Here's a breakdown of the classes we offer:

 

Successful Start - This is your initial private session to get started in Community Unleashed. It will be 45 minutes long, and one of our trainers will work with you and your dog to determine where you will start on your training journey! Here’s what to expect at your Successful Start Session: 

• A trainer will welcome you into the training space, and let you know where to set your things. First, we will assess how willing your dog is to eat treats in this new space. We ask that you bring some of your dog’s favorite treats with you, but we always have back up options! 

• If your dog is ready to work for treats, you will learn a couple of very helpful games to build your dog’s connection and engagement with you! If your dog is still a little nervous to take treats, don’t worry, they can take their time to warm up while we discuss the games for you to practice at home. 

• Once your dog has warmed up to the space, the trainer will take a moment to go over some of our important policies so that you and your dog can have the most success in our program. 

• In most cases, the trainer will do a short neutral dog test with either a decoy dog (a life-sized stuffed dog), or one of our own dogs. If your dog is very nervous, unwilling to take food, or very worked up, we may forgo the neutral dog test for your next lesson. 

• The trainer will discuss what they’ve observed during the Successful Start, and will recommend either another private lesson, or a semi-private lesson. We call these Skill Building classes, which you will read about below! 

 

Skill Building - These private and semi-private lessons are 30 minutes long, and are designed to build any skills that you and your dog will need to learn in order to be successful working together. We move teams at their own pace, so you and your dog can spend all the time you need in private lessons, and then move on to semi-private lessons with just one other dog and handler team present. These lessons can also be utilized by more advanced teams to work on any specific skills you want to polish. 

In Skill Building Classes, you and your dog will learn: 

• How to engage with one another through a variety of Pattern Games. 

• How to start teaching your dog to relax on a mat in between exercises. 

• How to decide when to use management skills vs. training skills.

• How to work in the proximity of other dogs. 

 

Team Building - These group classes are limited to 3 dog and handler teams, and are 45 minutes long. These classes are designed to help you and your dog learn to work in more distracting and less predictable environments. This is your starting place for working around more dog and handler teams, but it is also an ideal space to hone your training skills at any level! 

In Team Building Classes, you and your dog will learn: 

• How to get in and out of the building in a controlled fashion. 

• How to stay engaged with one another with more distractions. 

• How to relax on a mat in between exercises and while other dogs are doing things.