Our flexible enrollment

How Our Classes Work

Open Registration Format

We offer a flexible open registration format in some of our classes to help fit training into your life, instead of the other way around. Students purchase a 5 week training pass which allows you to come to your weekly class for 5 weeks whenever you start.   This format is used in our beginner classes (Puppy Kindergarten, Puppy Elementary, and Foundation Manners), so you can easily transfer when your dog is ready.

Why do we offer open registration classes instead of traditional 6-8 week classes?  Most people don’t want to wait 5-6 weeks to get started training.  Open registration allows us to get you started in class as soon as we have an opening. If class is cancelled due to weather, holidays or professional development for our trainers, we can easily adjust the expiration date of your training pass so you can attend class for 5 weeks.

Using this system we can offer our beginner classes all year, with only a couple of scheduled breaks during the following weeks: President’s Day Holiday – Memorial Day Holiday – Independence Day Holiday – Labor Day Holiday – Thanksgiving Day Holiday.  All classes are also on a break during the last 2 weeks of the year.

When are the Start Dates?

There are no start dates for classes that use the open registration format.  Openings occur in all beginner classes almost weekly because students graduate every week.  Most of the time you can start in one of our beginner classes within 1 to 2 weeks.

What if you miss a class

For the consistency of your dog’s training and our ability to monitor our class size, we are not able to accommodate make-up sessions if you have to miss a class. We will deduct 1 training session from your pass if you have to miss.

Skills instead of Graduation Dates

We know that not every dog learns at the same rate, so we monitor your dog’s age and skills to meet the individual needs of each dog and owner.  Work at your own pace, and graduate when you’re ready. No pressure, just learning fun!

If you have a dog under 14 weeks, you’ll start in Puppy Kindergarten, where your puppy will learn it’s fun to be brave and have new experiences.  At 15 – 16 weeks, you and your puppy will be transferred to our Puppy Elementary class and continue socialization and work on becoming a S.T.A.R puppy.  Dogs can remain in Puppy Elementary class until 6 months of age.  To find out more, visit our class page for Puppy Classes.

Any dog 4 months of age or older can join our Foundation Manners classes, where basic manners and skills are strengthened through two levels of training – Good Dog and Super Dog. Each Foundation Manners class is organized around 6 primary manners skills, including loose leash walking, recalls and sit/stays. You and your dog work through the steps for each behavior until you can achieve either Good Dog or Super Dog Skills.

Plan ahead

Be sure you plan ahead and sign up for the classes you plan to attend with your dog. If a class is full we can put you on a waiting list but it’s much easier if you plan ahead and avoid the wait.  If you know you want to achieve Super Dog skills with your dog, you will probably need to sign up for 2 training passes.  Sign up for your first one, then sign up for your 2nd training pass to start 6 weeks later.