FLAOA

This class is for puppies 12 weeks to 6 months of age (since puppies cannot have their rabies shot prior to 12 weeks of age and all dogs must have their rabies vaccination prior to attending any FLAOA class). It specializes in puppy behavior and socialization, helping students to raise an obedient, well-mannered and well-adjusted pet before it has a chance to become a problem dog.

Special attention is given to many of the normal puppy problems, including mouthing, crate training, housebreaking, jumping, who's the boss, and more. Additionally, puppies learn obedience basics -- to walk on a loose lead, sit, down, stand, stay and come -- with all exercises taught on the puppy's level, keeping in mind his/her short puppy attention span. In short, the focus is manners. And, most importantly, it's taught in a light-hearted, fun atmosphere for both puppy and owner.

This class is for dogs 6 months to any adult age...YES! Old dogs can learn new tricks! It focuses on the basic obedience commands (sit, down, stay, heel, stand, and come when called), helping students have a dog that is a joy to have as part of their family.

Attention is also given to whatever problems students might be having with their dogs, be it jumping on guests or howling at the moon. We realize that a lot of owners enroll their dogs in beginner obedience because their dogs already exhibit some problem behaviors and will work with students to solve these problems. Simple basic manners are the name of the game, and we strive to make the process FUN!

Note: Both Puppy Kindergarten and Beginner Obedience classes receive a training booklet as part of their class. Both classes begin the first week, without dogs, with a behavior seminar which explains how dogs learn, how we'll maximize that in our training, and what training methods we'll utilize in our classes. We'll also discuss what each owner's goals are for the class. Without dogs during this first week, students are free to fill out the necessary paperwork for FLAOA and the trainer, and participate in the behavior seminar. Plan on approximately 2 hours for the first week; subsequent classes with the dogs will last about 45 minutes to an hour.

Open to any dog that has successfully completed a beginner class, this class is geared towards improving the dog's reliability and performance of the basic commands and adds the challenge of hand signals and some off-lead work.

Open to any dog that has successfully completed a graduate beginner class, this class continues with further off-lead work and fine tunes it, focusing on the dog's exercises required to earn an AKC title of Companion Dog (CD). Distraction training is a big aspect of this class.

Open to any dog that has successfully completed an advanced graduate beginner class, focusing on fine-tuning the handler's exercises required to earn an AKC title of Companion Dog (CD), as well as knowing all the in's and out's of the regulations, and, of course, more distraction training.

info coming soon...

Rally obedience is the newest dog sport to hit the competition rings and has proven to be great fun!  It is a combination of basic obedience exercises and agility.  Each dog and handler team must complete a course (as teams do in agility), except, in rally, the teams negotiate the course by heeling from one "station" to the next.  At each "station", there is a sign on which is listed an obedience exercise that they must perform before heeling to the next one.  Unlike regular obedience competition, the handler may talk to and encourage the dog; rally is far less military-like in terms of executing each exercise, making it more fun for both the handler and the dog!  Like agility, there is a standard course time in which to complete the course, and each team is timed; like obedience, the team's performance of the various exercises and negotiation of the course is scored by a judge.

Linus, finishing his Level 1 title with a 5th Place!

Rally is a great way for students to have fun with their dogs while keeping their dogs "in practice" in terms of their training.  It is also a superb place for students to be introduced to dog sport competition, because it's far less formal than regular obedience, AND, the novice level courses are done entirely on lead, unlike agility.  It's also a wonderful way for students to conquer their cases of "ring jitters", especially if they're interested in eventually competing in regular obedience trials --- they can have fun and earn titles on the way to taking that first step into a formal obedience ring (or, they can simply concentrate on rally alone!).

Students who have completed a beginner obedience class and a graduate beginner class are eligible to participate in a rally obedience class. 

Gunther, finishing his Level 2 title with a 1st Place, and looking very bored with the whole thing!

info coming soon...

info coming soon...

FLAOA's Fall 2009 non-agility classes will kick off on Thursday, September 3rd, with our usual Registration/Intro Session, at the Cornell Livestock Pavilion, from 6:00 pm until 8:30 p.m.  (Yes, it does indeed take that long, so please plan accordingly!)  This first meeting (Registration and Intro Session) is held WITHOUT DOGS; please leave Rover home for this session.  The session starts with getting all students and their dogs registered for the various classes.  It is followed with a seminar covering such things as canine behavior, how dogs learn, the training methods used in our classes, what to expect, the rules of the Pavilion, and much more.  Essentially, we get the bureaucratic stuff out of the way, without our dogs in tow, so that, the first time you step through the door with your dog, we're ready to start training!  It's far easier to complete the paperwork without simultaneously attempting to hold onto an unruly dog.  Detailed info about these classes can be found here.  The club calendars can be found here.

 All students enrolling in any of our non-agility classes must complete the attached two forms.  The first is our Pre-Training Survey ( Pre-Training Survey.pdf ); the second form is our class Registration and Waiver form.  Please print these forms, complete, and bring with you to our registration session, along with a COPY of your dog's vaccination records.  (We stress COPY, because we're going to keep it on file with your forms; the main vaccination we're really checking for is rabies.)

 The Pre-Training Survey will give your instructor an overview of your dog's daily life with you, as well as highlight any areas in which you may be having problems with your dog, e.g., jumping, barking, housebreaking, etc.  Having this information will better equip your instructor to help you reach your goals for yourself and your dog in your class.

The Registration and Waiver form is purely for bureaucratic & administrative reasons.  From this form we'll know whether to add you to our e-mail discussion group for the duration of the class --- no one is required to participate in this list, but it is a very helpful tool in terms of distributing important class information, such as class cancellations (rare, but occasionally necessary, usually due to Mother Nature and her inclement weather, especially in during the winter months).  The discussion group is also a place to get additional help or questions answered in between our weekly class sessions.  Also, we'll have on file exactly how you wish your name and your dog's name to appear on your graduation certificate. 

Again, please print these two forms and complete them prior to registration; bring them with you to the registration session (along with a COPY of your dog's vaccination records) --- if you do so, we'll be able to start our seminar earlier.