Advanced Obedience – Off Leash, Therapy, Agility, Protection, Competition, Hunting, Search And Rescue

BASIC OBEDIENCE II

Call Today!
Sam Basso
PHOENIX , AZ AREA: (602) 708-4531
OR, if you are out of this area, inquire about a telephone or e-Lesson
Email: [email protected]

Here’s Milo, the Norwich Terrier, doing Advanced Obedience in North Scottsdale. Milo is a GREAT dog, and his owners were super diligent with the lessons. I become friends with many of my customers through the training, and this case was no exception. This is advanced off leash work. Look at his eager, attentive attitude! That didn’t just happen by accident, it was the result of a lot of hard, good, diligent work

Intermediate through Advanced Obedience Is Essential For More Demanding Off Leash Obedience In Public… and also to make your dog better prepared for Agility, Protection, Competition, Hunting, Search And Rescue, Scent Detection, and Professional Dog Handling. This class is those who have completed the skills in Basic Obedience I: There is nothing more exciting than advanced obedience, off leash, around distractions! If you don’t have off leash control in emergencies, then you, your dog, or even another person could be seriously injured or die. Effective teamwork, and exacting practice of advance obedience exercises will prepare you for such emergencies. You will never have 100% obedience (dogs aren’t machines, otherwise competitors would always get top score in obedience trials, police dogs and guide dogs would always obey, etc… and the truth is that even top trained dogs make mistakes and sometimes don’t obey). Even so, you MUST complete the exercises in Basic Obedience II to have serious off leash distance control, in public, in dangerous situations. When you have completed Basic Obedience I, you are ready to enter Basic Obedience II.

(Read About: Buster the Portuguese Water Dog, who is in Advanced Obedience classes)

In Basic Obedience I, we will have completed the following exercises:
a.) Manners
b.) Barrier Training
c.) Sit/ Stay
d.) Down/ Stay
e.) Sit Out Of Motion
f.) Down Out Of Motion
g.) Come When Called
h.) Heeling: straight, turns, automatic Sit
i.) Handler Skills (too many to list here)
j.) Management Program II

.

I teach Intermediate and Advanced Dog Handling Classes.

In Basic Obedience II, we will progress onto more control and more advanced exercises, on and off leash. Most of the focus will be off leash control and handler skills. This is exciting work, and for motivated dogs and handlers, you’ll get the kind of control that you always wanted from your dog. Basic Obedience II will also further improve your relationship with your dog… and we will be focusing on DRIVE, precision, listening / reading your dog, and managing your messages to your dog. We are going to work to enhance and focus your dog’s natural desires in order to maximize performance and reliability. This program is recommended for dogs that are highly intelligent working dogs, who need additional challenges. It is also recommended for those of you who might go off leash in public.

.
The goals for Basic Obedience Dog Training II are:
a.) Sit and Down for extended time
b.) Advanced Heeling for greater distances, a variety of pace and directional changes. Forward and backward heeling, advanced turns, and Finish exercise;
c.) Distance control for all Basic Obedience I commands, up to 100 yards away from the handler
d.) Stand/ Stay
e.) Stand Out Of Motion
f.) Beginning to Advanced Retrieving on Command: Find It Command, Hold command, Drop command, Holding Different Retrieve Objects; Carrying Objects; Fetch command; Retrieving multiple objects; Deliver to hand; etc. (optional)
g.) Advanced Behavioral Modification, for continuing behavioral issues
h.) Send Away
i.) Intermediate Training Theory
j.) Drive Capping
l.) Beginning Tracking (optional)
k.) Intermediate Management Program II

Communication and teamwork are essential elements of Intermediate and Advanced Handling. I spend a considerable amount of time coaching Handlers (Owners). Reading the dog, communication, leadership, teamwork, and so forth are prime topics.

The objectives of Basic Obedience II take longer to achieve than the objectives of Basic Obedience I. Thus, you will be asked to schedule a series of lessons, until your dog has completed the goals of Basic Obedience II. Not all dogs, and not all handlers, are suitable for Basic Obedience Dog Training II. Some proceed very quickly. Some take considerable time and effort. Others cannot ever accomplish the goals of Basic Obedience II, regardless of the efforts of the handler and trainer. Genetics plays a major role in trainability. Thus, some breeds, and individual dogs, will progress faster and further in training than others. For the retrieving exercises, your dog must be a natural retriever to some degree. Some dogs can complete some, but not all of the Basic Obedience II objectives. Most WILL be accepted to enroll in the classes, however, we won’t force your dog to do things that s/he isn’t naturally inclined and motivated to perform. You have to demonstrate the Basic Obedience Dog Training I skills before you can enroll in the Basic Obedience Dog Training II classes.

