Manners & Life Skills

$240 +HST
Duration: 8 weeks

The Manners & Life Skills program is designed to set you and your dog up for a lifetime of success. The program focuses on finessing everyday skills for the modern companion; door manners, loose leash walking, recall, stay, leave it, calm greetings, and key skills for cooperative care success at the vet/care routines/grooming. 

The Manners & Life Skills Program is uniquely tailored to allow each dog to learn at their own pace while progressing through the program with the guidance and support to accelerate your progress. When you enroll in the Manners & Life Skills Program, you are purchasing an 8-week class pass. All dogs start at Level 1 and have 8 consecutive weeks in the program; when you and your dog successfully complete the skills in Level 1, you are able to graduate and move on to the Level 2 class without any interruption. At the end of your 8-week class pass, you are invited to purchase another pass and continue your journey through the program levels.

As dogs move up through the Levels, I reach out to the dogs on the registration list to join the program. You have 24 hours to respond to your invite to join. If a response is not received, the next person on the list will be contacted. To register for the program, click the “Register Online” tab! You will be directed to a registration questionnaire to gather your information and determine your eligibility for the program. Once your registration is accepted, you will be sent an invoice for a $20 non-refundable deposit, which is required to confirm your registration.

​Dogs of all ages are invited to join the Manners & Life Skills Program. If you have a puppy aged 5 months and under, I recommend joining the Puppy Train & Play program first but it is not a requirement. Dogs must be comfortable working in close proximity to other dogs and people.

Class Schedule 

​Wednesdays

6:00 - 6:50pm Level 1

7:00 - 7:50pm Level 2

8:00 - 8:50pm Level 3

  • Sit without a lure

    Down without a lure

    Relaxed down/Settle

    Focus with small distraction

    Recall games: This Way!

    Stay for 30 seconds

    Stay with handler 10 feet away

    Self control games

    Door manners

    Distraction & focus games

    Loose leash foundations

    Fear Free Cooperative Care: targeting skills (hand touch), communication cues

  • Hand signals (sit/down/stand)

    Focus with moderate distraction

    Front

    Recall past moderate distractions

    Stay: distance and duration, owner out of sight

    Leave it: food, toys, unknown objects

    Heel work introduction

    Leash handling skills:

    Emergency skills: turn, stop

    Fear Free Cooperative Care: stationing skills (mat/platform), chin rest

  • Distance work

    Transitioning from Excited to Calm

    Focus with large distractions

    Recall with large distraction, past other dogs, off-leash

    Stay duration with owner out of sight

    Leave it: large distractions, heelwork and recall past food

    Walking politely past dogs

    Calm greetings with people and dogs (no jumping)

    Accepting a friendly stranger

    Emergency stop: from a distance and with added motion

    Advanced heel work

Puppy Train & Play

$160 +HST
Duration: 5 weeks

This five-week course is designed to provide you and your puppy with a fun and positive socialization experience while learning key skills to set up for a lifetime of success. Each class is 50–60 minutes. This class is suited for puppies between 8-20 weeks old on the first day of classes.  Class is offered on Thursday evenings at 6pm and 7pm; upon registration, puppies are assigned to one of the two time slots based on age, sex, breed, etc., to ensure a safe and fun training and playing environment for everyone. Proof of up-to-date vaccination record, as per puppy’s age, is required.

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Course includes: 

  • The keys to setting your puppy up for a lifetime of success as a confident and happy canine: socialization, bite inhibition, recall, chew toy training, resource guarding prevention, navigating fear periods, dog and child safety

  • Basic manners: mat/place training, sit, down, leave it, focus, recall, loose leash walking

  • Cooperative care & fear-free grooming, at-home care, and tips and tricks for happy veterinary visits

  • How to understand canine body language and communication

  • Safe play with puppies matched for age, size, breed, play style, etc., to ensure to a safe and fun learning environment for all 

  • Socialization and positive introductions: textures, surfaces, sounds, people, dogs, grooming, first aid 

  • Weekly education package

2024 Schedule:

*Tentative schedule. Dates are subject to change.

Confident K9

$25 +HST
Duration: 45 minutes

Confident K9 is designed to boost your dog’s confidence through sharing new positive experiences as a dog and handler team. Whether you want to build your dogs’ skills in a new environment, provide new mental enrichment opportunities, increase body awareness, introduce distance and distraction work, boost fitness and conditioning, or practice fun and engaging brain games and training exercises using fun and stimulating equipment, Confident K9 has something to offer every dog! 

Clients book each session separately. You may book one class at a time or multiple classes through the booking calendar. Each session is limited to four dogs. Dogs must be comfortable working in close proximity to other dogs. If you and your friends would like to reserve a slot together and train off-leash, please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate your request!  Please note, this is not a “drop in” training hour; the focus is on confidence-building and the exercises prepared for that session.

 

Equipment includes: FitPAWS fitness and conditioning equipment (Mini FitBones, FitBone, Giant FitBone, Trax Donut, Trax Peanut, Balance Disc, Ramp), K9 Klimb, wobble board, agility jumps, agility tunnel, trick training props, cavalettis, platforms, dog puzzles and brain games, and more! 

Book Online Today