FAMILY MANNERS CLASSES

This class will afford your puppy opportunities for socialization to new people, places and things in a supervised setting. Off leash play will be at the discretion of the instructor. Common owner concerns will be discussed. This class will run for three to four weeks and will NOT include the AKC Star Puppy test.

Puppies should have their standard vaccinations as per their vets recommendation. Rabies vaccine is required for dogs over four months of age.

Skills Introduced: Socialization and safe handling

Your puppy´s early months are a critical informative time during which your puppy learns to interact appropriately with different people, dogs and environments that the world has to offer. This class will help you make the most of this developmental window and build the foundation for a friendly, confident, well-mannered adult dog. Off leash play will be at the discretion of the instructor. In order to be eligible for the AKC S.T.A.R® Puppy Test puppies must attend six weeks of classes. Class limit 8.

Puppies should have their standard vaccinations as per their vet's recommendation. Rabies vaccine is required for dogs over four months of age.

For: Puppies, under 5 months of age

Skills Introduced: Basic manners, Clicker Training, Attention, Socialization & safe handling

For puppies 5 months and younger. This class will afford you the opportunity to introduce your puppy to novel experiences and meet new people and other puppies in a safe, welcoming environment. Common concerns will be addressed. Off leash play at discretion of instructor.

Your puppy's early months are a critical and formative time during which your puppy learns to interact appropriately with different people, dogs and environments that the world has to offer. This class will help you make the most of this developmental window and build the foundation for a friendly, confident, well-mannered adult dog. Off leash play will be at the discretion of the instructor. In order to be eligible for the AKC S.T.A.R® Puppy Test puppies must attend six weeks of classes. Class limit 8.

Puppies should have their standard vaccinations as per their vet's recommendation. Rabies vaccine is required for dogs over four months of age.

For: Puppies, 5 to 9 months of age

Skills Introduced: Basic manners, Clicker Training, Attention, Socialization & safe handling

Did you recently acquire a new dog? Did you miss registration for FM Foundations? Do you need to get the basics asap?

Jump Start will get you on the right track, right away. Learn the essentials and get your dog started right away learning polite manners for day-to-day life. This class will prepare teams to go to FM Foundations class the following session.

Introduce your dog to the skills it needs to become a well-mannered family pet. In this class, owners will learn to use dog-friendly training methods as they teach their pets to sit, lie down, wait, walk on a loose leash, come when called and more. This class will help you build a strong relationship with your dog, and to manage your pet comfortably in your home. These foundational skills are geared toward preparing your dog for the AKC Canine Good Citizen test. Class limit 8.

For: Dogs, age 5 months and older. Both you and your dog must be comfortable spending an hour with a group of canines of various sizes and energy levels

Special Requirements: No dogs in the first class

Skills Introduced: Attention, Sits & Downs, Loose leash walking, Stand, Recall, Stay, Leave It, Drop It

Now that you and your dog have learned the basics of reward-based training in Family Manners Foundation, you are ready to kick it up a notch. In this intermediate-level class, you will build reliability by training in an increasingly distracting environment and with gradually increased distance and duration, while fading the lures and additional prompts. The ultimate goal is a dog that will reliably respond to your cues no matter what is going on around him. Class limit 8.

Prerequisite: FM Foundation or instructor´s approval

Skills Introduced: Sit, Down, Stand, Stay, Recall, Loose Leash Walking - all with increasing duration, distance & distractions, go to place

ADDITIONAL TRAINING

If you are thinking about participating in an activity with your dog, but aren't sure which one, this sampler class is just for you.  Each class will be devoted to learning about and experiencing a different activity such as agility, rally, obedience, scent work, canine good citizen tests and more. Dogs should be comfortable working in the presence of other teams. Limit 8 teams.

Prerequisite: AKC S.T.A.R.® Puppy or FM Foundation.

Teaching tricks can be a valuable learning experience for you and your dog. They help you teach your dog to think and solve problems with you as a team, help you perfect your timing of feedback, and engage your dog's interest in all his training. Will introduce the use of targeting and props to turn a few behaviors into cute tricks. Use this class to round out your dog's education, show off his natural talent, and challenge him mentally while learning invaluable tricks for therapy work or everyday life. Skills learned will help in working toward and AKC Trick Dog title.   Class limit 8.

Prerequisites: AKC Star Puppy or Family Manners Foundation

Does your dog become distracted on walks by items that attract his attention, such as sticks, leaves, or trash?  Pick up things in your home such as children’s toys or shoes, or “counter surf” for food?  Refuse to give up something in his/her mouth, whether it’s dog toys or bones, or worse, stolen forbidden items?  This class focuses on teaching the dogs to willingly ignore, or turn away from, or let go of items of interest to them, using non-confrontational methods.  Limit 8 teams.

Prerequisite:  FM Foundation or equivalent.

Use your dog's crate to enhance focus and motivation, to work on self control for a phenomenal stay, to train a speedy and dependable recall, train distance skills for obedience or agility, and to develop an amazing working relationship.  Limit 8 teams.

Teams will prepare for the Canine Good Citizen® test: http://images.akc.org/pdf/cgc/GK9GC1.pdf
The test will be administered in the final class of the session. Class limit 6.

