This page collects practical ways to use the app’s features during training. The features themselves are described in the Practice and Lists guides. Most of the techniques below use Pro features and are marked accordingly.

Build familiarity first, then test it

Run a sign set in order before turning on shuffle. Sequential order helps you learn the set in a predictable context. Shuffle removes that context and checks whether you recognize each sign on its own. A reliable pattern is to practice sequentially until the set feels solid, then switch to shuffle to find the signs that are not yet automatic.

Use lists to focus on weak signs

When specific signs need work, build a list that contains only those signs and practice from it. This keeps each session targeted instead of cycling through an entire level. Lists can be organized by skill, by an upcoming course, or by dog. See the Lists guide for how to build and manage them.

Mute and skip individual signs Pro

Within a session you can tune individual signs without rebuilding the set:

• Mute keeps a sign in the rotation but removes its spoken callout. Use it for signs you already recognize by sight and do not need announced.
• Skip removes a sign from the session entirely. Use it when a sign is not part of what you are working on right now.

A skipped sign is not lost. It stays visible in the per-sign settings screen, so you can bring it back at any time.

Adjust the pace as you improve Pro

In Fixed timing mode, longer intervals give more time to read and think through a sign, and shorter intervals move closer to real course pace. Reducing the time per sign as a set becomes familiar is a simple way to raise the difficulty. Adaptive timing instead gives each sign a preset time, which can feel more like working a real course where simple signs pass quickly and complex ones take longer.

Short sessions add up Pro

The session length is a cap, not a target. You do not need to finish a whole set in one sitting. When the timer ends, your place is saved, and you can resume later from the same point. Several short, focused sessions over a few days work as well as one long session, and the completion summary shows how many sessions it took to work through the set.

Make a run more realistic

Once you know a set by sight, turning voice prompts off produces a quieter run that is closer to a real course, where nothing is announced. While a session is running, you can tap the sign image to view it full screen, or open the description to check the exact wording, without ending the session.

If you are on the free version

The free version is enough to learn the signs and try the practice format. Use the complete sign library to study each sign and its official description, save your most-used signs to Favorites, and run the sample practice session to see how timed, announced practice feels. The techniques above that depend on Pro features become available if you upgrade.

Suggested settings

Starting points for setting up a Practice session, depending on what you are working on. These are suggestions, not rules; adjust them to suit your dog and your training. Each setting is described in the Practice guide.

Starting setups

Find the row that best matches your goal and use it as a starting point.

Choosing a session length

A useful starting point for session length is the number of signs multiplied by the seconds per sign, plus a little extra. For example, 10 signs at 10 seconds each suggests a session length of around 2 minutes.

The session length is a cap, not a target. If the timer ends before you reach the last sign, your place is saved and you can resume later, so there is no need to fit an entire set into one session.

A suggested progression

One way to use these setups over time:

• Begin with Just learning the signs while the set is new, with long intervals and voice prompts on.
• Move to Getting comfortable as recognition improves, shortening the time per sign.
• Switch to Testing your recognition with shuffle on and voice off to find the signs that are not yet automatic.
• Use Rehearsing a real course with a list to walk a specific sequence in order.

↑ Back to top