Level 1 Beginner Obedience
Welcome to Level 1 Obedience class! Designed for young dogs over 9 months old, this class focuses on mastering essential everyday manners and building a rock-solid foundation for future training.
Please note, because a dog's progress heavily depends on their age and developmental stage, Level 1 is structured to be a repeatable foundation course. It is completely normal for some dogs to need a second round to fully mature and solidify their skills before moving up - and we love supporting the through that journey at their own pace!
The main focus of this class will be introducing basic manners and handling techniques to achieve the following: Sit, Down, Stay, Stand, and Come, while also introducing heel position and loose leash walking. The commands of Sit, Down and Stay will also be taught in heel position, (as most dogs entering this class are used to performing these seated in front of their handler). You will learn how to effectively communicate with your dog using positive reinforcement, building a relationship based on trust and clear expectations. We will also work on focus, engagement, impulse control, and social neutrality.
We will use a combination of positive reward training techniques with formal training exercises, along with fun games to support what we are trying to teach our dogs.
You will receive a training collar and lead in this class. The training collar is a nylon slip collar and the training leash is a 6 foot cotton, light weight leash.
We use a LOT of treats in this class to teach! Bring several different types of SOFT and CHEWY treats, each escalating in value. Some of our favorite types of treats to use are:
*String Cheese
*Cut up hot dogs
*Chopped roasted chicken or beef (meat, fish, etc.)
*Freeze dried chicken/beef/fish, etc
There are many many treats marketed for dogs. Select treats your dog gets excited over, while keeping in mind that young dogs get bored and lose focus quickly. So having a variety of treats to help get their attention back is essential. The most exciting treats are not always marketed for dogs!
Please make sure you read the RULES carefully regarding dog behavior, excusal from class, along with building and grounds etiquette.
Upon completion of class, Level 1 teams receive a certificate and a perfect attendance ribbon for those who make every class.
Level 1 graduate, Pearl, showing off her Perfect Attendance Ribbon
Level 1 teams learning about how to teach heel position to their dogs
Level 1 dogs working on their down stays
Level 1 dog, Riley, Working on a Stand Stay
Relaxed Downs! A wonderful tool to help teach impulse control
Towards the end of Level 1 class set, dogs will be introduced to the automatic sit. When the handler stops at the cone, the dog will sit when the handler is no longer moving.
It starts with a Sit and a Stay, and then the handler will walk completely around their dog and return to heel position.
Level 1 dogs put their loose leash walking skills to the test by waking through a serpentine of cones.
Level 1 dogs being introduced to distractions to heel by and work on attention during distractions
Introducing distance to the Sit Stay for Level 1 dogs.