Camp TOC is organized into five traditional types of camp activities (sports, theater, outdoor living, art and bonding), and each week, we offer you activities under each of those categories. In case it’s helpful to see the camp activities sorted into more traditional dog training buckets, here’s a list of what you and your dog will learn by the end of camp:

  • Recall (how to get your dog to come when called) 

    • How & why to capture offered attention 

    • Condition recall cue as a starting point

    • Pattern games to build reinforcement history

    • Hide & seek recall 

    • Use movement away from your dog to draw them into you 

    • Introducing distractions to your recall work – indoors and then outdoors 

  • Build attention & engagement 

    • Pattern games

    • Introducing a big variety of real world distractions in a way that your dog chooses to voluntarily orient to you (we walk you through a number of different examples)

  • Dog photography & videography (+ optional journaling)

    • Shooting & editing great photos of your dog on your phone 

    • Shooting & editing videos on your phone 

    • Journaling activity about the self compassion we can learn through our dogs

  • Tricks

    • Paw targets 

    • Close cabinet doors 

    • Teach your dog to wrap their arm around an object like a side hug 

    • Teach your dog to wave hello 

    • Teach your dog to run around you and then out after a tossed toy 

    • Teach your dog to lie down and shift their weight on the side of one hip on cue 

    • Directed retrieve (how to go get something you point to and bring it back to you)

  • Other:

    • Frisbee 

    • Decompression & relationship building walks

    • Using functional reinforcers and putting them on cue including: go sniff, go chase, go say hi, go play, get it/take it

    • Personal play 

    • Settling outside

As a reminder, you retain access to Camp TOC even after our live run is over, so there is no need to get through everything. You can pick out just a few activities each week and come back to the rest later (or you can try to hit everything!).