Our Dog Training Courses
Dogs love to learn and experience new things and our dog training courses are an excellent way to spend quality time with your canine companion while teaching them new and exciting things.
There is also the added bonus that your dog will make new furry friends and be allowed to play and run off lead with them.
Gaynor Probert offers a range of courses every weekend at A1K9 Behaviour and Training Academy
She holds courses to suit all levels of ability. Gaynor has the specialist knowledge and techniques to help you to overcome any problems you may have when you train your dog.
Puppy Socialisation
Good socialisation is the best way to ensure a friendly, well-adjusted puppy, and it's fun and all the family can join in.
Junior Course
Developed for young dogs between 6 and 12 months and suitable for all breeds, the Junior course is the first step on our training ladder and a natural progression from puppy classes.
Bronze Obedience
The two main objectives of this course is to teach you the owner, how to train your dog to walk on a lead without pulling and to get your dog to come back to you when they are called.
Silver Obedience
This course teaches you the next stage of dog training, cementing what you have learned and teaching you hands free training.
Gold Obedience
The Gold obedience course is for the enthusiastic dog owner to teach their dog off lead obedience and to respond to their commands when there are distractions around.
Platinum Obedience
This obedience course is for the real enthusiast, taking your skills to the highest level, with distance control and off lead obedience and agility.
One to One
This is a bespoke training session with the experienced and qualified dog trainer and behaviourist, Gaynor Probert who is the CFBA Practitioner of the year 2014. She will work on the aspects of dog training that you are finding difficult to resolve your problems.
Collars and leads
Gaynor sells quality training leads and collars in class.
The collar will be put on your dog to fit correctly and you will be shown the best way to use them to get the most benefit from these beautiful collars and leads and you can try them out in class before you buy them to see if you like them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: My dog is X months old: Puppy, Junior or Bronze? Can we go up early, or skip Junior if we've done classes elsewhere?
It depends on your dog's age: Puppy Socialisation is for pups up to 6 months, Junior for young dogs 6 to 12 months, and Bronze for dogs 12 months and over. Going up a little early is possible if Gaynor agrees it. Ring her for a quick chat about your dog first. Skipping Junior because you have already done classes elsewhere is possible too, though her usual recommendation is Junior then Bronze, since age tends to matter more than a previous class at that stage. Either way, a short phone conversation is how she decides.
Q2: Do I need a group course, a one to one, or a behaviour consultation?
Group courses are for everyday obedience and manners: lead walking, recall, sit and down, stays, taught step by step over six weeks. A one to one is a bespoke session on whatever you are finding difficult: it suits owners who can't commit to a weekly class, want to get further than a class will take them, or whose dog's temperament doesn't suit a class, and it can also be used just to assess your dog and recommend the right course. A behaviour consultation is for a problem rather than a training gap: aggression towards dogs or people, or anything about your dog's behaviour that worries you day to day. If you are not sure which, tell Gaynor a little about your dog when you get in touch and she will say where to start.
Q3: We've just adopted a rescue dog, or have an older dog that has never been trained. Can we join, and is it too late?
Rescue and rehomed dogs are welcome and can start whenever you like. Some owners prefer to wait a couple of weeks to let the dog settle in first, which is fine too. It is never too old to come to Bronze, whatever your dog's age. Most dogs coming back to training, or starting for the first time as an adult, join Bronze; if your dog has kept up a higher standard already, Gaynor may place it higher after a chat. If your dog is showing aggression or is very difficult to handle on the lead, she will want to see you for a behaviour consultation first.
Q4: We have two dogs (or littermates). Can they both come, does each need a handler, and is there a discount?
Two dogs from the same home can both come, but it isn't recommended: they tend to watch each other rather than you, so neither learns as well. Each dog needs its own handler, and Gaynor's advice is to put them on separate courses rather than bring them into the same one; if they're different ages, one option is for each partner to take one dog to a different course, swapping over. There's no discount for a second dog: it's the same price per dog.
Q5: Can we join a course that's already started, and what if we miss a week?
You can join in week two if there is space. After that it's best to wait for the next course. If you miss a class partway through, there's no way to make it up on another course running the same weekend, since it will be at a different level: you have the weeks you paid for on your own course.