Enhancing the bond between dogs and their families

Services

Resources

More

Group Classes Curriculum

Please click on the link below for more information about the group class.

• Puppy Pre-School
• Basic Training

Puppy Pre-School

Session 1: socialization, intro to training, taking treats gently, name recognition, sit, housetraining and crate training.

Session 2: socialization, handling, nipping/mouthing, crate training, watch me and down.

Session 3: socialization, handling, overstimulation, to your bed/crate, food bowl exercises and come.

Session 4: socialization, handling, chewing & teething, housetraining, loose leash walking and come.

Session 5: socialization, handling, frustration tolerance, crate training, door waits, drop it, come and loose leash walking.

Session 6: socialization, handling, nipping/mouthing, crate training, leave it, come and loose leash walking.

Session 7: socialization, handling, to your bed/crate, other impulse control exercises, come and loose leash walking.

Basic Training

For those who have not yet started training, we will cover a variety of important topics to get you off to a great start. For those who already have the basics but need additional assistance working on more advanced training and working with distractions, these classes are designed to help you as well.

This series of classes will cover:

• Intro to Dog Body Language. No dogs are allowed at this class. You will learn how to better read what your dog and other dogs are communicating to those around them. This will help you to better understand and work with your own dog, and to be better able to pick up on early signs of potential problems.
• Intro to Dog Training. This class introduces you to how dogs learn and how we will incorporate that into training our dogs. We will discuss the Nothing in Life is Free program, the most effective ways to train your dog, training tips to help you be a better trainer, what clicker training is and whether or not it is the right method for you and your dog, and related general training topics. We will begin training our dogs with response to name, sit, down, and focus exercises. Dogs should attend this class.
• Intro to Basic Manners. This class introduces you and your dog to polite behaviors, such as not jumping on people to greet them, not darting through doorways, not demanding attention from people, and others as time allows.
• Leash Manners. One of the most common complaints we hear is about dogs pulling the entire time they are walking on leash. Going for a walk should be enjoyable for both parties, and it often is not. We will discuss why dogs pull, why it is so difficult to stop, and what you can do about it. We will discuss and practice several methods for teaching your dog not to pull on leash.
• Come! One of the most important things you can teach your dog is to come when you call him. We will discuss how to teach your dog to reliably come to you every time you call and not only when there is nothing more interesting going on.
• Stay. Teaching our dogs to stay can help with a number of issues, including helping overactive or easily excitable dogs to learn to calm down, impulsive dogs to control their impulses, and all dogs to safely remain in place while you handle an urgent or unsafe situation. We will work on teaching the dogs a reliable stay.
• Working with Distractions. We often hear the complaint that a dog will work as long as there are no distractions around or that a dog will work only when "she feels like it." In many of these cases, the dog has not had enough training in dealing with distractions and working despite whatever distractions there are. This class will help you to help your dog learn to work despite any distractions, whether you are working on sit, stay, come or anything else.
   

Gracie, Meg & Argus: well-behaved demo dogs for a Colorado Greyhound Adoption (CGA) Foster Training Seminar