Play & Practice
Dog dance, sport foundations, and movement-based training
for people who want to train with their dogs
These classes and workshops are designed for people who want to actively train with their dogs, through shared movement, clear communication, and skill-building that feels engaging rather than pressured.
This is training you participate in, built around collaboration and shared practice.
Current Play & Practice Classes
Dog Dance: Foundations
A joyful introduction to canine freestyle, rally-style moves, and AKC Tricks Titles - taught with heart, humor, and science-based training.
Dog Dance is for every dog and guardian who loves connection, creativity, and having fun together.
In this five-week class, you'll learn foundational freestyle moves like spins, leg weaves, figure 8s, side switches, and arounds, plus simple human choreography that turns training into play.
Late Night Dog Dance Party & Goodnight Routine
A joyful end-of-week freestyle class designed for connection, creativity, and gentle winding down.
Each 60-minute session features a brand-new, quick choreography to a different song every week, followed by a calming goodnight routine for dogs and humans alike.
You’ll build skills, strengthen communication, and gather a few cozy nighttime habits you can carry into everyday life.
This class blends play, presence, and regulation — helping you and your dog leave feeling connected, settled, and ready for rest. No dog dance experience required.
Dog Agility
Dog agility develops communication, confidence, and coordination through clear cues, movement, and shared practice. Classes held at the Urban Pooch Sports Annex 5400 Wolcott Ave, Chicago.
Fetch: Foundations
Connected Fetch Foundations is a five-week class for dogs 6 months and up that teaches a clear, cooperative retrieve by breaking the skill into small, dog-friendly steps.
This class is appropriate for dogs new to organized fetch, as well as teams considering AKC Fetch titles, improving obedience or rally retrieves, or simply wanting a safer, more thoughtful approach to toy play.
Dog sports: sampler
A guided introduction to multiple dog sport skills through low-pressure, movement-based practice.
What Play & Practice looks like
In Play & Practice classes, we work on:
communication through movement
body awareness and coordination
engagement and focus built through practice
skills that transfer into everyday life and sport contexts
Depending on the class, this may include elements of dog dance, agility foundations, fitness, shaping, and play-based learning.
The emphasis is always on how dogs learn and move, rather than perfect execution or fast results.
Who these classes are for
Play & Practice is a good fit if you:
enjoy learning alongside your dog
want training to feel active and engaging
are curious about dog dance or sport foundations
have a sensitive or unconventional dog
value structure without rigidity
No prior sport experience is required. Curiosity and a willingness to practice matter far more than polish.
Current Play & Practice Classes
Dog Dance: Foundations
A joyful introduction to canine freestyle, rally-style moves, and AKC Tricks Titles - taught with heart, humor, and science-based training.
Dog Dance is for every dog and guardian who loves connection, creativity, and having fun together.
In this five-week class, you'll learn foundational freestyle moves like spins, leg weaves, figure 8s, side switches, and arounds, plus simple human choreography that turns training into play.
Late Night Dog Dance Party & Goodnight Routine
A joyful end-of-week freestyle class designed for connection, creativity, and gentle winding down.
Each 60-minute session features a brand-new, quick choreography to a different song every week, followed by a calming goodnight routine for dogs and humans alike.
You’ll build skills, strengthen communication, and gather a few cozy nighttime habits you can carry into everyday life.
This class blends play, presence, and regulation — helping you and your dog leave feeling connected, settled, and ready for rest. No dog dance experience required.
Dog Agility
Dog agility develops communication, confidence, and coordination through clear cues, movement, and shared practice. Classes held at the Urban Pooch Sports Annex 5400 Wolcott Ave, Chicago.
Fetch: Foundations
Connected Fetch Foundations is a five-week class for dogs 6 months and up that teaches a clear, cooperative retrieve by breaking the skill into small, dog-friendly steps.
This class is appropriate for dogs new to organized fetch, as well as teams considering AKC Fetch titles, improving obedience or rally retrieves, or simply wanting a safer, more thoughtful approach to toy play.
Dog sports: sampler
A guided introduction to multiple dog sport skills through low-pressure, movement-based practice.
movement-Based Skill Building
For many dogs, movement is where learning becomes clear.
Training through movement builds communication, confidence, and coordination in ways that carry into everyday life and sport contexts. It gives dogs a practical way to organize attention and learning through doing.
In Play & Practice classes, movement helps us:
build clearer communication
support confidence and coordination
strengthen engagement through shared practice
develop skills that generalize across contexts
For many dogs, especially sensitive ones, movement-based training offers an accessible and genuinely enjoyable way to learn.
Current Play & Practice Classes
Dog Dance: Foundations
A joyful introduction to canine freestyle, rally-style moves, and AKC Tricks Titles - taught with heart, humor, and science-based training.
Dog Dance is for every dog and guardian who loves connection, creativity, and having fun together.
In this five-week class, you'll learn foundational freestyle moves like spins, leg weaves, figure 8s, side switches, and arounds, plus simple human choreography that turns training into play.
Late Night Dog Dance Party & Goodnight Routine
A joyful end-of-week freestyle class designed for connection, creativity, and gentle winding down.
Each 60-minute session features a brand-new, quick choreography to a different song every week, followed by a calming goodnight routine for dogs and humans alike.
You’ll build skills, strengthen communication, and gather a few cozy nighttime habits you can carry into everyday life.
This class blends play, presence, and regulation — helping you and your dog leave feeling connected, settled, and ready for rest. No dog dance experience required.
Dog Agility
Dog agility develops communication, confidence, and coordination through clear cues, movement, and shared practice. Classes held at the Urban Pooch Sports Annex 5400 Wolcott Ave, Chicago.
Fetch: Foundations
Connected Fetch Foundations is a five-week class for dogs 6 months and up that teaches a clear, cooperative retrieve by breaking the skill into small, dog-friendly steps.
This class is appropriate for dogs new to organized fetch, as well as teams considering AKC Fetch titles, improving obedience or rally retrieves, or simply wanting a safer, more thoughtful approach to toy play.
Dog sports: sampler
A guided introduction to multiple dog sport skills through low-pressure, movement-based practice.
Ready to join?
If you want to train, play, and learn alongside your dog — and to enjoy them as dogs, not projects — Play & Practice offers a clear place to start.
Play & Practice classes are offered in Chicagoland and focus on dog dance, movement-based training, and sport foundations for dogs and their people. These offerings emphasize skill-building, communication, and shared practice rather than obedience or behavior modification.