St. Charles Missouri Dog Training - Dog training classes, puppy training, dog obedience

PUPPY LEARN ‘N PLAY
For puppies up to 16 weeks of age.

Do we want puppies to sit and come when called? Yes, we do! But even more important than basic manners (for puppies), is proper socialization and teaching bite inhibition. Puppies have development deadlines, therefore the optimum time period for socialization and bite inhibition is by 18 weeks of age. Considering that most people get their puppies around 8 weeks old, that really only leaves you 10 weeks to get this critical work done.

Our classes will help with socialization to other puppies, people, substrates, vacuums, etc. and will allow for plenty of play time where the puppies will hone their doggie communication skills.

We'll talk about housetraining and crate training, in addition to teaching sit, down, attention, walk nicely on leash, and beginning recall games.

We'll work on handling so that your pup will be comfortable with ear cleaning, nail trimming, and vet exams. Acceptance of being handled, collar grabs, and people reaching for the food bowl is OK, but our goal is actually to teach your puppy to enjoy and look forward to these interactions. It can be done and you'll be so happy you put the time and effort into it now!

LIFE SKILLS
This class teaches the skills you and your dog need in order to have a good life together. Basic manners such as sit to greet people, down, sit, leave it, wait, attention, recalls, targeting and loose leash walking - adding more difficulty such as duration and distractions as the dog/handler team advance.

Our teams can earn up to 3 belts, white, yellow and orange, in our Life Skills Classes. Completion of Life Skills earns a White Belt, completion of Life Skills 2 earns a Yellow Belt, and completion of Advanced Life Skills earns an Orange Belt. You will need an Orange Belt in order to take most of our advanced classes. Additionally, if you and your dog have earned an Orange Belt, you should be able to pass the CGC test too!

LIFE SKILLS 2
Prerequisite: Must have successfully completed Life Skills, having earned a White Belt.

In this class we pick up where we left off in Life Skills by continuing to learn new behaviors that are necessary for our dogs to happily co-exist with us in our homes and world.

Your dog will learn to go to his place and/or mat, to relax on his mat, on and off, drop it, settle (stop what you're doing and be calm), and stay - while continuing to perfect the skills learned in Life Skills.

The team earns a yellow belt upon completion of this class.

ADVANCED LIFE SKILLS
Prerequisite: Must have successfully completed Life Skills and Life Skills 2, having earned a Yellow Belt.

We will continue to build on the behaviors learned in Life Skills and Life Skills 2 adding duration, distractions, and distance. Calm behavior and self-control even in the face of distractions will be a goal of this class.

The team earns an orange belt upon completion of this class. But the most important thing the team will have earned is their close relationship and tight bond with each other, in addition to a well-behaved dog that is a joy to be around and welcome everywhere!

OUTDOOR ADVENTURE
Sure your dog is well behaved during class, or at home, but what about walking around the town?

Join us for a unique outdoor summer class in which we will be visiting local dog-friendly destinations while we practice loose leash walking, sits for greetings, stays and focused attention in new and exciting environments. This is an advanced class for skilled dogs and handlers. Dogs must have mastered the following behaviors in a classroom environment without food lures: loose leash walking, focused attention on handler, automatic sit for greeting and stays. Dogs must be safe and nonreactive with both strangers and new dogs. Teams must have earned an Orange Belt and/or Handlers must have sufficient proficiency with basic clicker concepts including correct timing, efficient and appropriate food delivery and criteria raising.

SHY DOG
This six week class is designed for anxious and fearful dogs that typically would not be comfortable in a standard dog training class, including dogs that are so frightened in new situations that they are unable to eat and hide under chairs. Classes are calm and low stress, with all work being performed below the dog's threshold of fear. Class size is restricted to ensure a low stress environment.

Dogs participating in this class will gain confidence in new situations and with new people. They will learn how to accept the approach and handling of a stranger without being fearful. They will learn how to be more relaxed and curious in new environments and at home. Handlers participating in this class will learn how to read canine body language, how to be a benevolent leader, and how to use operant and classical conditioning to train positive behaviors.

Dogs that growl, snap or attempt to bite people or other dogs are not ready for a group class and should be scheduled for a private assessment.

RALLY
AKC Rally is the new dog sport that is taking the nation by storm, a successful stepping stone from the AKC Canine Good Citizen® program to the world of obedience or agility. Rally offers both the dogs and handlers an experience that is fun and energizing. The canine team moves at their own pace, very similar to rally-style auto racing. Rally was designed with the traditional pet owner in mind, but it can still be very challenging for those who enjoy higher levels of competition.

