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Night
School for you & your dog
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You and your dog come to school one period each week for group instruction. In each class, you will learn new material and review and practice the lessons from previous classes. Each session of Night School consists of eight lessons (weeks). The classes are held at our training center north of Columbia. We have a training building for year-round instruction.
| What dogs should enroll | Basic classes | Specialty classes | Achievement
exams & certificates |
| What it costs | How to enroll | Class schedule | Weather cancellations |
Every dog should attend school. Puppies should begin as early as you veterinarian says the dog can be in public, usually about 7 - 9 weeks of age. Our puppy kindergarten class is for dogs less than six months of age.
Dogs over six months attend the regular obedience or specialty classes. There is no upper age limit for dog training. We have enrolled dogs as old as 12 years in a beginning class. We have several "seniors" in our various advanced and specialty classes.
Basic classes for you and your dog
- Puppy kindergarten (dogs under six months of age)
- Introduction to school and learning. Building a positive attitude and work habits. Teaching basic manners. Socializing with other dogs and people.
- Level I (Beginning)
- Introduction to school and learning for dogs six months of age or older and for mature puppies who have been to puppy kindergarten. Work in more formal, more precise and more advanced than puppy kindergarten.
- Level I+
- Completion of Level I or Puppy Kindergarten required. Knowledge of training theory required. Reworking Level I exercises with more individual attention to specific training problems.
- Level II
- Fast-paced, push level. Much more advanced exercises including distance control & hand signals. Prepare for CD. Lots of fun, music and games. Dog-life-saving exercises.
- Level III
- Jumping, retrieving, stays out of sight are only a few of the advanced exercises in Level III.
- Level IV
- Refine exercises in Level III. Refine and formalize hand signals.. Advanced retrieving--dumbells, gloves, metal and leather. Utility turns.
- Level V
- Prepare for CDX title.
- Level VI
- Topics: Go-outs. Scent discrimination. Directed jumping. Directed retrieving.
- Level VII
- Refine utility exercises. Prepare for U.D. title.
Achievement Exams & Certificates to mark your progress
Periodically, as you progress from one level of instruction to another, you may take the achievement exams to formally test your progress. We will give you a certificate to attest to your success. Here is the list of exams:
- First certificate (Often after puppy kindergarten or Level I)
- On a leash. Includes loose-lead, clip-down heeling pattern with automatic sits. Sit/stay, one minute. Down/stay, three minutes. Stand/stay at end of a six-foot lead with another person touching the neck, withers and back of the dog. Figure eight. Recall from end of a six-foot lead with sit in front and finish.
- Second certificate (Often at Level II)
- American Kennel Club's Canine Good Citizenship test.
- Third certificate (Often at Level III)
- Novice obedience routine in the building. AKC rules.
- Fourth certificate (Often at Level V)
- C.D.X. "Open" obedience routine. AKC rules.
- Fifth certficate (Often at Level VI)
- Utility obedience routine. AKC rules
- The Night School fee is $120 for each class a dog takes except for the following:.
- Dogs enrolled in Level I or puppy kindergarten can repeat that class in the next session at no additional cost.
- Your class tuition covers:
- participation in an eight-week session,
- handouts and other class materials
- no-cost telephone consultation during the class on handing and training problems.
Specialty classes (available after Level I or Puppy Kindergarten)
- Certificate class:
- Training to pass: CGC
(Canine Good Citizen); A.T.T.S.
(American Temperament Test Society);
T.D.I. (Therapy Dogs International); Delta
(Delta Society Pet Partners)
- Therapy
- Commands, skills, test components to make your dog ready to visit hospitals and nursing homes. Preparation for T.D.I. and Delta tests.
- Agility
- A-frame. Dog-walk. Weave poles. Teeter-totter. Swing-plank. These are a few of the pieces of equipment your dog will learn to traverse in this class. Advanced agility teaches advanced skills and handling techniques.
- Tricks
- Modeling, television commercials and print-media poses and tricks to make your dog more marketable.
- Carting
- Teaching to pull wagons and carts for pleasure and work. Size of the dog does not matter.
- Tracking
- Sometimes offered in winter months when there is enough demand for this outdoor al-weather sport. Building members only.
- Freestyle or Drill Team
- Working on dance, tricks and unusual moves choreographed to music. Prerequisite, must be enrolled in a regular obedience class and one other class of choice and Drill Team. Open to building members only.
- Ring Procedure, Conformation, Beginning Handling
- Develop presentation skills for you and your dog in conformation and obedience rings. Open to building members only.
- Call early to register
- Enrollment in Night School is limited
- Enrollment by reservation
- Send an email message or call (573 443-0716) to ask about the next available dates.
Weather cancellations
Sometimes we may cancel classes because of threatening or dangerous weather
condtions. We will post an announcement on the class home page, when possible,
and we will put a vice-mail announcement on our main phone number (573) 443
0716. When weather threatens, call before driving to the training center.
When we cancel a class, we will add a make-up week to the end of the session.
If you do not want to attend class on a particular night because of the weather or some other reason, you may make up that class by coming to another section of your level later in the week.