You and your dog must show good attitude and work habits. You must have mastered the Basic Obedience I objectives, at the sole judgment of our trainer, Sam Basso. Your dog must have the drives and stability required to move onto this next level of training. Sometimes, more advanced obedience isn’t good for a particular dog. If a dog has to be forced to do these tasks, with no hope of any joy or accomplishment for both the dog and the handler, then I will not agree to enrolling your team in the Basic Obedience II program. Enrollment is at my sole option and discretion. Lessons will be arranged for 18 classes at a time. The normal Pricing and class Rules shall apply.

Footwork, timing… it is almost like a dance. This dog and Handler are just beginning the Intermediate Handling class, and every detail is examined and fixed. This dog is supposed to be Heeling… can you pick out several Handler errors in this picture?

OUR GOAL: THE TRAINED DOG

We will treat your dog with TLC!

[Honesty Is The Best Policy: You will find a few so-called trainers around the country that will claim to have your dog doing all of this in 2 or 3 lessons using an electric collar. REALLY?! Do you really believe that to be the truth? Then if that was the case, then you could get any dog of any breed on Sunday at the pet store or dog shelter, pay for 3 days of lessons, and before the end of the week you’d be ready to get obedience titles on that dog…. Let’s all forget about selective breeding, and forget about specific breed traits, and pretend that dog training is easy and doesn’t require any work. Let’s engage in the fantasy that you can just buy any dog and become a champion in a week or so. Or, maybe you could get that same dog at the pet store, do 4 or 5 lessons, and the dog would be ready to be a guide dog for the blind, or a hunting dog, or a police dog, or do search and rescue. Guide dogs take nearly 2 years to be ready to do their work. Same with competition, police, and hunting dogs. When something sounds too good to be true… trust your gut! I have trained with and learned my skills from THE BEST. It just doesn’t work that way. Don’t be deceived. Even the electric collar manufacturers don’t claim their products can do this. I figure that if all a dog trainer knows can be summed up in 3 to 5 lessons, then you aren’t dealing with a very experienced or knowledgeable trainer, or they are out for a quick buck at your expense. Let the buyer beware. And in fact, I won’t let you into Basic Obedience II if you can’t do the skills of Basic Obedience I… and I rarely run across anyone who is ready to just jump into this class regardless of who they have trained with or their level of experience… I ALWAYS have to fix skills.]

THERAPY DOG TRAINING

I am well qualified to train Therapy Dogs. This is one of my past students.
“I am well qualified to train Therapy Dogs. This is one of my past students.”

I have trained a number of therapy dogs. For example, one of my students used her dog regularly at a local hospital on the east side, and in fact, her dog, was featured in a commercial for the hospital. Therapy dogs are evaluated according to three criteria: 1.) The temperament of the dog; 2.) The ability to be obedient in a specialized environment, such as a hospital, retirement facility, and such; and 3.) the ability of the owner to exercise good control and judgment. Your dog’s temperament is primarily a function of your dog’s breeding. This is not something we can change. I know of a German Shepherd Dog that didn’t do well in a hospital environment. The dog was fine with people and other dogs. But, the dog also became territorial at the hospital over time, seeing the grounds as “home turf”, too watchful over strangers entering and leaving the building. This wasn’t the right environment for the dog. Fearful dogs also don’t do well in therapy situations. You need a very solid, healthy dog. In addition, you need to properly socialize your dog, especially if you are getting a puppy. I recommend that you call me for advice. Then, comes the training. Ideally, you start when the puppy is 4 months old, so no bad habits get ingrained in the dog. With older dogs, we need to work out any bad training, bad habits, and any socialization problems. This can often require doing more than just basic obedience. Further, many good dogs are just too young to begin the therapy work, regardless of how much training you’ve done. You’re going to find that your dog probably needs to be at least 18 months of age to begin real work in a therapy situation. Lastly, you need good handling skills. If I gave you a fully trained dog, you still might flunk the therapy dog evaluation if you didn’t do any work with your dog up to that point. The testing organization will also give you a written exam to determine if you are ready.

I can walk you through the process and get you and your dog ready for a therapy dog evaluation.

<PLEASE READ:

Why Should You Choose Sam Basso To Train Your Dog? (What To Expect)
Customer Testimonials (Please call me if you’d like to talk to my references)
My Prices (Complete description of prices for each program)
My Rules (Policies, Payment, Cancellations, Rules, Disclosures, etc.)

Locations Serviced: Ahwatukee, Anthem, Avondale, Buckeye, Cave Creek, Chandler, Chandler Heights, DC Ranch, Fountain Hills, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Laveen, Litchfield Park, Mesa, Paradise Valley, Peoria, Phoenix, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, Sun City, Sun Lakes, Surprise, Tempe, Tolleson

Sam Basso is a professional dog trainer and behaviorist, in the Phoenix/ Scottsdale metropolitan area. He’s known for being fun, kind, intelligent, and humane. Sam Basso has a unique personal touch. He has appeared on his own TV show, been a guest radio expert, gives seminars, publishes a dog related blog, does rescue volunteering, and is active in promoting animal welfare and fair dog laws.


Intro Video

Contact