A rally course includes 10 to 20 stations, depending on the level. Scoring is not as rigorous as traditional obedience. Communication between handler and dog is encouraged and perfect heel position is not required, but there should be a sense of teamwork between the dog and handler. The main objective of rally is to produce dogs that have been trained to behave in the home, in public places, and in the presence of other dogs, in a manner that will reflect positively on the sport of rally at all times and under all conditions.

Dogs entering the Rally class should know how to respond to basic cues in a mildly distracting environment with other dogs present, or should have earned a Kim's Canines Orange Belt. The cues include sit in heel position, down in heel position, stay for 1 minute and walk nicely on leash in heel position on a buckle collar. Nested courses (Novice/Open/Excellent) are used to allow for students to progress at their own pace.

TRICKS
During this 4 week class we will discuss the various ways to teach behaviors. A simple trick such as "spin" can actually be taught 4 different ways!

Possible Tricks: Spin, Take a Bow, Shake Hands, Crawl, Weave through Legs, Jump through a Hoop, Open/Close Cabinet Doors, Roll Over, Pick up Toys and Put them Away, Wave, Sit up Pretty, whatever we can dream up!

I love to teach tricks - hope you and your dog can join me - it should be lots of fun!

CANINE GOOD CITIZEN REVIEW
This six week class will teach you and your dog all the skills needed to pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluation. The Canine Good Citizen Program lays the foundation for other activities such as obedience, agility and rally. All dogs, including mixed-breeds, are eligible to earn a certificate from the American Kennel Club at the completion of the class. The 10-step evaluation covers accepting a friendly stranger, sitting politely for petting, appearance and grooming, walking on a loose leash, walking through a crowd, response to sit and down command, come when called, reations to another dog, reactions to distractions and supervised separation. The CGC test will be given during week 6 at no additional charge for all class participants.

CANINE GOOD CITIZEN TEST
The Canine Good Citizen Test is a 10-step evaluation that covers accepting a friendly stranger, sitting politely for petting, appearance and grooming, walking on a loose leash, walking through a crowd, response to sit and down commands, come when called, reactions to another dog, reactions to distractions and supervised separation. The test will be administered by an AKC approved evaluator. If you only miss 1 out of the 10 items on the test you may retake the entire test one additional time that evening for an additional fee.

AGILITY BASICS
This fun, confidence-building class teaches foundation behaviors needed to be successful in Agility. Fundamentals such as contact zones, teamwork, and achieving focused attention are emphasized. The class is a combination of agility foundation exercises and an introduction to several obstacles. The jump, tunnel, tire, contacts, teeter, weaves, and chute will be introduced. Dogs should be comfortable with being crated while their handler works with another team.

Dogs entering the Agility Basics class should know how to respond to basic cues in a mildly distracting environment with other dogs present, or should have earned a Kim's Canines Orange Belt. The cues include sit, down, stay, recall, and walk nicely on leash on a buckle collar. Shy or fearful dogs that have successfully completed a Shy Dog class at Kim's Canines may participate in this class for confidence building without having the prerequisite skills. Dogs that bark, pull or lunge towards other dogs are not yet ready for this class.

LOOSE LEASH WALKING - 2 SESSION
This two-week session focuses on the art of getting your dog to walk politely next to you without pulling or straining (for either of you!). The entire session is devoted to coaching you on the proper techniques, and allowing your dog to practice this new skill in a safe, structured classroom environment.

DOOR MANNERS - 2 SESSION
Dogs and doors - this can sometimes be an area of frustration or even fear if your dog is a door bolter! This 2 session class will concentrate on door manners: waiting at doors until released, sitting to greet guests who come through doors, and going to your mat or crate on cue. With enough work, the doorbell can actually become the cue for your dog to go to his mat or crate if you so desire.

DOG SPORTS - AGILITY / RALLY / TRICKS / FREESTYLE
Looking for a class that is FUN! FUN! FUN! This is the one! Get yourself and your dog off the couch and try out four different dog sports! Each week we will learn about and try out a different sport including Agility, Rally, Tricks and Canine Freestyle (get your dancing shoes out for that one!).

Dogs entering the Dog Sports class should know how to respond to basic cues in a mildly distracting environment with other dogs present, or should have earned a Kim's Canines Orange Belt. The cues include sit in heel position, down in heel position, stay for 1 minute and walk nicely on leash in heel position on a buckle collar. Shy or fearful dogs that have successfully completed a Shy Dog class at Kim's Canines may participate in this class for confidence building without having the prerequisite skills. Dogs that bark, pull or lunge towards other dogs are not yet ready for this advanced class.

