Class Descriptions

All of our classes, group and private, are taught with you and your canine friend in mind. As such, we use positive motivation for both people and dogs. We believe in having a good time and finding the easiest way for your dog to make good choices. Other family members are welcome to come and watch, and are strongly encouraged to do so. Learning and training should be fun for all! Unless otherwise noted, all courses consist of six classes.

Agility Prep is a fun course, designed to lay the foundation for success in later Agility classes, whether or not you wish to compete. Emphasis is on basic skills needed for Agility, such was Wait and Come; attention, and working away from you. Includes some exposure to selected pieces of Agility equipment. Prerequisite: Advanced Puppy, More Life Skills or Instructor's approval.

NOTE: The Canine Club's Agility 1, 2 & Open classes are not available at this time, and the outdoor training programs are currently on hiatus. When the time does come, for introductory and advanced agility classes, please contact Pat Conatser of Starstruck Agility in Spanish Springs at 775-425-5560 or Kim Munoz (details forthcoming).

Agility 1 introduces dogs and handlers to the agility obstacles, their proper setup, use and storage, and how to prepare the dog-handler team for the agility experience. The course stresses safety on the equipment, equipment familiarization, working on both sides of the dog, and communication exercises. Prerequisite: The dog is at least one year old and has taken Advanced Puppy, More Life Skills or has Instructor's approval.

Agility 2 continues the development of proper obstacle execution, with the goal of being able to run all obstacles at basic regulation levels (e.g. full height, fully closed weave poles, etc.). As always, the course stresses safety on the equipment, equipment familiarization, working on both sides of the dog, and communication exercises.Prerequisite: Agility 1 or Instructor's approval.

Canine Good Citizen Prep is taught by a certified AKC CGC evaluator and designed to help your dog pass the Canine Good Citizen test offered by the American Kennel Club. Whether you are interested in doing therapy work with your canine friend, or having evidence for your landlord that your dog is well behaved, this is the course for you.

Life Skills - Adult Dogs is the basic class for adult dogs. The class focuses on your relationship with your dog, as well as basic manners (sit, down, come, leave it, loose leash walking).

Life Skills - Puppy Kindergarten is designed for early socialization and basic household manners, with an emphasis on relationship building. This program is for puppies up to five months old at the start of class.

Life Skills - All Ages: Either Life Skills - Puppies or Life Skills - Adult Dogs will be taught, depending upon your needs - tell us what you want!

More Life Skills adds more distractions and difficulty to the exercises already learned in Life Skills, as well as incorporating more new commands.

Open Agility is an opportunity for you to practice what you've already learned! Since you probably don't have a complete set of agility equipment sitting around your house or lawn, we offer our space, equipment and an instructor for your use. This is a drop-in class which costs $10/dog and, though reservations are not necessary, we would like to know that you're coming, so that we can be sure we're ready for you. Please see NOTE: above regarding our Agility classes

Puppy Play! is not a class per se, but an opportunity for your puppy to socialize in a safe and monitored environment. It's almost like having your own private off-leash dog park! A trainer will supervise the play session and provide running commentary (and training, because that just happens). These play sessions are for puppies less than six months old. For older dogs, please stay tuned for our adult dog play sessions. Requirements: Puppies are current on their vaccinations, are disease- and pest-free, and had their first round of shots at least one week before the play session.

Rally Obedience Both the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) and AKC (American Kennel Club) offer sanctioned titles in Rally. This class is designed around AKC Rally to get your dog ready for competing. Rally is the perfect start to competition and great practice for those interested in obedience competition.

Therapy Dog Prep will help dogs pass the test to become Therapy Dogs. The course is designed similarly to the Delta Pet Partners curriculum for future Pet Partners. Humans and dogs will get to practice working together for successful meet and greet visits.

If you see a class you'd like, and wish to find out when it is being offered, please see our class schedule, or for general information, return to the main training page.