Spring 2008 class schedule -- seven Monday nights:

April 7
April 14
April 21 (SKIPPED MONDAY -- NO CLASS!)
April 28
May 5
May 12
May 19
May 26 (SKIPPED MONDAY -- NO CLASS!)
June 2 (graduation)

Scheduled Class — click class for description	Scheduled Time	Fee	Instructor	Duration	Prerequisite
Obedience (Beginner)	7:00 PM	$130.00	Bill del Solar	7 weeks	Proof of age appropriate shots
Obedience (Advanced Beginner)	7:00 PM	$130.00	Bill del Solar or Marie Colasanti	7 weeks	Obedience (Beginner)
Obedience (Intermediate)	8:00 PM	$130.00	Marie Colasanti or Bill del Solar	7 weeks	Obedience (Advanced Beginner)
Therapy Dog training	8:00 PM	$130.00	Marie Colasanti	7 weeks	Obedience (Beginner), or Puppy Kindergarten (Level 2) if the dog is 1 year old and did well in that class
Rally (Level 1)	9:00 PM	$130.00	Bill del Solar	6 weeks	Proof of age appropriate shots
Test/Evaluation — click test for description	By Appointment Only	Fee	Proctor	Duration
CGC test	Click to make an appointment	$10.00	Marie Colasanti	15 minutes
Therapy Dog evaluation	Click to make an appointment	$20.00	Marie Colasanti	15 minutes
CGC test and Therapy Dog evaluation	Click to make an appointment	$25.00	Marie Colasanti	25 minutes

Please use our registration page to enroll in a class.

Class Descriptions

Obedience (Beginner)

All dogs who have had all their shots and who are at least six months old are eligible for the Obedience Beginner class.  

Handlers will be taught

to put a chain training collar on a dog correctly and

to hold a leather training lead.

Dogs will be taught on lead with voice commands

to heel,

to turn left or right,

to perform an about turn (180° to the right),

to perform an about turn to the left (180° right for the dog, 180° left for the handler),

to heel in a tight circle to the left or to the right,

to speed up while heeling,

to slow down while heeling,

to walk through a crowd while heeling,

to walk over different kinds of surfaces while heeling,

to sit,

to lie down,

to stay while sitting,

to stay while lying down,

to heel in a figure eight,

to stand (and stay for examination by a stranger), and

to come (the recall).

Obedience (Advanced Beginner)

All dogs who have graduated from the Obedience Beginner class are elegible for the Obedience Advanced Beginner class.  

This course is intended to help handler and dog to pass the CGC test.  

Dogs will be taught on lead

to accept a friendly stranger,

• the handler and dog are approached by a stranger
• the handler and stranger shake hands
• the dog remains at the side of the handler and is not touched by the stranger
• the dog does not show any signs of a defensive nature and willingly accepts the stranger while the stranger talks to the handler

to sit politely for petting,

• the dog learns to be petted without showing signs of shyness

to be groomed by a stranger,

• the dog accepts being groomed lightly by a stranger
• for that exercise, each handler must be equipped with a dog comb or brush

to go for a walk,

• the handler and dog walk together and turn right, turn left, about turn, and stop

to walk through a crowd,

• the handler and dog walk together around other people and dogs without the dog's jumping or the the handler's loosing control of the dog

to stay while sitting,

• the handler must be able to have the dog sit on command
• the handler must leave the dog and walk 20 ft away from the dog

to stay while lying down,

• the handler must be able to have the dog lie down on command
• the handler must leave the dog and walk 20 ft away from the dog

to come when called,

• recall command from a distance of 10 ft

to behave calmly in the presence of another dog and handler,

• during a walk, two teams of handler and dog approach each other, stop, and exchange greetings
• the dog may show casual interest
• the dog may not behave aggressively toward the other dog or handler

to respond calmly to distractions,

• the dog may not display aggression or panic
• the distractions will be a dropped bowl, loud noises, etc

to endure brief separation from the handler

• while a stranger holds the dog's 6 ft lead, the handler must go out of the dog's sight for three minutes.

Intermediate Obedience

All dogs who have graduated from the Beginner Obedience class are eligible for the Intermediate Obedience class.  

Dogs will be taught off lead with hand signals

to heel,

to turn left or right,

to perform an about turn (180° to the right),

to perform an about turn to the left (180° right for the dog, 180° left for the handler),

to heel in a tight circle to the left or to the right,

to speed up while heeling,

to slow down while heeling,

to sit,

to lie down,

to stay while sitting,

to stay while lying down,

to heel in a figure eight,

to stand (and stay for examination by a stranger),

to come (the recall), and

to drop down during a recall.

Rally (Level 1)

All dogs who have had all their shots and who are at least six months old are elegible for the Rally Level 1 class.  

Handlers will be introduced to two families of rally signs (AKC and APDT).   In Obedience, the instructor or judge calls out the exercise that is to be performed, but in Rally there is only the dog, the handler, and the signs to be read by the handler.  

