C.L.A.S.S. stands for Canine Life and Social Skills. It is an assessment program developed by the Association of Pet Dog Trainers which takes students through a series of real-life activities. There are three levels of training and assessment. You need to pass each level to graduate to the next:
K9 B.A. (Bachelor) Assesses core life skills, such as waiting at the door,settling down, loose leash walking and others.
K9 M.A. (Master) Assesses the B.A. skills, but adds distractions to simulate real-world experiences, such as walking past a covered food bowl and waiting at the door while a person passes by.
K9 Ph.D. (Doctorate) Assesses the dog's life skills at a higher level of mannerly behavior. Dogs are asked to do such things as walk nicely on lead while you carry a bag of groceries and lie down quietly while you eat a snack or converse with a friend.
C.L.A.S.S. emphasizes maintaining reliable skills that have real-life relevance. This is a great way to build a strong relationship with your dog.
Our C.L.A.S.S. preparation is a 6-week program. All of the skills required for the test items will be covered and will vary depending on the assessment level. You will be expected to do lots of practicing between sessions!
Please note: Passing the C.L.A.S.S. assessment upon completion of this program cannot be guaranteed, however the test can be retaken as many times as necessary.
Training is one session per week, one hour per session.