Upcoming Classes, Events, and Workshops

classes & Workshops

Every class here starts the same way: you and your dog, paying attention to each other before anything else gets layered on. What changes is the shape that attention takes: a sequence of obstacles, a game with rules added, a piece of music, a page in a sketchbook. Pick one below, or do more than one.

Dog and handler navigating an agility obstacle course at Urban Pooch

Agility

A structured, active way to build connection. Taught at Urban Pooch.

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Small dog with a ball, ready for a fetch and retrieve exercise

Fetch

A cooperative retrieve built in small, dog-friendly steps. Taught at Urban Pooch.

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Handler cueing a dog during a freestyle dance class

Dance

Interpret music together and find out what your dog is capable of when you're both paying real attention. Online and in-person.

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Pencil portrait sketch of a dog made in a multi-media pet portraiture class

Art classes

Create art of your pet. Online and in-person.

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Dog and handler trying a sport activity at a Bosly's Backyard sampler session

Sport samplers

Try four new dog sports in one month. Seasonal at Bosly's Backyard.

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Filtering by: “dog dance”
Discover Dog Dance
Aug
1

Discover Dog Dance

  • 5400 North Damen Avenue Chicago, Illinois, 60625 United States (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Come Discover Dog Dance w/ Justus Joseph
Register for workshop

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🧡 Intermediate Dog Dance Classes
Aug
22

🧡 Intermediate Dog Dance Classes

  • 5400 North Damen Avenue Chicago, Illinois, 60625 United States (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

🧡 Intermediate Dog Dance Classes:

Intermediate is by invitation only.

And this month, we’re getting spooky with Halloween choreography.

Saturdays at 2:45pm
Instructor: Justus Joseph
Upcoming Class Dates: 8/22, 8/29, 9/5, 9/26 & 10/17 (No Class 9/12, 9/19, 10/3 & 10/10)
Link to register for this class: https://app.punchpass.com/org/8136/series/50074

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Beginner Dog Dance: Halloween Edition
Aug
29

Beginner Dog Dance: Halloween Edition

  • 5400 North Damen Avenue Chicago, Illinois, 60625 United States (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

It’s getting spooky in here…

Dog dance (canine freestyle) is a training practice disguised as art: you and your dog learn a shared movement vocabulary — so your cues become clearer, your dog’s choices become more confident, and the two of you feel more connected. And this month, we’re tackling a Halloween song!


This class is for people who love their dogs deeply and want to make the time they have with them count — without pressure to perform, compete, or “look good.”


Over five weeks, you’ll learn beginner freestyle skills like spins, leg weaves, figure 8s, side switches, and arounds — then learn how to connect them into a small routine that feels like you and your dog, not a checklist.


Each week includes:

  • A warm-up that builds focus through relationship

  • 3–4 new dog movements taught with reward-based training

  • Handler movement and timing made simple (no dance experience required)

  • A mini routine that grows week by week

  • Optional progress toward AKC Novice, Intermediate, or Advanced Trick Dog titles

Why dog dance?
Because it teaches a dog that coming close, moving with you, and choosing engagement is safe — and that’s a skill that carries into real life.


Who is this class for?

  • Dogs 6 months+

  • Beginner-friendly

  • Great for sensitive, quirky, or “not a sport dog” dogs

  • No prerequisites

Spots are limited (6 teams). When a cohort is full, join the waitlist so you’re first to know when the next series opens. Perfect for dogs of all ages, sizes, and experience levels.

Saturdays at 4pm (five weeks)
Instructor: Justus Joseph
Upcoming Class Dates: 8/29, 9/5, 9/26, 10/10 & 10/17 (No Class 9/12, 9/19 & 10/3)
Link to register for this class: https://app.punchpass.com/org/8136/series/50073

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Dog Dance: Halloween Edition
Sep
22

Dog Dance: Halloween Edition

Dog Dance: Halloween Edition
Six Tuesdays · Bosly's Backyard · 6:30–7:30pm

Something's stirring this October.

Dog dance — canine freestyle — is a real sport: dogs and handlers building original choreography to music, out of tricks, movement, and connection. But here, it's less about the routine and more about the relationship underneath it.

Six weeks. Six dogs. Each pair in their own private space, moving to the same haunted season: no crowding, no comparison, no pressure to match anyone's pace but your own.

We'll build a short dance together, week by week, starting from how your dog already moves. Some will lurch and drag. Some will startle and bolt upright. Some will simply watch, still, until the moment calls them forward. All of it is celebrated in this class.

By the end, your dog has a piece of their own: spooky, strange, entirely theirs.

Bring your dog. Bring your imagination. And get ready to have a ton of spooky fun.

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