Congratulations on taking the first step in establishing a training program for you and your canine companion. We are excited to help you understand the whats and whys of your pup's behaviour and how to establish a strong, long lasting relationship.

Our group classes are geared towards puppies and young adolescents with occasional advanced classes for owners who wish to delve deeper into the wonderful world of training. For dogs who have not been exposed to group training at a young age, we offer individual training.

Click here for a class Class registration form. Please review our class policies before registering for a class.

Group classes are held at our training center in Montague, MA. 

Puppy Head Start I

No puppies the first class - Human Training Session Level I

This is the most important start you will make with your new puppy. Puppy I is for puppies ages 8-16 weeks. We introduce basic good manners and focus exercises as well as introducing puppies to new obstacles, substrates, people and other puppies during this critical period of socialization. It is an indispensible class for new puppy owners. Topics from housebreaking, chewing, mouthing, and a myriad of other important topics are covered.

This is a five week class limited to 8 dogs. $185.00

Next Session begins:

• May 24, 2023- Wednesdays at 5pm
• July 12, 2023- Wednesdays at 6pm

Puppy Head Start II

Puppy II is for puppies who have completed PKI or are starting after ~16 weeks of age. Any pup who has not taken Puppy I must be able to work in a group setting. In this class we build on the basics that puppies have learned in PKI, strengthening the puppies' understanding of the behaviours introduced in Puppy I and introducing some new behaviours such as polite greeting behaviour, good leash manners, and building duration with Sit & Down.

This is a five week class limited to 6 dogs. $185.00

Next Session begins:

• June 1, 2023 - Thursdays at 6pm
• July 12, 2023- Wednesdays at 5pm

Advanced Puppy Head Start

Puppies who have completed Puppy Head Start I & II are eligible for the Advanced Puppy Head Start class. We expand our work on leash manners, polite greeting, building Stay and conditioning a broader concept of Leave It, among other things. The benefit of continuing in a Puppy level class is that play sessions are worked into the class schedule and the young dogs continue working on material appropriate for their age.

This is a five week class ,limited to 6 dogs. $185.00

Next Session begins:

• July 13, 2023 - Thursdays at 6pm

Advanced Skills Classes

Companion Dog 

This is a class for refining skills learned in the puppy level classes. This class is appropriate for people who have the time and desire to achieve higher goals. 

This a five week class limited to 6 dogs. $185.00

Next Session begins:

• TBA

Recall and Leash Skills

In this class we work on building a conditioned cue for Recall and teaching our dogs how to modify their gait when on leash.

This is a five week class limited to 4 dogs. $225

Next Session begins:

• June 1, 2023 - Thursdays at 5pm - Full
• May 31, 2023 - Wednesdays at 6pm - Full
• July 13, 2023 - Thursdays at 5pm

Canine Good Citizen 

The AKC developed the Canine Good Citizen test to certify and award those dogs who have demonstrated polite dog to dog and human interactive skills. Teach your dog good manners and the skills it needs to be a Canine Good Citizen. 

This is a five week class limited to 5 dogs. $200.00

Next Sessions Begins:

• TBA

"We loved every aspect of classes. Thank you for grouping smaller dogs together for play sessions. Elise is great...we are fortunate to be associated with Canine Head Start." 

Tracey & Joe Follansbee & Their Dogs, Tanner & Cloe - Corgi