ROCK SOLID RECALL
This is a 5 week course and includes a 41 page workbook sent electronically (email). The book is called "90 Days to a Rock Solid Recall - Get Your Dog to Reliably Come When Called!" and was written by Susan Smith of Raising Canine.

CRATE TRAINING - 2 SESSION
I personally believe that all dogs should be crate trained. That does not mean that I believe dogs should be left in crates all day while you're at work though. Crates are great management tools, but can also be one of your dog's favorite places to be - his own safe haven when he wants to get away from all the hustle and bustle of busy family life.

You can teach your dog to love his crate. You can teach your dog to happily go into his crate on cue. There will always be times when a dog must be crated - at the Vet's office after surgery, in order to travel safely, at the Groomer's, etc., and it's so much nicer for the dog in these situations if he already has a good association with crating. Otherwise, these sometimes stressful situations become even more stressful to your dog (who hasn't learned to relax in a crate).

Come join us for a short, but jam-packed class on crate training. You'll be happy you did!

RELAXED ROVER
Coming Soon!

Instructors

Kim Lutz
Kim is the owner of Kim's Canines, a Certified Professional Dog Trainer and a Certified Dog Behavior Consultant who believes that, just like children, all dogs need to be educated. Kim also believes that "how" we educate matters - therefore at Kim's Canines we use positive reinforcement based protocols and are committed to the principle of LIMA (least intrusive, minimally aversive). As we all know, good communication is not one-sided, so we teach the "language of dogs" so you can understand some of their body language too. There are many "normal" dog behaviors that upset people due to misunderstanding - we believe in educating, thereby "normalizing" these normal/typical behaviors. Additionally, empowering the animal to be able to make some decisions about their own life and developing a close bond and relationship based on trust and mutual respect, are just a few of the concepts that Kim hopes her clients will take away from her classes.

Kate Peterson-Behan
Kate began seriously training dogs with the arrival of her first dog, Rufus, in 2003. After earning a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and Therapy Dogs International (TDI) certification with Rufus, she began clicker training and competing in rally obedience in 2008. When Kate adopted a very fearful rescue Dachshund and worked through a clicker training shy dog program, she became passionate about shy dogs and the ability to really turn around a dog by "speaking its language." Kate has completed an extensive training and behavior apprenticeship under Kim Lutz, and has a true love and respect for her canine companions and the joy and fun of training.

Kate attended the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and Webster University, and holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Composition. In addition to training, Kate manages two holistic pet stores / bakeries, teaches classical piano and voice lessons, serves on the board of directors of Missouri Earthdogs, and is the founder and coordinator of the Gateway Lo-Downs (Gateway Local Dachshund Owners' Society). She is the guardian of a herd of Dachshunds, and on the weekends can usually be found covered in dirt and dog hair from playing with them.

Lauren Bennett
Lauren didn't get into agility until the adoption of her first dog, Tim. Prior to that, she had handled the family dogs growing up, taking the family pets as her charges in care and training. She started rally obedience, earthdog, and began to train for NADAC tunnelers with her parents' dachshunds (Cayce 10 and Honey 9) until she and her husband acquired a permanent home to house their own dog. Tim (4) came bouncing into their lives, which was a good thing because Lauren's goals with him were to begin an agility career.

She quickly joined the Greater St. Louis Agility Club (GSLAC), and developed relationships with some of the most patient and caring mentors she could have ever asked for as a rookie in the sport. It was here she learned patience and the techniques necessary to slowly build a dog's understanding of the sport. Most of all, she learned how to have fun while training, and it shows in the ring. In addition, she discovered that the dachshunds were still in fine health to fully learn agility and that many venues offered classes with lower jump heights. In fact, not only are dachshunds capable at agility, they excel at it!

Since then, Lauren has served on GSLAC's board and is currently the secretary. She helps the club put on all of the many different kinds of agility trials that they offer to the St. Louis area, and you can see her at just about all of them working hard so exhibitors don't have to. All the while she is helping Cayce, Honey, and Tim with their agility titles and championships, and they are teaching her important lessons in body language and communication!

Lauren is excited to share some of the exercises she never knew about when she began as an agility handler. She has collected techniques over the years that are not only fun, but build a better relationship with your dog.

Heather Quesenberry
Heather has been involved in rescue and foster care for several years, but after adopting a dog with resource guarding issues, she became very interested in behavior and training.

She began by enrolling in an extensive course designed to give aspiring trainers a solid academic background in the field of dog training and behavior. In order to gain the hands on experience necessary, Heather apprenticed with Kim Lutz for two years.

As Daycare Supervisor at Kim's Canines, Heather has more than earned her training chops and watching dogs interact freely all day has given her a skill set that is valuable to all trainers.