Dog Training at Deerfield

For dogs who currently do best in solo or VIP care, our trainer can complete a Group Readiness Assessment to better understand your dog’s comfort level, triggers, confidence, and ability to progress toward more social play. Some dogs may be candidates for a structured pathway, while others may remain happiest in solo or VIP care.

Package Structure:

• Group Readiness Assessment — one-time evaluation
• Group Readiness Pathway — 5-session package for eligible dogs

Our Basic Obedience Group Class helps families build foundational skills like sit, down, stay, come, leave it, polite greetings, leash manners, and focus around distractions. Classes are led by our trainer and designed to help owners practice skills they can continue at home.

• Weekly group class
• Trainer-led instruction
• Owner participation
• Basic obedience curriculum
• Practice between classes
• Small group size
• Graduation / completion moment

6-week course: $249 per dog
60 minutes/week

Level 1: Core Manners Foundations

Best for: Puppies, young dogs, new dog parents, or dogs who need a stronger foundation.

This is the starting point for families who want the everyday basics to feel clearer and more manageable. The class introduces how dogs learn and communicate, then builds the core commands and manners owners use most often at home, on walks, and during daily routines. It is designed to help owners feel more confident and help dogs understand what is being asked of them.

By graduation, owners and dogs should be able to:

• Get their dog’s attention and use name recognition more effectively.
• Practice sit, down, stay, come, release, leave it, and drop it at a foundational level.
• Begin loose-leash walking with clearer handling and less pulling.
• Use place/settle skills to help the dog practice calm behavior.
• Understand how to keep practicing at home so progress continues after class.

Level 2: Everyday Manners & Distractions

Best for: Dogs who know some basics but need more consistency, better leash skills, and more reliability around distractions.

This class helps owners move from “my dog sort of knows it” to “my dog can do it more reliably.” The focus is on strengthening the basics with more distance, duration, and distraction, while giving owners better tools for recall, leash handling, greetings, household routines, and common noises or triggers. It is a practical next step for families who want manners to hold up in everyday life.

By graduation, owners and dogs should be able to:

• Ask for basic commands with better timing, clarity, and consistency.
• Build stronger recall and understand how to practice recall safely.
• Improve leash handling and create more mindful, productive walks.
• Help the dog respond more calmly to everyday household sounds and stimulation.
• Practice greetings, feeding routines, and impulse control with more confidence.

Level 3: Real-World Reliability

Best for: Dogs and owners who have completed the basics and are ready to practice around more realistic environments and distractions.

This class is about taking training out of the quiet classroom and into the kinds of situations where owners actually need it to work. Owners learn how to guide their dog calmly through busier, more distracting settings such as parks, dog-friendly public spaces, patio-style environments, stores, and group walks. The emphasis is connection, safe handling, polite greetings, settling around activity, and staying responsive when life gets busy.

By graduation, owners and dogs should be able to:

• Use leash, focus, and settle skills in more realistic public or semi-public settings.
• Handle greetings more politely around people and distractions.
• Help the dog stay connected to the owner in busier environments.
• Practice calm behavior around noises, movement, crowds, and new spaces.
• Participate more confidently in a structured group walk or public outing.

Level 4: Advanced Partnership & Handler Skills

Working translation of trainer draft: Level 4 – “Three fingers pointing backwards”

Best for: Graduates who want a deeper relationship with their dog and a more advanced understanding of how owner behavior influences dog behavior.

This advanced class is less about adding new commands and more about improving the partnership between owner and dog. Owners explore how timing, body language, movement, confidence, emotional state, and communication style influence the dog’s response. The class is more reflective and handler-focused, with advanced exercises designed to deepen trust, awareness, and responsiveness.

By graduation, owners and dogs should be able to:

• Understand how their own movement, timing, and energy affect the dog.
• Use more subtle communication and intentional handling.
• Build stronger trust and responsiveness between dog and owner.
• Practice advanced awareness exercises and handler-dog teamwork.
• Apply the full training journey with more confidence, calm, and purpose.