Canine Behavior Services offers a variety of training and behavior programs to help you get more enjoyment out of life with your dog.

 

Basic Obedience and Manners:

Group Puppy and Adult Classes offer a structured, economical way to teach your dog manners and self control through basic obedience.

Private Obedience Instruction is a flexible, personalized and timesaving alternative to group classes.

Personal Trainer is our program for those who prefer to have a professional take their dog through the obedience training process.

Help With Serious Behavior Problems:

Behavior Consultations are designed to help you resolve ongoing problem behavior issues in a safe, positive, and non-violent manner.

For New Puppy and Adopted Dog Owners:

Smart Start is a "get-started-right" lesson for the owner of a new puppy, and a great way to start off life with your new pup.

Fresh Start will help you step off on the right foot with your newly adopted an adult dog.

On-site training is located in Shady Spring, WV. In-home training is available southern West Virginia within approximately 45 minutes of Shady Spring. That area includes Beckley, Crab Orchard, Coal City, Sophia, Oak Hill, Shady Spring, Hinton, Cool Ridge, Flat Top, Ghent, and Princeton, WV. In-home appointments outside those areas are available, but will incur a somewhat higher travel fee. Call or email if you are not sure you are within the local appointment area, or to inquire about in-home training prices outside the local appointment area.

Puppies start learning as soon as you bring them home - be sure they're learning the right things! It's so much easier to start them correctly, right off the bat, than to try to fix unwanted behavior later on, after it's become a habit. Now is the time to establish clear communication and leadership, introduce good manners and - so very important! - teach your pup how to get along in the real world of people and dogs.

In Puppy Preschool, you will teach your pup basic obedience, and practice using it to get good manners. Your pup will play and socialize with appropriate pups and dogs, learning "dogspeak" for different breeds, ages, and temperaments. In class, we'll discuss how to deal with those typical, drive-you-crazy puppy behaviors like chewing, nipping, and jumping; and how to play with your pup in ways that encourage polite behavior. And we'll cover topics such as crate training, housetraining, how and why to be a good leader to your pup, pros and cons of various methods of confinement, and more!

Puppy Preschool Class meets 1 hour per week, once/week for 4 weeks: $65

Foundations I is a basic obedience and manners class that both you and your dog will enjoy! You will teach your dog a fundamental obedience vocabulary, such as sit, lie down, stay, come, no jumping, leave it, polite leash walking, and more, with positive, motivational methods. In Foundations I, you'll learn how to gain your dog's respect and cooperation through positive leadership, not intimidation. You'll learn how clear communication, consistency, and mutual respect can help you develop a healthy, satisfying, enjoyable relationship with your dog. Like all Canine Behavior Services classes, Foundations I uses proven motivational techniques to bring out the best in your dog.

Foundations I Class meets 1 1/2 hours per week, once/week for 6 weeks: $110

Dogs need a job - or at least a hobby! Fun & Focus is a "sampler" class to help you learn about activities that you and your dog can enjoy together! You and your dog will try out and learn the basics of a variety of brainwork games, tricks, and dogsports, including Rally Obedience, Agility, Freestyle, and Tracking. Fun & Focus is sure to motivate you to "get out and do something fun" with your dog!

Fun & Focus Class meets 1 hour per week, once/week for 4 weeks: $65

Agility Confidence Course is a great way to build confidence and improve teamwork with your dog. Young dogs, shy dogs, rescue dogs, hyper dogs, bored dogs - any dog who can use more confidence, focus, or just a little extra fun in their lives will enjoy this class. In Agility Confidence Course, you will teach your dog to safely and confidently negotiate both traditional and non-traditional ("Confidence Course") jumps, walks, tunnels, and other obstacles.

Agility Confidence Course meets 1 hour per week, once/week for 6 weeks: $85

This is an intermediate-level obedience class open to private training graduates and graduates of Foundations I. Our focus is on sharpening and refining behaviors learned in Foundations I, and applying them to a variety of practical situations. Class will incorporate training games, and plenty of practice on voice control, distractions, and distance work. Class members are encouraged to share ideas on how to using the obedience learned in class in everyday life.

Foundations II Class meets 1 hour per week, once/week for 4 weeks: $65

In Take It On The Road!, we will meet at area parks to practice the basics techniques learned in Foundations II. You will learn some simple techniques for keeping your dog focused and thinking in the face of activity and distractions, and as well as continue to improve loose lead walking, stays, polite greetings, coming when called, etc. This is a great class for dogs who may do well in class and other structured situations, but tend to "forget everything" when out in public.

