Classes

Requirements
Age: 9 weeks to 5 months
Vaccinations: Distemper/Parvo and Rabies (when puppy is of age)
Puppy must have been in the home for one full week AND be in good health (no sneezing/coughing, vomiting, or diarrhea). 

Puppy Play & Train Sessions are a chance for owners to get a short break from their high energy puppies while exposing puppies to appropriate socialization opportunities. For 90-minutes, the puppy group is socialized and trained by two certified instructors. Reinforcement of manners and basic obedience skills, social skill development with other pups, play and exercise are all covered in the Play & Train. 

In these sessions the instructors will be able to assess each pup’s behavior, provide individual guidance and support for each pup’s needs and provide owners with visual feedback on what is seen and accomplished and what can be continued at home. 

To stay safe, we limit human contact but maximize critical opportunities for baby dogs. The only people who can attend the play and train session will be the trainers (and perhaps a resident child who can assist). 

The instructors will make videos of each puppy and will demonstrate behaviors being trained. 

Each pup is strongly encouraged to do 2 sessions within a 3-week time period. This builds momentum with the training, play skills and puppies social fluency!  

Puppies from 9 weeks to 7 months. Puppies older than 7 months should sign up for Relationship Building Foundations. One hour each week for six (6) weeks.

This is a different kind of puppy class. We will be focusing on building a relationship with your puppy based on trust and respect. Students will learn to recognize the signals that their dog is offering to them and to send signals back that make sense to the dog. While you will learn how to teach your dog basic cues such as sit, down, and come, more importantly, you and your dog will begin a lifelong dialogue which will create a solid foundation for students who want a nice family pet, as well as, students interested in more advanced training with their dog in sports such as K9 Nose Work®, agility, obedience (formal and rally), flyball, and freestyle.

Class size is small. No more than six puppies. Puppies older than 7 months need to join RBF.

We will not have puppies at the first class so that we can talk about all the issues of utmost concern to the class participants. This class will be conducted via a ZOOM call. Past topics have included: biting, jumping, house training, household management (e.g., how do we keep the puppy from chewing everything?), barking, etc. Most students find this first class session to be a most productive time!

Requirement: completion of Puppy Relationship Building
Age range: 4-9 months
One hour each week for six (6) weeks

This class picks up where Puppy Relationship Building leaves off. We will continue to build on the foundational skills learned in PRB: sit/down maintain with increasing distraction, coming to you with increased distraction, introduction to heel work, teaching a “go to place” cue, and much more.

Please be aware that there will be no dog-dog social interaction in this class in order to train puppies to focus on you.

Ages: Between 9 months and 3 years old
Prerequisite: Puppy Relationship Building, Relationship Building Fundamentals or permission from Whole Dog Institute
Most adolescent dogs exhibit what we consider to be “naughty” behaviors because, let’s face it – they’re teenagers with excess energy exploring everything they possibly can. This class focuses on introducing and strengthening impulse control in adolescent dogs and addresses issues such as such as jumping up on people, pulling on the leash, bolting out the door and strengthening Leave It, recalls, Wait and Settle. This is not a class for leash reactivity or uncontrollable barking.

No pre-requisites, but we do suggest a 10-minute, no-charge evaluation prior to registration to insure that your dog has no human/dog aggression and will not bark uncontrollably during the class  (if you are confident these are not issues for your dog, no evaluation is needed).

One-hour class once a week for 6 weeks
A fun, relaxed class focused on building a strong foundation of communication and understanding between dog and handler. Students will learn to recognize the signals that their dogs are offering to them and to send signals back that make sense to the dogs. While you will learn how to teach your dog basic cues such as sit, down, and come, more importantly, you and your dog will begin a lifelong dialogue which will create a solid foundation for students who want a nice family pet, as well as, students interested in more advanced training with their dog in sports such as K9 Nose Work®, agility, obedience (formal and rally), flyball, and freestyle. The following cues will be worked on: prolonged sit and down with attention, emergency recall, leave it, sit to greet politely, and loose leash walking.

We will not have dogs at the first class so that we can talk about all the issues of utmost concern to the class participants. This class will be conducted via a ZOOM call.

Work outside of the class will be necessary in order to achieve class goals.

Pre-requisite: RBF or equivalent obedience class or permission of instructor
One hour class once a week for 6 weeks
Take your basic obedience skills to the next level. This class will focus on increasing loose leash walking skills, attention on you; prolonged stays (1 minute sit-stay and 3-minute down-stays), solid self control through high level leave its from food, toys and other dogs, impulse control around people and dogs, fast recalls with distraction, and a go to place cue so your dog will stay on a mat with distractions close by. Come and be challenged while having fun with your dog!

Introduction to tricks (ONLINE CLASS ONLY)
Pre-requisite: RBF or equivalent obedience class or permission of instructor
One hour Zoom call once a week for 6 weeks
Trick training is a great way to give your dog mental stimulation, build focus and deepen your relationship with your dog while teaching behaviors that can be a foundation for other sports and activities. We will teach you how use free-shaping, luring, capturing and targeting to get your dog to learn fun and even useful behaviors. There will be special emphasis on encouraging dogs to creatively offer behaviors that can be rewarded and shaped into amazing tricks. Prepare for AKC Trick Titles!

