Puppy
- Watch me: Distracted puppy immediately turns toward handler upon hearing “watch me.”
- Tethering: Tethered puppy lies quietly next to handler without being prompted within five seconds.
- Greeting: Tethered puppy reliably sits to greet classmates.
- Touch Training: Puppy easily moves into a sit or down with light pressure and remains in position until released.*
Beginner
- Watch me: Distracted dog immediately turns toward handler upon hearing “watch me.”
- Greeting: Tethered dog reliably sits to greet classmates.
- Tethering: Tethered dog lies quietly next to handler without being prompted within five seconds.
- Recall: Dog immediately comes when called across the room.
- Touch Training: Dog easily moves into a sit or down with light pressure and remains in position until released.*
Intermediate
- Greetings: Leashed dog automatically sits to greet classmates. Handler learns how to orchestrate safer dog-dog interactions.
- Recall: Distracted dog immediately comes when called across the room.
- Sit: Leashed dog sits immediately when prompted and remains solidly in position at least ten seconds.
- Down: Dog lies down with light downward leash pressure. Handlers practice twenty-minute (leashed) downs daily at home.
- Wait: Dog stops at door threshold when cued and remains there as handler walks past and out the door first. Dog remains stopped until invited to follow.
- Loose Leash Walking: Handler learns beginning loose leash walking skills, including how to hold the leash and click with correct timing.
Advanced
- Greetings: Leashed dog refrains from greeting/sniffing other dogs or people until invited: “make friends.”
- Recall: Dog comes immediately when called across the room, ignoring nearby dogs/people.
- Sit: Dog sits immediately when prompted and remains solidly in position with handler at least ten feet from dog.
- Down: Dog lies down immediately when asked, without additional handler cues such as prompting with the leash, bending, or touching the floor.
- Loose Leash Walking: Dog walks at handler’s side without pulling toward walking partner team or interesting smells; when handler stops, dog stops immediately.
- Walking Partner Greetings: Dog sits immediately when prompted on a loose leash and remains solidly in position while: handlers shake hands; handler pets walking partner’s (seated) dog; walking partner pets handler’s dog.
- Wait: Dog stops and remains in place, without creeping forward, as handler walks a room length away.
- Place: Skills are learned for teaching dog to go to a mat on cue.
Expert
- Recall: Dog comes immediately in a straight line to the handler amid strong distractions, permitting collar to be grasped.
- Emergency Recall: Dog immediately runs across large open space to owner and permits collar to be grasped.
- Advanced Greetings: Leashed dog tolerates unfamiliar dogs abruptly running up and sniffing. Dog comfortably tolerates physical handling of paws and other body parts by classmates.
- Place: With handler in fixed position, dog immediately goes directly to a mat not less than ten feet away when prompted.
- Heel: Leashed dog heels for several minutes and sits automatically when handler stops.
- Backward Walking: Dog will match handler’s backward walking by walking backward in a straight line at least five steps.
- Loose Leash Walking: Dog maintains a loose leash throughout several direction changes and amid strong distractions.
Elite
- Tricks: Variety of tricks are learned. Possibilities include retrieve, bow, and spin.
- Leave-It: Dog will immediately move at least three feet away from an exposed treat.
- Advanced Basic Obedience: Possibilities include: overriding a “stranger’s offer” of food; long distance “place”; cues given from distance.
- Drop on Recall: While coming when called, dog will down immediately when prompted.
- Back up: Dog will back up at least five steps in a straight line.
- Stand: Dog moves into a stand position when prompted.
- Close: “Off-leash” dog remains in a six foot radius of handler.
- Over: “Off-leash” dog will move over to the side of the road.
*”Release” refers to a signal given to your dog that the exercise is finished.
Competency of skills must be demonstrated before advancing
Skills shown represent only a partial list of exercises taught in class