Take It On The Road meets 1 hour per week, once/week for 4 weeks: $65

Canine Behavior Services offers private, personalized obedience training lessons, either on-site, or in the comfort and convenience of your home - and your dog's environment. Why private instruction? A nice aspect of private instruction is that the lessons, the behaviors learned, the instruction techniques, and the pace of learning are all tailored to suit you and your dog, not the "average dog and owner". Private lessons are also an especially nice option for dogs who may be over-stimulated or intimidated by the commotion of group classes, as well as for busy owners who have trouble fitting a traditional group class into their hectic or unpredictable schedules.

Day, evening, and weekend appointments are available. Appointments are scheduled at your convenience, usually one lesson per week to ten days. Individual lessons typically last an average of 90 minutes.

Even nice dogs can develop problem behavior, and even experienced dog owners can find themselves with a problem dog. Regardless of your dog's problem, help is available. Canine Behavior Services helps owners with a wide range of canine behavior issues, including but not limited to:

• aggression toward family members, strangers, other animals
• separation anxiety
• shyness, fears, and phobias
• excessive behavior
• dog-to-dog and dog-to-cat household issues
• housetraining and other elimination issues

Day, evening, and weekend appointments are available. Each consultation typically takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. During the consultation, I will evaluate the situation, interview family members, observe your dog, and discuss with you the extent and probable causes of the problem. We will start off with some preliminary "homework", then after the appointment, I will provide you with a step-by-step written program of what was discussed. My goal is to help you safely modify your dog's behavior, in a positive and non-confrontational manner, and to get you into a healthy, productive routine with your dog, versus the negative, unproductive behavioral ruts it's so easy to fall into.

Behavior Consultations may be purchased individually, and this is a good choice for some less-complex behavior problems. I also offer a Comprehensive Behavior Modification Package. This is an inclusive package, that includes 5 consultations (typically this will be a combination of in-home and on-site appointments), with written instructions following each appointment, and ongoing email, phone, and in-person follow-up and support for the behavior in question.

Some dogs can be a challenge to train, whether due to high energy levels, lack of focus, or ingrained bad habits. And dog owners have their own challenges that prevent them from being able to train their dog effectively. For these owners and dogs, Canine Behavior Services now offers the Personal Trainer program. In this new program, your dog has his own "Personal Trainer", and receives professional obedience lessons, in your home, two to three times per week. As your dog gets the basic commands "under his belt", you will participate in private lessons to learn how to get the same behaviors from your dog.

Please note that this is not a board & train program! Your dog stays at home with you while receiving lessons, so there is no stress of boarding. You are welcome to observe lessons. Lessons are goal-based, not time-based, but typically last approximately 45 minutes each. As with all CBS training programs, the training process is based on proven positive methods. This approach builds upon your dog's good behaviors and qualities (every dog has them!), and teaches him how to succeed, increasing confidence, calmness, and self control along the way.

A new puppy! I can't think of many things in life that can offer such a thrill of possibility or sense of potential. With that in mind, Canine Behavior Services offers a special service for the new puppy owner. Smart Start for puppies is an in-depth tutorial that details breed traits, what to expect from your pup's upcoming physical and mental developmental stages (and how to deal with them), house training, essential obedience and manners for the family dog, nutrition guidelines, as well as a puppy "personality profile" and help understanding how best to work with your pup's temperament. This lesson is a fantastic way to be sure your puppy will "be all that he can be"!

The Smart Start lesson typically takes approximately 2 hours. However, I ask that you leave a little more time open, since I like to leave plenty of time to answer your questions.

Because I feel that Smart Start for puppies is so important to the success of a puppy in its new home, I offer this for a special discounted price.

Fresh Start is similar to Smart Start for Puppies, but is specifically designed for newly adopted adult dogs. We will discuss breed traits, what to expect during and after the transition ("honeymoon") period following adoption, upcoming physical and mental developmental stages (and how best to deal with them), house training, confinement, and nutrition guidelines. We will do an introductory obedience lesson, and discuss establishing leadership and expectations.

The Fresh Start lesson will take about 2 hours, although you should leave a little extra time open, to be sure I have time to answer all your questions.