-Hand Variations
- Getting Into and Out of Cars
- Circular Body Work
In Unit 3 Lori coaches you to train a paw-to-hand behavior, a behavior that helps your dog regain or maintain balance and strength. It is a useful component of consent-based care for dogs of any age. As getting a dog into and out of cars, or on and off of sofas or beds, becomes more challenging as a dog ages, Lori will also provide a range of ideas to help your dog maintain behaviors and ensure that your dog continues to achieve all that he can through proper exercise and thoughtful environmental arrangement.
Finally, Lori will coach you in a circular bodywork technique that will help your dog’s muscles and nervous system relax.
Post your training progress video links and cheer on your classmates with comments on the class forum! Lori will provide feedback on Excel students’ videos for everyone to learn from.
In the LIVE Zoom class, Excel students will demonstrate their successes and receive further coaching from Lori on the Unit 3 exercises. Lori will also answer any questions from Excel and Engage students.
4
In reverse
Behaviors:
- Hind-Paw Targeting and Variations
- Backing Up and Variations
- Skin-Lift Bodywork Technique
In Unit 4, Lori demonstrates how taking a step back leads to leaps forward as she coaches students through behaviors involving hind-end awareness and movement. Lori will work with Excel teams on exercises that help their dogs develop hind-end awareness and increase hind-end mobility. While many older dogs struggle with hind-end weakness, behaviors to strengthen that area are not typically taught as specific skills.
Lori will teach you how, in just a few minutes a day, you can help your dog maintain basic and critical skills such as directional movement by focusing on the muscle groups that are engaged during these behaviors. Many senior dogs lose the confidence to back out of an area and end up getting stuck; this exercise helps them maintain or regain this ability.
Hind-paw targeting teaches dogs to use their hind legs and paws deliberately and thoughtfully. Backing up takes it a step further to encourage even more confidence and function.
For this Unit’s bodywork exercise, Lori will coach students to perform a relaxing skin-lift bodywork technique.
In the final LIVE class meeting on Zoom, Excel students will demonstrate their progress on the behaviors built throughout the course, with a focus on the behaviors from Unit 4. This is also the last opportunity for Engage and Excel students to ask questions, receive coaching, and share experiences. You won’t want to miss it!
Remember, you retain access to the course content, including the class recordings, for a year from enrollment so that you and your dog can keep on learning together after this final LIVE class.
