AKC S.T.A.R. PUPPY - S.T.A.R. stands for Socialization, Training, Activity, Responsibility. Learn to communicate with your puppy and teach him/her some basic skills for happily living in your home and community. More...

CANINE GOOD CITIZEN (CGC) - This class helps you teach your dog basic good manners, both for home and in the community. More...

COMMUNITY CANINE GOOD CITIZEN (CGCA) – CGC advanced skills with more people, dogs, and distractions. More...

URBAN CANINE GOOD CITIZEN (CGCU) – CGC skills on busy streets, using elevators, etc. More...

 This class is designed to help your dog develop reliable behaviors on and off leash that will contribute to being a family dog and companion at home and in public.  Classes will include distractions to strengthen and proof behaviors.
Exercises to be taught include:

· Wait to be released before going in/out doors and entering/exiting a car

· Move up and down stairs at handler’s pace

· Walk on loose leash with distractions

· Walk off leash in areas with few or no distractions

· Respond to commands on and especially off leash (change of position, wait, stay, leave it, no, yes

· Recall with distractions

· Pick up and hold / bring object to handler

Equipment needed:

· 6-foot leash (leather or fabric, comfortable in your hand)

· An appropriate collar for training purposes

· If using treats, a pocket with small, soft, tasty treats

Prerequisites: Dog should be able to work in a class setting with other dogs.  Dog should know basic heeling with a loose leash, recall, sit and down stays for 1 minute each. Dog should be ready to start off leash work.  Handlers should be prepared for training homework in public settings as well as at home between classes.

Designed to teach you and your dog basic skills for a family dog, and to prepare both of you for further classes. More

This class is for handlers who are actively pursuing an Open Obedience title (CDX- Companion Dog Excellent).  CDX exercises are all done off lead. Because of this, we are unable to accept dogs with behavioral issues. We will be limiting the class to six teams.

Dogs need to be able to:

* Take and hold a dumbbell

* Have some jumping experience (both broad jump and high jump)

* Have a reliable stay

*Be able to work away from the handler.

Our first class will involve a skills test, with handlers demonstrating dog's familiarity with heeling, stays, jumping, willingness to take and hold the dumbbell, and some knowledge/skill in the Command Discrimination exercise. Subsequent class content will depend on the level of the students enrolled.

Focus is a class designed to increase your dog’s attention on you through games and rewards to create a team. Basic obedience is required prior to entry into the class or approval by instructor for those who have trained those requirements at home. Focus 2 is more advanced.

There are 3 levels of AKC competition Obedience: Novice, Open, and Utility, which increase in difficulty. Coeur d'Alene Dog Fanciers offers a number of classes to help you earn AKC Obedience titles, or to just continue training your family dog. See details below.

Talk to your teacher about what class would be best for you to take.

Designed for students wanting to improve their skills and their dog’s performance. The Novice class is the foundation for future levels of training and participation in Novice Obedience trial competition. Dogs work on heeling, with and without a leash, coming when called, standing for a simple physical examination and staying in both a sit and a down positions while in a group setting. Time and distance of exercises increases, with recalls and group sits and downs (1 and 3 minutes) about 40 feet away. For dogs 6 months and older and handlers 15 years and older, exceptions with instructor’s approval.

After receiving a qualifying score at 3 AKC licensed events, a dog earns a Companion Dog (CD) title and moves on to Open. 

 Prerequisite: Beginning Obedience or Evaluation Exercises to be taught include:

· Figure 8 heeling

· Stand for exam

· Heeling off lead

· Recall and finish off lead

· Sit and down stay with handlers across the room

Equipment needed:

· 6-foot leash (leather or fabric, comfortable in your hand)

· An appropriate collar for training purposes

· If using treats, a pocket with small, soft, tasty treats

This is a competition obedience class, appropriate for handlers wanting to show in the Open Obedience class, or for owners wanting to work on more advanced skills with your dog.

The dog must have completed a Novice Obedience class with that instructor’s recommendation; or be able to demonstrate dog’s ability to perform the Novice Exercises and be able to work off leash in a class situation.

(Heel on and off leash, Stand for Exam, Recall at a distance, Finish from the front to Heel, Sit and Down stays for 1 minute each on leash, Sit Stay while handler retrieves leash from inside the ring.)

Exercises taught in this class include:

On and off leash heeling skills including Figure 8

Retrieve a dumbbell on the Flat and Over the High Jump

Broad Jump

Recall and Drop on Recall

Command Discrimination (Handler commands/signals dog from a distance of 15’ to 30’ to Lie Down from a Stand, and then Sit, before Handler returns to Heel position.

Stand Stay while Handler retrieves leash from outside the ring.

Handler will need a 6 foot leash of leather or fabric and appropriate training collar. May use praise and/or treats to reinforce behavior. 

Exercises are more challenging. The Utility class, which includes scent discrimination, directed retrieves, jumping and silent signal exercises, is the most challenging class. In the Utility class, dogs earn a Utility Dog (UD) title after receiving three qualifying scores under two different judges. After receiving qualifying scores at the Utility level in 3 AKC licensed events, a dog earns a Utility Dog (UD). From UD, a dog can also earn the additional titles Utility Dog Excellent (UDX), Obedience Master (OM), Grand Master (OGM), Obedience Trial Champion (OTCH).See AKC.org for title requirements

Exercises to be taught include:

· Signal exercise

· Scent discrimination

· Directed retrieve

· Moving stand and exam

· Directed jumping

Equipment needed:

· 6-foot leash (leather or fabric, comfortable in your hand)

· An appropriate collar for training purposes (Note: Pinch collars or harnesses are not allowed during competition in Novice, Open, or Utility Obedience.)

· Small, soft training treats and/or toy

Prerequisites: Dogs must have successfully completed the Intermediate Obedience and/or have the instructor's recommendation prior to enrollment.  Handlers must be 16 years or older.

AKC Rally®: You move your dog through a course of numbered signs performing different exercises. Each sign gives instructions which include sit, down, stay, move forward quickly, move slowly, and more complicated maneuvers. 

BEGINNING RALLY enhance basic obedience skills while you learn the basics of Rally exercises. 

Beginning Rally is followed by INTERMEDIATE and ADVANCED RALLY. More

Rally-FrEe is a unique sport combining trick behaviors with the format of Rally-Obedience. It emphasizes the precise execution of fundamental freestyle and obedience skills... More

Learn the fundamentals of agility to direct your dog through a course of obstacles including tunnels, weave poles, tire jumps, seesaws, and others. More

Scent Work is patterned after the techniques used to train working detection dogs... More

Advanced Scent Work

This class will be modeled after  AKC and UKC scent work trials.   There will be occasional field trips.  This class is not an introduction to scents.  Previous experience in a scentwork is required .

Handlers will learn positive training methods to teach their dogs a variety of behaviors and tricks... More

Learn handler skills for the AKC Conformation Ring... More