Obedience Classes

Hamilton Dog Obedience Club offers you guidance in building a positive relationship with your dog in order to have a well mannered dog that you can take out in public. Three sessions a year are held in Fall, Winter and early Spring. Each session is 7 weeks and the classes are 45 minutes in length. All training classes are held Wednesday evenings between 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.

Our instructors are all club members, who volunteer their time and expertise to help you with your dog.

Classes offered may be subject to change based on demand and registration numbers. Class time(s) will vary depending upon needs and enrollment. You will be notified of any changes before the date of your first class.

Refund Policy

A refund request may be made up to one week before the date of your first class. Honouring any refund requests made after that date will be at the discretion of the club.

Please note: All refunds are subject to a $10 administration fee.

If you have to miss a class please advise your head instructor.

Puppy 1 and Level 1 are the only classes that you do NOT bring your dog with you for the first evening.

VIEW SCHEDULE OF CURRENT OBEDIENCE CLASSES AND REGISTER ONLINE.

CLASS	DESCRIPTION
Rally Obedience Novice	For dogs that have taken 2 sessions of obedience (7 weeks each) and have the ability to heel on-lead. Explanation of the CKC rally signs and exercises, with practice of individual stations, as well as practice courses. Dogs do attend the first night. A crate is required. Limit 8 dogs.
Rally Obedience Intermediate/Advanced	For dogs that have taken Rally Obedience with us, or where the handler has trialed a previous dog to a Rally Novice title. Dogs must have had 2 sessions of basic obedience (7 weeks each) and have the ability to heel on-lead. Continuation of the CKC rally signs for the Intermediate and Advanced courses and exercises, with practice of individual stations, courses. Dogs do attend the first night and a crate is required. Limit 8 dogs.
Rally Obedience Excellent/Masters	Prerequisite: For dogs that have taken Rally Obedience (Advanced) with HDOC, or where the handler has trialed a previous dog to a Rally Advanced title. Dogs must have had 2 sessions of basic obedience and have the ability to heel off-leash. A crate is required.
Puppy Level 1	This class is for puppies over three months of age and less than 6 months of age at the beginning of the first class. This is a fun introduction for both puppy and handler to learn the skills required for a well behaved dog with good manners and helps you and your pup develop a good relationship. DO NOT bring your dog to class the first week.
Puppy Level 2	This class is a continuation of Puppy Level 1 skills. You will continue to work on all the previous skills but these will include more duration and distance, such as; sits, downs, waits and recalls as well as adding some distraction. New skills such as sit and accept praise, waiting at an open door, loose leash walking on the right and left side and standing, will be added to the curriculum. A full list of skills to be developed will accompany your lesson sheets.
Level 1	This class is for dogs over 6 months of age. Pup and handler will learn the skills required for a well behave dog with good manners. This class will also help you and your pup develop a good relationship. DO NOT bring your pup to class the first week.
Level 2	The prerequisite for this level is that you and your dog are ready in all areas of training to move on. Your training in Level 2 will be to perfect your previously developed skills. In addition, you will be introduced to new skills, the level of distractions will be increased, vary distances and different duration of some exercises. Food and/or toys will become your dog’s reward, not a lure.
Level 3	The prerequisite for this level is that you and your dog are ready in all areas of training to move on. This level will prepare your dog to work through distractions and to work without food. You will be taught the skills that are covered in the Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) Canine Good Neighbour (CGN) test. Your dog will learn to sit and accept praise from a stranger, stay in position when you are greeted by another person with a dog, do a simple walking pattern, allow you to walk 20 feet away while your dog remains in position, you can be out of site for 2 minutes while someone holds your dog, and your dog will let someone else groom them and demonstrate a sit and down on command.
Trick Novice	Trick training is a fun approach to entertain your dog physically and mentally. You will learn a variety of tricks including: the muffin tin game, shake a paw, crawl, wave, the memory game and barrel racing.
New Open	Refines off-lead heeling, teaches the drop-on-recall, retrieve on the flat, retrieve over the high jump, broad jump, and continues preparation for the sit and down exercises
New Utility	Teaches the skill set needed for the UD (Utility Dog Title) for CKC and NAMBR. Exercises include: Seek Back, Scent Discrimination, Signal Exercise, Moving Stand and Directed Jumping. To be eligible for this class, the dog must have at least one leg of the CKC or NAMBR CDX (Companion Dog Excellent) Title. Class is limited to 6 dogs.
Novice Refresher	Continues to prepare the dog and handler for competition at the CD (Companion Dog) level for both CKC and NAMBR. Must have graduated from the Basic Novice Class or had the equivalent formal obedience training at another training facility. Class is limited to 10 dogs.
Open Refresher	For graduates of the New Open class, or equivalent formal obedience training at another training facility. Continues to prepare the dog and handler to trial at the CDX (Companion Dog Excellent) level in CKC and NAMBR. Class is limited to 8 dogs.
Utility Refresher	Continues to refine the Seek Back, Scent Discrimination, Signal Exercises, Moving Stand and Directed Jumping. Continues to prepare the dog and handler for trialing at the UD (Utility Dog) level in CKC and NAMBR. Class is limited to 6 dogs.
Trick Intermediate/Advanced
New Novice	The prerequisite is that the dog has completed all the requirements from the Level 3 class. The skills taught at the New Novice level will, introduce you and your dog to the requirements needed to participate in a Novice Rally class or in a Novice Obedience class.