A1 SIRIUS® Courteous Canine - For friendly dogs five months and up

First-time classes for adolescent and adult dogs are usually pretty wild and woolly affairs. Dogs bark and strain on leash and eyeball the other dogs. The dogs blow off food and toy lures, they blow off any attempts at training and they blow off their owners, which, of course, is why most people have come to class.

Training adult dogs can be frustrating and overwhelming, but this is not the fault of the dogs, or their owners, rather it is the fault of trying to use inappropriate training techniques and lack of early training.

At SIRIUS we have a manners class, with training techniques specifically designed for adult dogs. The SIRIUS® Courteous Canine class was recently developed by Dr. Ian Dunbar, who has now revolutionized adult classes, just as he revolutionized puppy classes 27 years ago.

The relaxed classical conditioning and the absolutely unique all-or-none reward training techniques (mostly developed in the Open Paw program) make training adult dogs simple, effective, surprisingly calm, and above all, rewarding.

Initial exercises focus on regaining attention, building confidence, calming, and settling-down. During the innovative attention-training exercises, most dogs learn to walk calmly on leash and to sit stay as a bonus. All-or-none reward training techniques are simply magical.

Once you have learned to control your dog's energy and exuberance and your dog has acquired some impulse control and now offers healthy attention, it is a much easier prospect to use lure/reward training techniques to teach the basic skills needed for a mannerly pet dog - sit, down, stand, stay, walking on-leash and polite greetings - and how to apply them in your day-to-day life.

SIRIUS® Courteous Canine is an excellent class for dogs that have never taken a class before or for dogs needing to brush up on rusty obedience skills.

Courteous Canine classes are for people-friendly and dog-friendly dogs; class is not the place to address a serious behavior problem.

For the most part, the class is taught on-leash until we are certain that all dogs are people-friendly and dog-friendly and safe to play and train off-leash. If your dog is reactive towards other dogs, or if your dog is fearful or unfriendly to people, you need a private consultation and we'll be happy to provide you with several referrals.

Requirements: Over five months of age; friendly to people and other dogs; proof of rabies vaccine.
Registration Fee: $200 Browse for Classes