K9 Academy - Basic Manners Courses

Open Enrollment - Start when you're ready!

A new way to train your dog! With goal-based self-contained lessons, you can jump into a class at any time and not miss ANYTHING. Each week’s activities are built around problem-solving a real-life situation—like polite behavior around guests or a successful neighborhood walk or part outing—keeping you engaged and making learning basic manners a blast.

Choose from NEW 3 week courses:

- Home Manners Course ($100)

- World Manners Course ($100)

Save and bundle up! Sign up for both Home and World Manners ($200 value) for $175!

What To Expect

Goal-Based Training

Lifelong Goals

This class is based on life-long goals for students. The class is intended to help students:

Build effective relationships with their dogs based on effective interspecies communication, thus: increasing the bonds between owners and their dogs; avoiding the rise of unwanted behaviors and the use of punishment due to human misunderstanding of the needs, desires, and intentions of dogs; avoiding the risk or reinforcement of unwanted behaviors due to poor human to dog communication
Choose a positive, problem-solving approach when faced with new challenges or situations over their dog’s lifetime

Course Goals

To support the Lifelong Goals, every detail of this course is built around achieving the following course goals.

By the end of this course, students will:

How Dogs Learn

Understand how dogs learn by association (classical conditioning) and consequence (operant conditioning), and the implications of these learning modes for training and living with dogs.

Basic Needs

Understand the basic physical and mental stimulation needs of dogs and how to provide for them.

Reinforcement & Motivation

Understand what is reinforcing for their dog and be able to use this knowledge to effect positive training outcomes. Reward Removal—negative punishment—and Say Please are both used under this goal

Handling and Focus

Be able to achieve and maintain control of their dog through safe, positive leash handling and positive methods of focusing their dog’s attention.

Situational Awareness

Understand the importance of and learn to always be aware of one’s surroundings and be ready to respond proactively as needed to keep dogs and humans safe and comfortable.

Work at the Dog’s Level

Understand the importance of and be able to set reasonable expectations for and assess their dog’s behavior and progress based on one’s own skills, the dog’s experience, and the surrounding situation. Criteria setting, proofing, and rate of reinforcement are built into the exercises designed to teach this goal.

Problem Solving & Real-World Application

Be able to apply class learning to problem solve positive approaches to real life situations.

Classroom Environment Goals

In order to create a space in which students can achieve the course goals, this course is organized to meet the following Classroom Environment Goals:

Collegiality

Offers opportunities that foster the supportive sharing of ideas.

Comfortable & Safe Learning

Encourages creativity and experimentation by placing an emphasis on students’ progress rather than dogs’ performance success.

Real World Context

Provides ample opportunities and real-life contexts for practice and problem solving that can be applied to real life situations.

Calm & Focused Learning

Provides a calm and focused learning environment by making classroom management and handling & focus techniques an integral part of the curriculum. The goal is to create a truly calm space rather than simply managing problems.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Answers You Need

What is Open Enrollment?

Open enrollment means that dogs and their people can start at any point in the class. Say you a class has started and two weeks into that class you decide to register, but the class only has 4 sessions left. With open enrollment, you don’t have to wait! Simply join the already-in-progress class.

In open enrollment, for example, all students attend 6 weeks in a row after an initial group or one-on-one orientation. But some may start with session one, others in session 2, still others in session 5, and so on. If your start class in session 3 you and your dog will attend sessions 3, 4, 5, 6, 1, 2.

With our new shorter programs for home manners and word manners, your time commitment for the classes is minimal.

How long is the course?

Each of the Basic Manners courses is 3 weeks long with one session each week. The class will meet for an hour each session.

How long will it take for my dog to be trained?

That answer is up to you and your dog!
Our Certified Professional Dog Trainer will break down each scenario into its working parts to be able to set you up for success. If you are successful, that means you are able to set up your dog for success too! The best indicator of how much time it will take to train your dog will vary greatly by individual and the dog. Consistency and lots of practice are key!

Are vaccinations required for the course?

Yes. Rabies, Bordetella, and the parvo/distemper combi vaccines are required before training can begin.

How do I know the group classes are right for me and my dog?

If the thought of you and your dog being in a group of people with other dogs makes you nervous, schedule a consultation with our dog trainer! He will be able to help you find the right training program for you.

How do I register for a course?

You can register for the courses through the client portal. Click HERE.

Start the process to book a reservation but choose the group class option. Choose the first day you'd like to start.The portal will prompt you to purchase a training package. follow the next steps through checkout.

NOTE: An Orientation is required before beginning a course. If you have not already spoken to our trainer to make arrangements for an orientation, please contact us or after registering, the trainer will contact you.

The alternative will be to contact us to schedule the orientation and register for the course after the orientation.