Obedience Training

Dog owners of perspective have come to want the type of obedience upon which a blind person might stake his life, and the emotional stability that is vital to dogs in the presence of small, unpredictable children.

Koehler, 1962

At AMPS, we believe that Obedience is the most important aspect of training that ensures success and harmony for dogs in their useful relationship to humans. Each of our courses is designed to guide a dog toward greater levels of reliability and stability by the program’s end.

Music to your Dog’s Ears

Reliability off lead should always be the most significant criterion when evaluating and comparing training methods.

Koehler 1990

Far too often, discussion about dog-training styles and techniques tends to revolve around equipment choice, behaviorist psychology, pack-hierarchy, or any number of other vague and questionable treatments of the central fact of training: that sometimes, there are things the dog must do, whether he wants to or not.

At AMPS, we eschew any and all “theories” of dog-training which are not based on proof that they produce repeatable, reliable, and objectively measurable results, both in the ring and on the street. This is why we require objective readiness tests at each level of training with hard Pass/Fail distinctions to ensure the team is ready to move forward. This is also why we train to nationally recognized standards, guaranteeing that your training experience is based on the most solid foundation possible

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the torrent of contradictory and unintuitive “tips, tricks, and hacks” espoused by “dog training influencers” on TikTok and YouTube? Perhaps you’re tired of hearing, “Maybe try this,” or, “Hopefully he’ll do that,” and feeling like you’re wasting your valuable time and hard-earned dollars on training that crumbles under pressure? At AMPS, you can rest-assured that your qualified Dog Obedience Instructor will explain precisely what he’s doing, why he’s doing it, when you can expect results, and how much it will cost you.

Training Options

We offer three training arrangements to accommodate the widest range of scheduling, behavioral, and budgetary requirements:

Group Classes are subject to schedule availability. Click HERE for current Group Class offerings and RSVPs.

Private Lessons afford more one-on-one interaction between the dog-handler team and the instructor. Private Lessons can be the right choice for owners or dogs who may feel intimidated or overwhelmed in a large Group Class setting.

Board and Train is a good choice for owners with busy schedules who don’t have the time to devote to daily dog training, or who may be ill, injured, or too far away to make the trip in for weekly lessons. Board and Train also offers the opportunity to work on specialized cases or training needs for which the Group Class or Private Lesson format do not provide a good fit. During a Board and Train, the client-dog will remain at AMPS for the duration of the training period. At least two mandatory handling lessons will be scheduled during the Board and Train, as well as an extensive take-home lesson.

Starting Off Right

Even though your dog may have had some training at home or with another school, we’ll start from the basics to make sure we’re building from a solid foundation before moving into advanced topics. Everything we teach, from simple on-leash exercises to advanced off-leash work like retrieving or scenting, builds from the foundation we establish in Companion Dog obedience, so it’s important to make sure we get that right! Call now to schedule your FREE ($79 value) evaluation and demonstration.

Each course follows a week-by-week structure with the course fee payable-in-full by the Week 2 meeting. Each week, class will be held at a set time and location, and will run for 45-60 minutes. The first portion of each class is devoted to Readiness Testing to ensure that the team is ready to move on, and having verified that the previous week’s homework has been completed, the instructor will demonstrate the new material and answer any questions that may have arisen. At the end of class, the instructor will distribute a handout containing brief summaries of any new exercises and the homework for this week’s at-home training.

Our courses are rigorous and demanding but not difficult to complete provided you are willing to put in the effort with your dog. Expect to spend about an hour per day of dedicated work during the Companion Dog or higher courses, and about 15-30 minutes per day in the Puppy and Beginner courses. If you have been diligent in your daily practice with your dog, you can expect that to show in the Readiness Testing, but if you haven’t put the work in your instructor WILL KNOW.