Less Leash, More Control - The 'naked' philosophy is that a dog should be managed, ultimately, by voice and/or body language. A naked dog is an educated dog. It knows its place in the world. He's our animal companion rather than merely a pet.
Can you take off your dog's collar and still have him under voice control?
Dogs don't naturally behave the way we want them to behave; they must learn to adjust to a human environment. When we train, we aren't looking to end up with a spit-and-polish dog who obeys our every command with military precision but rather, to establish leadership and promote respectful submission by using the things they like to do as reinforcement for things we want them to do. Set the rules and they will follow most of them and be rewarded.
By teaching your dog that he can rely on you to be their leader, you'll find that your dog will love you for it because he knows his place in the family hierarchy. When that relationship matures, you and your dog will enjoy the richness that only a dog can bring. Let's inspire some balance into our lives. The time that you put into managing your dog in your environment will reward you and your dog for years to come. The question is.... how do you get there?
Why Puppy School
Puppy Courses: Puppy Class
Adult Courses: Basic
Extras: Canine Good Citizen
Classes meet once a week for six consecutive weeks (each session is 55 minutes). Holiday breaks occasionally result in classes running for seven weeks.
The puppy classes are taught entirely off-leash in a real-life format with the goal of producing good-natured and well-mannered adult dogs. The primary emphasis is on producing people-friendly and dog-friendly dogs and mastering off-leash, verbal control for around the house and out and about.
The puppy classes specifically focus on teaching bite inhibition (gentle jaws), socialization with other dogs and people (especially children, men and strangers), calming and handling, attention, off-leash household manners/obedience and the prevention of behavior and temperament problems. Special emphasis is paid to phasing out the need for food lures and rewards for reliable verbal and hand signal, off-leash control (around the home or on walks), yet promoting the continued use of food treats for classical conditioning - to teach dogs to thoroughly enjoy the company of people and other dogs. Training focuses on proofing verbal control without the need for food lures or rewards, or any other training tools. Exercises include distance sits in play (for the home, yard, dog parks and off-leash walks), settle down, rock-solid stays, and both off-leash and on-leash walking and heeling. Puppy will help you teach your adolescent pup to be calm, attentive and responsive and to respond quickly, willingly and happily, especially when distracted, off-leash, and at a distance.
For the most part, adult classes are taught on-leash until we are certain that all dogs are people-friendly and dog-friendly and safe to play and train off-leash. Adult classes initially involve learning to manage, control, and channel the dogs' energy, enthusiasm and exuberance by teaching impulse control, calmness and attention, whereupon teaching basic obedience becomes a much easier endeavor.
An excellent class for dogs that have never taken a class before or for dogs needing to brush up on rusty obedience skills. Our absolutely unique and innovative all-or-none reward training techniques make training adolescent and adult dogs a peaceful and enjoyable experience. Initial exercises focus on calming, settling-down and regaining attention to facilitate teaching basic manners - sit, down, stand, stay, walking on-leash and polite greetings.
This course prepares students and their dogs to take the American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test, a certification program designed to reward dogs who demonstrate good manners at home and in the community. The class is a forum to practice all of the skill necessary to pass the CGC test such as, accepting a friendly stranger, sitting politely for petting, supervised separation from the owner, and many other skills that prove a dog's social-savvy. Passing the CGC test has many benefits. For example, it can expedite acceptance into Animal Assisted Therapy programs, advanced behavioral or agility classes, or even doggie daycare or boarding facilities. More valuable than the piece of paper, however, is the piece of mind that your dog is a mannerly, well-behaved member of your household - and the community at large.
This class is only offered periodically so register well in advance to assure you spot!
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