Pre-requisite: APRB, RBF or equivalent obedience class or permission of instructor

All dogs are required to have taken a group obedience class prior to taking Outdoor Agility Games. If you haven’t taken Relationship Building Fundamentals, please email Beth Grooms to set up a free evaluation for permission to enroll.

If this class is FULL, let us know you want to join – we can add another class once we have enough folks on the waitlist. (info@wholedoginstitute.com)

Using agility equipment as tools, we will play games that present your dog with physical and mental challenges. This is a fun way to exercise and stimulate your dog. Recall games will be incorporated weekly.

Students must bring a crate. Dogs will spend part of the class playing and part of the class resting in their crates. This teaches them to play intensely and then calm down. This class is held outdoors, so please dress appropriately for the weather. See our inclement weather policy at the bottom of this page.

Prerequisite: 9 months of age and older. Basic obedience including understanding of sit, down, stay, and come. Prior participation in Outdoor Agility Games strongly recommended. 

Learn and practice agility foundation skills, obstacles, and handling techniques. The emphasis is on having fun together and developing teamwork with your dog. This class is appropriate for dogs who are comfortable in proximity to other dogs. Many exercises will entail one dog working off-leash at a time while other dogs wait their turn on-leash nearby.

This class is intended to be repeated until dogs are ready to sequence short courses.

ALL DOGS MUST BE FRIENDLY TO DOGS AND PEOPLE.

Prerequisite: Agility Fundamentals or permission of instructor

This class is designed for students interested in progressing their basic agility skills to include 2-on-2-off contact skills, weaves, teeter, and intermediate handling. We start with the basics and build a solid foundation. From there, we advance at the dog/handler’s pace building skill and enthusiasm as we go. Teams will progress at different rates. The goal is to have fun while developing proficiency at the sport to allow competition if desired.

Prerequisite: Proficient on all obstacles except weaves and teeter. 

This class is for the Intermediate agility student. It will focus on teaching handlers the most efficient lines and crosses. Dogs should be ready to start short sequences of all obstacles. Weaves and teeter will also be worked on separately.

Pre-requisite: Novice Agility Sequencing & Handling Skills (or equivalent) or permission of the instructor

This fun and challenging agility class features courses and sequences at the advanced level, and higher, with emphasis on independent obstacle performance, turns and crosses, and obstacle/handler focus work.

Crate use is encouraged. One dog works on the field at a time and dogs must be crated or kept in the car until their turn. This class is held outdoors, so please dress appropriately for the weather. See our inclement weather policy at the bottom of this page.

Reactive Dog Agility

This class will focus on agility basics. The key DIFFERENCE from our other agility classes is that dogs work ONE AT A TIME in the ring. This allows dogs that have dog reactivity to play agility with us.

This class teaches the basics but can also progress students until they are sequencing full courses.

This is a 1 hour class that weekly for six weeks.
Students must bring a crate or x-pen to class for their dog.
Prerequisite: Assessment questionnaire and evaluation required BEFORE signing up for the class. Only approved dogs will be allowed into the class.
If your dog becomes overly excited easily, barks, lunges, growls, or just downright loses control, this is the class for you. The exercises in this class are often short, highly focused training sessions that teach dogs an appropriate response. Activities are created with the real world in mind and is perfect for difficult family dogs. This unique approach allows you to be the educational leader and quickly and effectively guide your dog to making the right choices and gaining the skills they need.

Email to request assessment questionnaire for your dog: info@wholedoginstitute.com

Reactive Dog Agility

This class will focus on agility basics. The key DIFFERENCE from our other agility classes is that dogs work ONE AT A TIME in the ring. This allows dogs that have dog reactivity to play agility with us.

This class teaches the basics but can also progress students until they are sequencing full courses.

Minimum age: 4 months, no obedience required
One hour class once a week for 6 weeks

Classes follow this sequence. NO EXCEPTIONS.

• K9 Nose Work® 1
• K9 Nose Work® 2
• K9 Nose Work® 3
• K9 Nose Work® 4
• Continuing Odor
• Competition Odor Class
• Trial prep for NW2 and NW3
• Trial prep for NW3
• Trial prep for Elite

Wonderful activity for dogs of all ages! Excellent mental stimulation – will tire out even high energy puppies/dogs. Also appropriate for older dogs looking for something fun to do, dogs who are rehabilitating an injury, or reactive dogs not comfortable working around other dogs.

All dogs have the ability to excel at K9 Nose Work® since dogs “see” the world through their noses. If you are looking for a way to exercise your dog and drain some excess energy, Nose Work may be just the thing. This is a sport that celebrates the dog’s natural abilities and teaches humans to recognize and build on those natural talents. Learn how to have fun with your dog’s sniffing habits (instead of complaining about them)! Classes are taken in sequence to first allow dogs to learn to problem solve finding the source, experience multiple environments and conditions, and then to train on specific odors. Because each dog works one at a time with no other dog present, handlers can relax and enjoy the activity (appropriate for reactive dogs). The sport also builds confidence in low confidence/anxious dogs.

Price: $100/hour  

Travel fee: $20-25 depending on location.
Email us at info@wholedoginstitute.com for more information.