Sit! Stay! Come!  Dog Obedience Classes Benefit Humans and Canines Alike

Famously, dogs are humans’ best friends. But when your buddy attacks the living room furniture, strews the kitchen trash and shreds your slippers, the quality of friendship suffers serious strain. Worse, your attempts to change behavior seem to fall on deaf canine ears. That’s when it’s time for professional intervention – past time, in fact, according to Southern Maryland dog trainers.

“You really ought to start obedience classes for a puppy at eight weeks,” says Eryka Kahunanui of Kahuna K9s, based in Calvert County. It’s not that you can’t teach old dogs new tricks, but as in humans, it’s easier to establish good habits than to break bad ones. At a recent class, Kahunanui dealt with a golden retriever, young but no longer a puppy, who kept jumping up on her hind legs. This was not a good start to a class on sitting and settling. Gently, Kahunanui pushed the dog down to a sitting position, at the same time sounding a clicker in her hand and giving the dog a treat – a small slice of hot dog.

“Clicker training” is based on a theory of consistent positive reinforcement, in which a consistent, readily identifiable sound marks the behavior the trainer is teaching. An additional advantage is that it focuses human as well as canine minds – you’ve got to know when to click – and that helps both trainers and dog owners, who are also issued clickers.   

Whether or not they subscribe to the clicker theory, trainers agree that the process is as much about the owners as the dogs. “The dogs are the easy part,” says Lance Nogosek of Charles County, who is with Sit Means Sit dog training. “It’s the owners that are difficult.” Kahunanui adds, “The owners have to understand that they and the dog are a team in learning.” And Michelle Roberts of Midnight’s Dog Training in St. Mary’s County stresses, “I tell the owners that one hour a week won’t do it. You have to do your homework.”

That homework, say experts, should begin even before training classes start. You should put as much research and effort into choosing a dog trainer as you would in picking any other professional. Training methods differ; some trainers use clickers, some don’t.  Some concentrate on positive reinforcement, rewarding success; others use more negative reinforcement, punishing misbehavior. Both you and your dog should be comfortable with the trainer’s approach. Fellow dog owners, of course, represent a good source of information. “I advise people to have as close a relationship with their trainer as they would have to their veterinarian,” says Kahunanui.

Finally, you should realize that training requires a significant investment of both money and time. A basic training course averages upwards of $100. Expect to spend considerably more if you continue with training for the first eight months of a dog’s life, as most trainers recommend. Some, like Roberts, offer courses that go well beyond obedience, into agility training, hurdles and obstacle courses.   

Whether you just want a well-behaved pet to welcome you home, or a canine athlete to admire, training can make your dog a better friend.  ✦

Dog Obedience Trainers

Tri-County Area

Good Dog! K9 Obedience  Rachel Richards
240-538-2243; www.gooddog-k9obedience.com
rachel@gooddog-k9obedience.com

Calvert County
Calvert Animal Welfare League
443-684-3798; www.cawlrescue.org/training
simple.intelligent.training@gmail.com

Chesapeake Kennel Club
www.chesapeakekennelclub.org/classes.html
icknield@chesapeake.net

Kahuna’s K9s  Eryka Kahunanui
Prince Frederick; 443-228-8597 www.kahunask9s.com; eryka@kahunask9s.com

Training by Julie and Associates  
Julie Jacobus; 443-852-4912 www.trainingbyjulie.com; info@trainingbyjulie.com

Charles County
Charles County Humane Society  
Waldorf; 301-645-8181 www.humanesocietycc.org/events.html

Chico Stanford Canine Training
301-751-8812; www.chicostanford.com/index
contact@chicostanford.com

The Playful Pup  Christina McCauley
White Plains; 301-305-7282 www.playfulpupsomd.com/#!training

Sit Means Sit  Lance Nogosek
301-653-0735; www.sitmeanssit.com/dog-training-locations/charles-county-maryland-dog-training/
lancenogosek@sitmeanssit.com

St. Mary’s County
Applejack K-9 Academy  Charlotte Hall
301-884-7547; www.applejackk9concepts.com

Three Notch Veterinary Hospital  
Brian Markowich; www.dogboyobedience.com
training@dogboyobedience.com

Midnight’s Dog Training Michelle Roberts
443-624-2252; www.midnightsdogtraining.com
vabchdog@comcast.net

Wetherburn Dog Obedience Robert Deluca
St. Mary’s County Recreation & Parks
301-843-9609; www.wetherburndogobedience.my
gnome.com; rdeluca2@comcast.net

This is a partial list of locally based trainers. Some of these trainers can arrange classes outside their home counties. The pet supply stores Petco and PetSmart, with outlets throughout the region, also offer classes.