The first class meeting will be an orientation held WITHOUT DOGS. Please bring current vaccination records and the required Insurance/Materials fee ($5-10, depending on city) to give to your instructor. Your instructor will discuss the proper types of equipment (leash, collar, etc.) that we recommend to help you do the best job in your training. Training equipment will be available at reasonable prices for anyone who may need to purchase it.

In addition to "Novice Obedience" exercises which are described below, our Beginning or Novice Dog Obedience classes offer discussion and question-and-answer opportunities to help students with correcting behavior problems and bad habits such as destructive chewing, hole-digging, nuisance barking, nipping, house-soiling, jumping on guests, escaping from the yard, and over-exuberance.

Here are the exercises that students learn and practice in our Beginning or Novice Dog Training classes:

• HEEL  (your dog learns to walk at your side without straining at the leash or tripping you up)

• SIT  (your dog sits on floor/ground, on command)

• AUTOMATIC SIT (your dog learns to sit each time you come to a stop, without a command)

• DOWN  (your dog lies on the floor/ground on command)

• STAND FOR INSPECTION (your dog stands still and allows someone to interact with him/her)

• STAY (practiced in Sit, Down and Stand positions, holding position for 1-3 minutes while you move up to 30 ft. away)

• RECALL ("Come" on command to sit in front of you)
  

• FINISH (after he/she comes to you and sits, your dog learns to return to Heel position on command)
  

• HAND SIGNALS, LONG DISTANCE TRAINING, and OFF-LEASH techniques are also introduced.