A weekend to show you what play can really do and how much you've been missing.
Key Details
Format: 3 full days combining theory and hands-on practical play sessions, 9 am - 4 pm(ish) each day
Dates: Friday 16th - Sunday 18th October
Location: Potter Brompton, Yorkshire
Price
Working Spot (with on-site accommodation): £750 (£700 for Coaching members)
Working Spot (no accommodation): £550 (£500 for Coaching members)
Spectator Spot: £299 for the weekend (£250 for Coaching members)
Play isn't just something that happens for 10 minutes when you need to tire your dog out or a class you book into once a week. Done properly, it's one of the most powerful and most underused tools we have. It can teach a dog to switch drive on and off on cue. It can rebuild trust around resources. It can hugely build your partnership with your dog. It can give an unsure dog the social confidence it's never had. Most owners are using a fraction of what play can offer, because nobody's ever shown them how to really utilise it.
We are so passionate about every owner being able to see play for what it really is: not a bonus, but a skill, one that can be shaped and used deliberately to work through almost anything your dog is struggling with.
Our Rethinking Play weekend is built to take play apart and put it back together properly. You'll learn to read what your dog's play is actually telling you, build a genuine start-and-stop switch for their drive, and use structured play as a real tool for resource guarding, reactivity and social confidence. Play can help us so much!
Who This Is For
Owners whose dog never really switches off after play, or swings from calm to over-the-top with nothing in between
Owners who think their dog ‘can’t play’ or can’t work out how to get the most from their play sessions with their dogs
Owners working through resource guarding, reactivity (dog-dog or dog-human), or social confidence, who want another way to address this, using play to move beyond the standard protocols
Owners who've always thought of play as "just fun" and want to understand what they've been missing
Dog professionals, trainers and walkers who want real structure behind the play work they already do
Previous Honest Hounds attendees building on earlier work, or newer members looking for an accessible first step with us
Prerequisites
The focus of this weekend is on small group work and rotational exercises, giving you the opportunity to learn from others while also enjoying plenty of hands-on practice and individual coaching. As a result, your dog must be comfortable working within a small group environment.
They need to be able to settle in your car or a crate at the venue during downtime
Being able to put on your silly pants during the play sessions and bring the energy 😆
The Schedule
Day 1: Foundations: Reading Play, Reading Arousal: Welcome & orientation, what play is (and isn't), building the on/off switch, playing the right way, reading and working with arousal levels in real time and focusing on how to help your dog regulate before and after play.
Day 2: Application: Play as the Tool for Everything. Play is an underrated tool for working on behavioural challenges. Today we will focus on addressing these, through individual and group learning, giving you the chance to understand the role of play through the lens you need it most while also observing other challenges. Focuses will include: play & resource guarding, play & dog reactivity, play & human reactivity, play & recall/prey drive and more.
Day 3: Integration: Working Together putting your learning into real life scenarios and situations, individual focus and one-to-one debrief with a trainer, creating a plan to move forward.
What's Included
Three full days of workshops, 9 am - 4 pm
Pre-arrival small-group Zoom with Jess & Jessie
Tea, coffee & light refreshments
On-site accommodation (Working Spot with accommodation only - limited spaces)
A written, personalised play & behaviour plan
How to Book
Working Spot (with accommodation) - very limited spaces: Complete the interest form here: https://forms.gle/4VDBaeyv37gZEXEb7 and our team will reach out with next steps.
Working Spot (no accommodation): Complete the interest form here: https://forms.gle/4VDBaeyv37gZEXEb7 and we’ll reach out with next steps.
Spectator Spot: Drop Grace [Admin] a DM, and she will send you the info to secure your space! £299 for the weekend (£250 for Coaching members).