Dogs will be taught on lead

to heel,

to turn left or right,

to perform an about turn (180° to the right),

to perform an about U turn (180° to the left),

to perform an about turn to the left (180° right for the dog, 180° left for the handler),

to turn 270° to the left or to the right (that's 3/4 of a full turn),

to pivot in place to the left or to the right,

to speed up while heeling,

to slow down while heeling,

to sidestep while heeling,

to sit,

to sit and then stand,

to sit and then lie down,

to sit, then lie down, then sit once again

to lie down,

to stay in a sit while the handler walks around the dog,

to sit, then down, and stay down while the handler walks around the dog,

to start heeling without first sitting up from a down,

to heel around a spiral to the left or to the right,

to heel through a straight figure eight,

to heel through a serpentine weave,

to come to a sitting position in front of the handler and finish to the right,

to come to a sitting position in front of the handler and finish to the left, and

take one, two, three steps forward.

Handlers will be taught as bonus exercises with their dog off lead

halt, leave dog, call to heel,

call dog front, side step to the left or right, and

halt, leave dog, recall, and finish to either the left or right.

Therapy Dog Training

All dogs who have graduated from either the Beginner or Puppy Kindergarten classes are elegible for the Therapy Dog class.  

Dogs will be taught on lead with hand signals most of what is taught in the Intermediate Obedience class as well as

to remain seated beside his handler while a stranger approaches and stands facing them at a distance of four feet,

• the stranger enthusiastically greets and touches the handler,
• the stranger asks the dog's name, repeats the name loudly, and walks around the handler and dog,
• the stranger inspects and pets the dog and touches the dog,
• the stranger hugs the dog,

to remain seated beside his handler while being approached by a stranger

• who walks erratically with a cane,
• who talks in an odd voice,
• who pats the dog roughly on the head, and
• who bumps the dog with the cane,

to remain seated beside his handler while being approached by a stranger

• who walks noisily with a walker,
• who pats the dog roughly on the head, and
• who bumps the dog with the walker,

to remain seated beside his handler while being approached by a stranger

• who walks with crutches,
• who pats the dog roughly on the head, and
• who bumps the dog with the crutches,

to approach and interact with a stranger seated in a wheelchair

• who pats the dog roughly on the head, and
• who bumps the dog with the wheelchair,

to remain seated beside his handler

• while another therapy team approach and stand facing them,

to remain seated beside his handler

• while another therapy team approach and stand beside them,

to heel on lead on either side of the handler through a group of people

• who are talking
• amid wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and crutches
• with another therapy team nearby,

to heel on lead on either side of the handler past groups of people

• who are talking, laughing, joking, back slapping, and carrying on
• while a metal bowl is dropped to the floor behind the handler and dog,
• an umbrella is opened and closed,
• one person runs, and
• two people have a loud simulated argument
• with another therapy team nearby,

to heel on lead past food that has been dropped on the floor

• while another therapy team is also near the food.

Test Descriptions

CGC test

The CGC test is administered by an AKC CGC evaluator in good standing.  

Therapy Dog evaluation

The Therapy Dog test is administered by a Bright and Beautiful Therapy Dogs Therapy Dog evaluator in good standing.  

Which dog breeds may be registered for classes

Registration is open to any dog whether Pure Bred or All-American.  

Where and when classes are held

Classes meet at the YMHA -- 501 Green Lane, Union, NJ -- on Monday nights at 7:00 PM from September through June except the first class of every session which meets at 6:30 PM.  

What to wear

During classes, you will be standing, walking, and running on rubber mats over a wooden floor, so please wear comfortable clothing and low-heeled shoes with rubber soles.  

Equipment you will need for your dog

You will need a 3/4-inch wide, 6-foot long leather training lead and a tight-link-design chain training collar.   Both items may be purchased from the Club.  

Banned equipment

Please note that spike collars, pinch collars, and electronic training collars are not permitted.  

Chain leads and adjustable leads are not permitted in any class because they are dangerous and afford a handler poor control over a dog.  

Class size

The average class consists of eight to twelve dogs, and the Training Director has an Assistant Trainer to give individual attention as may be required.  

Competition and Titles

The Obedience Intermediate class prepares students to earn the AKC Canine Good Citizen title, and it is a start on the road to earning AKC competition titles.  

If you have a Pure Bred dog who is registered with the AKC, you may participate in AKC sanctioned obedience and rally trials, shows at which points are awarded toward titles.  

If you have a dog from a breed that may be registered with the AKC, you may obtain an ILP which will entitle your dog to participate in AKC sanctioned rally and obedience trials.  

If you have either an All-American dog, a dog from a breed that may not be registered with the AKC, or a Pure Bred dog who is not registered with the AKC, you may not participate in AKC trials, but you may participate in APDT sanctioned rally trials after registering your dog and yourself as a team and paying a modest fee.  

No refunds

Fees will not be refunded under any circumstances.  

After successful graduation

Upon your dog's successful graduation from the Advanced class, you will be eligible to apply for membership in the Club.