Prerequisite: FM Skills or equivalent or instructor approval

Skills Introduced: Test items for Canine Good Citizen® test

Teams will prepare for the advanced CGC known as the Community® Canine test: https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/akc-community-canine/test-items/.  The test will be administered during the final class of the session.  Class limit 6.

Prerequisites:  Dogs must have passed the CGC test prior to taking the CGCA test.  Dogs must be registered with the AKC prior to taking the CGCA test.  For information on getting an AKC number: http://images.akc.org/cgc/number.pdf.

Teams will prepare for the AKC Urban Canine Good Citizen® test: https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/akc-urban-canine-good-citizen/about/.  The AKC Urban CGC requires that the dog demonstrate CGC skills and beyond in a setting that includes traffic, crowds, noises, smells, and other distractions that are present in a city or town. One or two classes may be off-site.  The test will be administered during the final class of the session.  Class limit 6.

Prerequisites:  Dogs must have passed the CGC test prior to taking the CGCU test.  Dogs must be registered with the AKC prior to taking the CGCU test. For information on getting an AKC number: http://images.akc.org/cgc/number.pdf.

Does your super friendly dog jump for joy when meeting people? Happily, drag you toward other dogs to play? This class will help you teach your dog to tone down the excitement and remain politely under control while greeting people and dogs For overly friendly dogs. Class limit: 8.

Prerequisite: Family Manners Foundation

Fear and anxiety are behind many behaviors that shy dogs may exhibit. Training in and of itself, while useful, may not be enough to address or change your dog’s fear responses.

If a shy or fearful dog is part of your family, this class will help you learn to read your dog’s body language, identify your dog’s triggers and how best to respond in a manner that creates emotional change within your dog. Once these concepts are learned, you can then apply them in real world, dynamically changing environments. Learn how to help your dog by working towards changing how your dog feels about things that scare them.

Prior to enrolling contact the Instructor to see if this class would be a good fit for your dog and you.

Class Limit 6

If you’ve already been through class but are still struggling a bit with teaching your dog to walk on a loose leash, this mini class may be right for you. We’ll concentrate on only this skill, incorporating a variety of exercises to help improve your dog’s loose leash walking behavior.

 Please come to class with a hungry dog, ideally who’s had some exercise before class, a variety of high value treats!

Class limit: 6

Prerequisite: FM Foundation

Learn how to teach your dog to come flying to you, the first time you call, anytime, anywhere, away from anything! This class is suitable for puppies and dogs of all ages. Class limit: 6

Prerequisite: AKC Star Puppy or FM Foundation

This course teaches the fundamental applications and scope of therapy dog work and the positive effects that handler/dog teams can have on patients and others in need. In addition, we focus on some of the basic obedience exercises that are essential in the visiting process. 

Pre-requisite: Dogs must be at least 8 months of age

Therapy Dog Skills is a course for teams that are not quite ready for the demands of our Therapy Dog Certification Preparation class. Skills places strong emphasis on fine-tuning of Obedience exercises which are essential in all therapy dog interactions. We also focus on dog/people and dog/dog socialization dynamics.

Successful completion of this course qualifies teams to enter Therapy Dog Certification Preparation in a future session.

Therapy Dog Certification Preparation is the highest-level class in this special program. The course orients students and their dogs to a wide variety of circumstances that they are likely to encounter in visits to hospitals, schools, libraries, elder-care residences, and many other facilities in which therapy dog teams can play a significant role in healing and learning.

Candidates for this course should have well-developed obedience skills, balanced temperaments, and a desire to help people in need.

A screening is required to register for this course. Therapy Dog Certification Preparation screenings (each about 20 minutes) will be on Saturday, November 1st. To reserve a time for you and your dog, contact George Berger – Georgepb37@gmail.com

This is a skills class for current therapy dogs only. This class does not prepare you for the therapy dog certification test.

Prerequisite: Therapy Dog Certificate Prep with George Berger. Instructor approval required.

Engagement games will introduce effective ways for handlers to communicate with their dogs and get their attention. Great for dogs who get sucked in to their environment, or dogs that need to work on focusing at the start line. Engagement games will cover how to handle disengagement, determining thresholds, and using your dogs distractions to your benefit.

Teams will prepare for the advanced CGC known as the Community® Canine test: https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/akc-community-canine/test-items/ and the AKC Urban Canine Good Citizen® test: https://www.akc.org/products-services/training-programs/canine-good-citizen/akc-urban-canine-good-citizen/about/.

 The AKC Urban CGC requires that the dog demonstrate CGC skills and beyond in a setting that includes traffic, crowds, noises, smells, and other distractions that are present in a city or town. One or two classes may be off-site. 

The tests will be administered during the final class of the session.  Class limit 6.

Prerequisites:  Dogs must have passed the CGC test prior to taking the CGCA or CGCU test.  Dogs must be registered with the AKC prior to taking the CGCA or CGCU test.  For information on getting an AKC number: http://images.akc.org/cgc/number.pdf.

Do you dread taking your dog for a walk? Does your dog whine, bark, and lunge when they see another dog? Whether your dog likes other dogs or not, in this class you will learn techniques to help you and your dog have more relaxed and enjoyable walks. You will learn how to change your dog's behavior, teach them to make new associations and better choices. 

Note: Reactive Rover is not a class for dogs that have bitten dogs or people. If your dog has a bite history, you will want to find a private trainer to work with.

Class limit 5 - No dogs in the first class.