For dogs over 5 months of age. (Please note that this age range is flexible, depending on the puppy’s/dog’s size, confidence level, mental maturity, etc. If you are uncertain as to whether or not this is the best class for your puppy/dog, contact us.)
Lots of work on basic obedience & control, including walking on a loose leash, sit, down & stand stay, come, sit for greeting, go to a rug & lie down. Graduates of this class will learn to respond on the first command! For dogs with little or no formal training and dogs who’ve done little or no training away from home. Basic behavior problems are addressed in this class. This class is also appropriate for dogs who perform well at home, but are inconsistent around distractions.
Here are some guidelines to help you know if Beginning Home Obedience is right for your dog:
- You have to repeat commands. We do not believe in repeating commands. Nagging dogs is like nagging children or spouses…and you know how well that works!
- You say “No” a lot. We don’t believe in saying “no” or yelling at dogs. It might work temporarily, but it doesn’t teach the dog what you really want him to do in the first place!
- Your dog pulls on the leash. We teach dogs how to walk beside you without pulling and to sit when you stop walking – all on the first command.
- Your dog won’t come when called. We will show you how to train a reliable recall – and only say “come” one time!
- Your dog won’t stay for one to three minutes around distractions. Sit-stay, down-stay and stand-stay – around distractions!!! – are taught in our Beginning Home Obedience classes.
- You’re still having behavior problems. We will help you find the best solution for barking, chewing, digging, jumping up, and other common problems.
If most of the above comments apply to you and your dog, then Beginning Home Obedience is for you! If you and your dog are more advanced than this, check out Advanced Home Obedience! Your entire family is encouraged to attend all of the classes with your dog. However, very young children and/or children with very short attention spans may find the discussion and demonstration format of the Orientation difficult.
The first week is an Orientation without the dogs.
Please note: We occasionally get calls from folks who think their dog is too advanced for this class. If you think this might be the case for your dog, and want to know if Advanced Home Obedience is a better choice, contact us so we can chat about you and your dog’s level of training. Either way, if you enroll for any class with Family Dog, and it’s not the proper level for your dog, we’ll move you around until we find the best fit!