Obedience Classes

Stony Creek offers Puppy & Beginner obedience classes taught by Emily Ludwick. At Stony Creek Canine Academy we believe in positive reinforcement training. We highly encourage the use of treats and praise! Obedience classes are a great idea for all dogs regardless of breed, age or size. Though some people may know how to train their dogs we still strongly encourage obedience classes for several reasons. First obedience classes help your dog to learn how to become a well respected member of your family. Having a unruly pet can be damaging to your family and social life. You may not like having company over because of your pet's lack of "people skills". Obedience classes are also great socialization for the dogs and the more socialization a puppy gets the better. Lack of socialization can lead to separation anxiety, fearfulness and aggression towards other dogs and people. The classes are to design to teach your dogs better "people skills" when greeting other people & animals, to help with any housebreaking issues, and to help with and annoying or destructive behavior. Every dog & their handler are different and here at Stony Creek Canine Academy we understand that. Though we do have a course plan that we follow we adapt them for every individuals wants and needs and we'll help you work on your specific problem areas. Not all dogs that come to obedience class are unruly or have terrible manners, many of the students have come to take a class just for the socialization and to get out and have fun with their pet.

We offer puppy classes for dogs that are 8 weeks - 5 months of age (exceptions for toy breeds). These classes are designed to teach you to teach your puppy to be a well behaved family member. In the class you'll learn sit, down, stay, come when called, walking on leash, etc. We'll also work on any potty training issue, excessive biting, chewing or barking and any behavioral issues (extremely shy or showing signs of aggression, etc.). Socialization is a BIG part in puppy classes which is great for the puppies. The puppies will be allowed and encouraged to interact and play with one another. We usually have 4-8 puppies in a class so that will leave enough puppies for good socialization but you still get one-on-one time with the instructor. After puppy class we offer Beginner obedience, which we do suggest taking after puppy obedience.

We offer beginner classes for dogs that are 6 months of age and up. These classes are designed to teach you to teach your dog to be a well behaved family member. In the class you'll learn sit, down, stay, come when called, walking on leash, etc. We'll also work on any potty training issue, excessive biting, chewing or barking and any behavioral issues (extremely shy or showing signs of aggression, etc.). Socialization is a BIG part in any dog class, it's great for your dog to be exposed to other animals and people. Depending on the dog's individual personality some dogs may be allowed to play with one another. We usually have 4-8 dogs in a class, which is a good amount for proper socialization but you still get one-on-one time with the instructor. Beginner Obedience is similar to puppy class but is designed for older dogs that have longer attention span, etc. We understand that each dog and handler are different and though we have a general course plan we adapt your individual wants & needs.