Ready to start your dog’s training? Want to strengthen skills she’s already learned? Or maybe you’re looking to try something totally new? Whatever you need – from basic obedience and advanced social skills to pure out-and-out fun – there’s a Mindful Manners class for you.
Charm School
From the Ground Up
More than just a traditional obedience class! Your dogs will learn basic social skills like polite greetings, settling on a mat, and coming when called. Control Unleashed® games will help you and your dog navigate the world in harmony rather than in conflict. On top of that, we’ll introduce some sports foundations like toy play, retrieve, wrap around a cone, and pivots. The humans will learn reinforcement strategies with food and toys at the same time the dogs advance their listening skills. Best of all, everybody has fun.
Who’s it for: Everybody! Puppies, teenagers, young adults, oldsters. Doesn’t matter if you have a sports dog, working dog, companion dog.
Puppy Politeness
Good manners are the foundation of good behavior, so start building your pup’s social skills with our puppy classes. This class will cover clicker training in basic cues such as sit, down, stay, come, and drop it. We’ll cover real-world skills like polite greetings, loose leash walking, and house training, In addition, we’ll explore ways to prevent common puppy problems like nipping, jumping, and destructive chewing.
Who it’s for: Puppies from 9 to 20 weeks old
Doggie Decorum
Perhaps your pup just graduated from Our Puppy Politeness class and you want to continue her schooling with a “grown-up” dog training class. Or maybe he’s no longer a puppy but hasn’t had much (or any) prior training. Doggie Decorum is the place where you and your best friend can enjoy learning together.
This class will strengthen your dog’s responses to basic cues such as sit, down, stay, and come, and will help him learn to maintain focus and attention when distracted.
Who it’s for: Dogs over 20 weeks old
Gracious Greetings
Is your dog a jumper? Does he greet visitors at the door standing on his hind legs with paws outstretched? Does he strain to break free of the leash every time he sees another dog? Gracious Greetings will change all that by teaching better behavior through self control.
This class covers calmly sitting and waiting to greet houseguests at the door, walking politely on leash, and safely interacting with people and dogs out in the real world.
Who it’s for: Dogs over 20 weeks old
Life in the Real World
Hounds Downtown
Taking your dog with you to all the places you love is fun – as long as she behaves herself and listens to what you say. Whether you’re walking in the park, enjoying lunch at a restaurant, or watching your kid’s sports, Hounds Downtown will teach your dog the right way to behave just about anywhere.
This class covers basic safety strategies such as handling distractions, socially appropriate greetings, and reliable recalls. Your dog will be exposed to a variety of environments, since each class takes place at a different location.
The sequel to this class will add advanced off-leash directional work and call-backs from increasing distances. Rally style heelwork and Urban Agility style exercises using benches and playground equipment add to the fun (and excitement).
Who it’s for: Graduates of Puppy Politeness or Doggie Decorum
Canine Good Citizen
The American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen program sets the standard for good manners. Designed officially to recognize dogs for exemplary behavior, CGC is also good preparation for a variety of other activities from canine competition to therapy dog training.
The class will cover a wide variety of behavioral skills, from good leash manners and recall to meeting unfamiliar people and animals, in preparation for the CGC test. At the end of the class, you and your dog can take the 10-step CGC test administered by a certified AKC CGC Evaluator. The AKC will award certificates and titles to dogs who pass the test.
Cooperative Care
Not all dogs are keen on vet visits, nail trims, grooming, or medicines. We want them not only to tolerate handling and husbandry, but to participate willingly.
The class will cover teaching duration target behaviors (such as a chin rest). With these skills, your dog can feel more in control: when he performs the behavior, he’s indicating that he’s ready; when he breaks the behavior, he’s saying – politely – that it’s time for a break. Everybody wins!
Playtime!
Tricks for Treats
Let’s face it: tricks are fun and are a great way to impress your friends and family with how smart and talented your dog is. Better yet, it’s a great way to improve your training skills and her learning skills. And just wait until your dog gets into the spirit of things and starts inventing her own tricks!
This class will cover the timeless classics like shake, wave, roll over, and bow. We’ll also explore tricks with props – drumming, skateboarding, getting in boxes. You’ll learn how to shape and strengthen behaviors using clicker-based techniques.
Rally Fundamentals
The sport of Rally challenges you and your dog to navigate a marked obedience obstacle course as a team, facing new behavioral tests at each station along the way. Playing Rally strengthens your dog’s practical, real-world obedience skills and your handling abilities, but the emphasis is on having fun.
Follow Your Nose
Canines’ snouts are 10,000 to 100,000 times more powerful than human noses, so it’s no wonder that they love nosework. It’s a play-anywhere game that fully engages your dog’s sense of smell and your ability to read your dog’s body language. It’s a game that can be enjoyed by young and old dogs alike, and is a great activity for shy, hyperactive, and leash-reactive dogs.