Level I Dog Obedience Class

This class is the point of departure in training. In this level, owners learn how to create clear and consistent communication and boundaries in a manner which is very positive and empowering for the dog. It is in this level that the basic foundation behaviors are taught through positive reinforcement. These foundation behaviors include:

• Building your dog’s eager and trusting attention to you;
• Signals and guidance;
• Your dog’s ability to self-calm and self-control despite distractions and exciting encounters.

You will also learn to teach your dog both hand and voice signals to:

• Sit
• Down
• Stay
• Come
• Heel (loose-leash walking)
• Immediate attention to name when called
• Settle/stay on bed or rug

Focus is placed upon continuously building your dog’s ability to respond to your first command, immediately and without hesitation, when distracted, when distant from you and to commit and hold each behavior until you release.

This class will also focus on helping you to prevent or correct problematic behaviors, such as but not limited to:

• House soiling (potty training techniques)
• Chewing
• Stealing inappropriate items (shoes, socks, garbage…)
• Barking
• Jumping
• Digging
• Crate/kennel training
• Hyperactivity (excitable, can’t calm down to be petted)
• And more.

Obedience learned in this class also will help with teaching appropriate house manners and socialization skills.

AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Certification. All dogs who successfully complete Level I and/or II, are eligible for certification in the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Program. This program is open to all dogs pure breed  (AKC registered or not) or mixed that are under the age of one year at completion. Dogs who are over one year of age are eligible for certification in the AKC C.G.C. program (see below).

The AKC S.T.A.R. program is designed to promote responsible ownership of dogs and produce dogs who are well socialized, obedient, well mannered and well cared for.

Dogs passing the final test will be eligible for enrollment in the S.T.A.R. program and will receive the following…

• The gorgeous gold AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Medal
• An attractive frameable certificate
• A new puppy handbook
• A monthly online newsletter that includes training tips
• A discount to enroll in Companion Animal Recovery, a 24 hour service if your puppy is lost
• Plus, your puppy is listed in the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy records

For more information visit the AKC web site at http://www.akc.org/starpuppy/

Level II Dog Obedience Class

This intermediate training class takes your learned skills from Level I and brings them to a new height of attention, ability and obedience. We work to have your dog be attentive to your commands given greater and greater distractions and physical distance from you. New behaviors are taught such as ‘down’ from walking and running, ‘stand’ and ‘come to heel’ from a distance.

Because your dog can only be as good as your ability to communicate with and direct them, this class places great emphasis on assisting you, your dog’s teacher and guide, in developing advanced teaching skills and abilities while working on timing, consistency and positive reinforcement methods.

It is in this class that both dogs and owners develop a deeper and more reliable understanding, ability and relationship.

Level III Dog Obedience Class – Canine Good Citizen

This advanced class adds the finishing touch to your acquired training strengths from Levels I & II, and we work on your dog’s ability to stay calm, focused and obedient through increasing degrees of distraction, social interaction and changing environments. This class not only prepares your puppy or adult dog for a happy and social life in real life situations, but also prepares you both for Canine Good Citizens (CGC) testing and certification* with the American Kennel Club (AKC).

The AKC CGC training and test requires your dog be able to:

• Accept a friendly stranger’s approach and greeting to owner
• Sit politely for petting from a stranger
• Be groomed/handled by a stranger (groomer or veterinarian)
• Loose-leash walk
• Walk calmly through a crowd
• ‘Sit’ and ‘down’ on command/stay in place
• Come when called
• Reaction to another dog (remain calm and attentive to owner)
• Reaction to distractions (remain calm and attentive to owner)
• Supervised separation  (stay calmly with neutral stranger for 2 minutes with owner out of sight)

*Linda Brodzik is an AKC certified Canine Good Citizens Evaluator.

Level IV: Out on the Town – Teaching Dog Obedience Outdoors*

This class is offered to dogs and owners who have successfully completed a Level II or Level III training class. This class meets in outdoor settings such as local parks, walking/biking paths, city streets, etc. The focus of this class is to assist you in generalizing your existing lessons (learned in a class environment) to real life situations that you will actually encounter while living life out and about with your dog.

*This class is only scheduled in the warmer months – spring through fall – as all sessions are taught out of doors.

All obedience training classes are eight weeks in length and meet for one hour per week. Classes are limited to 6 dogs per group, allowing for more personalized attention to both dog and owner. Family participation is strongly encouraged, as the dog should know to display obedient behavior for each individual in the household.

While obedience and behavior issues are my main areas of focus, I also offer some higher-level, fun classes to further your relationship with your dog and delve deeper into positive reinforcement techniques:

• Trick Dog Level I & II
  

Please contact me to learn more about my positive training methods, sign up for a dog obedience class or to schedule an in-home, private behavior consultation.

To enroll in a group class please complete an application and return it to me with payment. Once I receive this I will send you a letter to confirm your enrollment and give all information needed for the class.

Dogs must be current on distemper, parvo and rabies vaccinations in order to enter a class.