Class Offerings

I currently offer several types of classes in multiple locations.

1. Petco: I teach 6 classes per week at the Concord Petco at various times and days. The classes offered currently are Puppy I, Puppy II, Adult I and Adult II. The cost for all the Petco classes is $110 for 6 weeks.

Puppy I: this class is designed for young puppies that have 2 sets of shots. The class focus is less on commands and more on socializing with other puppies and people, going over potty training issues and crate training and learning good puppy manners such as not mouthing, mounting, leash biting, barking for attention etc. I do teach the puppies to sit, down, do a basic leave-it, watch, stay for a food dish, sit for petting and start leash walking skills.


Puppy II: is designed for older puppies or ones that have graduated from Puppy I. The class focus is more on commands than problem solving. I make sure that the puppies can do all of the above in Puppy I and move on to a more formal stay, wait at the door, a beginning heel, polite people greetings, passing other dogs on leash nicely, more owner focus, coming when called, take-it and drop-it, toy drive, a more advanced leave-it and any other issues that may come up.

Adult I: is designed for dogs over 11 months that have had zero basic training. This class is similar to Puppy I and Puppy II rolled together. Adult dogs may have some behavior issues different from puppies or just a more severe form of the same issues such as, jumping up excessively, pulling hard on the leash, straining to see other dogs, lack of focus on owners etc. In Adult I I teach all the dogs to sit, down, sit, stand, stay, leave-it, heel, come, sit for petting and nose targeting.

Adult II: is considered to be the intermediate course. It build on Adult I and I tend to go at the pace of the dogs in the class. We strengthen previously taught behaviors and add new ones when the dogs are ready. New behaviors may include: go to mat, heel off-leash, recall past other dogs, side-by-side stays, distance downs (drop on recall), retrieval and a few fun tricks.

Every dog progresses at a different rate, so it is my philosophy to go at the rate of each dog. I don't mind if one dog isn't ready for stay and is working on other commands while I have other dogs doing stays. I like to say that I am not a cookie cutter trainer. The down side of this is that when outsiders watch my class, they sometimes are confused that all the dogs are not preforming the same behaviors. Dogs are not robots though!

2. My group classes: I used to only do private training outside of Petco, but I found a need for a different type of group class that Petco does not offer.

Park Class: I currently offer a 4 week series for $100 at Newhall Park. The class is an intense focus on 4 core commands; leave-it, heel, stay and recall. All of the dogs that I have enrolled are previous clients and I know that their dogs can already do the basic level of the commands so we don't have to waste our time with sits, downs and all the baby steps. At the end of the 4 weeks, all of the dogs thus far, have been able to leave tasty tidbits I drop like cheese or chicken treats, leave other dogs walking and joggers and leave the geese in the nearby pond! At the end all dogs have a much better on leash heel, some can do an off leash heel and all of the dogs had stellar side-by-side stays and recalls. The advantage of this class versus Petco is numerous.
- I know all of the dogs coming in so there are no surprises in temperament.
- We all start and finish at the same time without any people signing up in the middle of our series.
- There is ample space to do exercises and drills.
- We don't have to worry about shoppers interrupting us.
- We have a more "real world" feel as we are outside and have many distractions available to work with a short walk away.
- It is so nice being outside in this wonderful weather!

3. Private training: I do offer private training in your home or at a decided location. Most of my private training clients have reactive dogs or young puppies that cannot start classes yet. A few just needed a jump start on commands before being comfortable in a class setting and a few did some sessions after group classes to sharpen some of their skills. Private training can really cover whatever you want since you get to dictate the lesson! The downside of that is sometimes that can create holes in learning since we aren't following a given course. Private training is more costly. I charge $45-50 per hour.

Classes waiting to be offered
I have several classes that I want to offer, that I am awaiting interest in.

1. About Town: do you want to be able to take your dog with you down busy streets? Would you like to enjoy a lunch at an outdoor cafe and have your dog lie politely under the table? Do you want to take your dog on vacations and visits to see friends and have all go smoothly? That is what the "About Town" class is all about. It will be a 4 week series for $100 and cap at 4 dogs. Each week we will go to a different location such as a coffee shop, cafe, home depot, park for a picnic or city center. The ideal is that the dogs will learn to down-stay on a mat or towel while you eat or chat, that the dogs can heel nicely in a variety of public settings with associated distractions and be stress-free during all of the different outings. The first class will take place at a park to go over teaching the mat behavior and heeling and assessing the dogs stress level and learning how to make your dog more comfortable and picking/choosing appropriate places to take him.

2. Tricks: I love teaching my dogs tricks, but not all owners see this as a class that they want to invest in. The class would take place at Newhall and run for 4 weeks for $100. In the class, clickers are recommended, but not required. Tricks taught will include: spin, beg-up, high-five, wave, roll-over, play dead, crawl, weave between the legs, and possibly more depending on how far we get and the physical abilities of each dog. If you have seen my dogs you know that they can do all the above plus quite a few more that I am capable of teaching to any dog that has the physical ability. Some dogs for example, cannot bounce in the air, jump into their owners arms or turn off light switches due to their size!

3. Canine Good Citizen Prep Class: the CGC test is a test offered by AKC that encompasses "what every good dog should know." The prep class is designed to make sure your dog knows all these things and can pass the test. 4 weeks, $100 at Newhall. The test itself is 10 items and costs $10 to take. People are more than welcome to simply take the test and see if they pass. Tests can be taken by appointment.

Test Items:
1. Accepting a friendly stranger: dog must not show any fear or be aggressive to a stranger approaching.
2. Sit politely for petting: dog must remain seated to be pet by said stranger.
3. Loose leash walking: dog must be able to walk nicely on a leash (without prong collar, choke chains, or no-pull harness) and make several different turns with owner.
4. Walking through a crowd: when walking past people, dog cannot show too much interest or be rude and jump/leash wrap the people.
5. Tolerating another dog: dog will pass another leashed dog and not be overly excited or display reactiveness.
6. Grooming and appearance: dog will allow me to brush and exam him as a vet or groomer would.
7. 20 foot stay with return to dog.
8. 20 foot stay with recall.
9. Reaction to a distraction such as a ball bouncing or jogger.
10. Supervised separation: I take the dog for 3 minutes without you and he cannot display any moderate or severe separation anxiety.

Why take the CGC test? It is a prerequisite to therapy dog work and some other activities. It can lower home owners and renters insurance or allow your dog into a place that may have not. My landlord did not take dogs, but he did when I told them they have their CGC and faxed their certificates! There are some places such as doggie day cares, or parks or trails that only allow CGC dogs. I personally did it because I love to have their certificates framed on the wall and I feel proud that they passed. It is a testament to our training together.

If you are interested in any of the above classes, you can e-mail me at ally@tailoreddogtraining.com or check out my website: http://www.tailoreddogtraining.com/