Puppy Class is for puppies 6 months and younger. Puppies must have proof of vaccinations appropriate for their age, which would include two DHPP vaccines.

Puppy class is a non formal class that covers more than sit, down, stay, but also encompasses socialization, building trust, confidence and building a positive connection to the handler with positive training methods that shape behaviors. Your puppy will learn all foundation exercises to move on to beginners class after puppy graduation.

Skills include:

Leash handling
heeling
sit
down
stay
front and finish, both around and swing
stand
life saving recall
AKC Star Puppy Test taken on last week

Non formal skills:

Introduction to stimuli to help build confidence
Tunnel
ladder
cones with weaving
obstacle agility course
impulse control
marker words and release words

To move up from the Beginner class to the next level, the dogs must exhibit specific skills, and it typically takes several sessions in the Beginner class to accomplish this.

Dogs move up to the next level based on criteria, not how many times they have been in a class at this level. Instructors approval is required to move up to the next class level (Pre-Novice).

The skills taught in this class that are necessary to move up to the next level are:

1.)Limited use of luring
2.)Automatic sits during heeling
3.)Down on command
4.) Heeling appropriately during a simple heeling pattern
5.) Handler is able to walk around the dog to heel position when returning to dog from a stay (dog remains in Sit position)
6.) Sit for exam
7.) 30 second sit/stay and down/stay
8.) An on leash recall

Our training method is to mark & reward correct behavior, so food rewards will be used.

PRE-NOVICE OBEDIENCE CLASS DESCRIPTION

Students enrolling in Pre-Novice Obedience Classes have successfully demonstrated mastery of the criteria from Beginner Obedience Class.
Students in Pre-Novice class must master a level of criteria prior to moving to a Novice level class with Instructor approval. As well as learning new exercises, Pre-Novice students will refine the skills they learned in Beginner class.
Exercises include:

Heeling skills
Focus on handler/Engagement between handler and dog (use of high-value treats)
Appropriate marking and rewarding of behavior
Proper leash handling
Use of commands
Heel position; auto sit in heel position upon halting
About turn, U-turn, Quarter turns on a pivot (Left and Right)
Gait changes (slow/fast)
Reverse and call to front
Dog is under control at all times

Commands
Heel position (Set up, Get in, etc.)
Sit
Down
Sit and Stand for Exam
Finishes (Swing and Around)
Stay/wait (one minute stay on sit and down) at end of leash
Front/Come (recalls) at 40 feet

Figure Eight
Handler pacing remains the same while dog speeds up or slows down to accommodate the handler

Prerequisite: Pre-Novice class skills and approval from the Pre-Novice instructor or with approval from the NOCI Director of Training.

Classes meet 50 minutes each week and each session consists of 7 classes. Class sizes are limited.

In this class you will refine the skills developed in the Pre-Novice class and ultimately have the skills necessary to show your dog at the Beginner Novice or Novice level in AKC or UKC to achieve the Beginner Novice (BN) title, or Novice level to achieve the Companion Dog (CD) title.

Showing your dog is certainly not mandatory, but that is the standard you will be training up to. Anyone who has met the criteria to be in a Novice class is welcome.

Exercies to be refined will include:

1.) On and off leash heeling
2.) figure eights
3.) The sit & stand for exam
4.) A 40′ recall on the flat and a recall over a high jump
5.) The group exercises consisting of a one minute sit/stay and one minute down/stay
6.) A sit/stay while the handler walks around the room
7.) The Sit/Stay — Get your leash exercise.

Other handler skills will also be addressed, including footwork, hand position, and other non verbal cues the handler may or not be aware they are giving their dog.

Prerequisite: Dog must have earned at least 1 leg in the Novice class toward their CD to be eligible for the Pre-Open class, or with approval from the NOCI Director of Training

In this class students will begin to work on the skills required at the Open level.

The new skills students will begin to work on include:

1.) The Drop on Recall
2.) The Command Discrimination exercise (Stand, Sit, & Down from a distance)
3.) Introducing the dumbbell to the dog, and how to get them to hold it.
4.) The Retrieve on the Flat & Retrieve over the High Jump
5.) The Recall over the Broad Jump
6.) The Open version of the Stay and Get the Leash exercise
7.) Variations of these exercises that are used in the UKC Open class.

Prerequisite:  the dog must have earned at least 1 leg in the Novice class toward their CD, be holding & retrieving the dumbbell and be started on the Drop on Recall, or with the approval of the NOCI Director of Training.

All the skills introduced in the Pre-Open class will be refined so that eventually the dog can compete at the Open level in AKC or UKC 

Pre-Utility Class

Prerequisite: Dog must have earned at least 1 leg in an Open class toward their CDX to be eligible for the Pre-Utility class, or with the approval of the NOCI Director of Training.

In this class class students will begin to work on the skills required at the Utility level

The new skills students will begin to work on include:

1.) Heeling with no verbal commands to their dog (all signals)
2.) A Drop, Sit, & Come using no verbal commands (all signals)
3.) A Stand at the halt in the Heeling & Signal exercise
4.) The scent discrimination exercise, where the dog is trained to find & retrieve an article scented by the handler
5.) The Directed Retrieve exercise, where the dog will learn to retrieve the correct glove from the three placed out.
6.) The moving Stand exercise which includes a more thorough exam than at the Novice level
7.) The Directed Jumping exercise, which consists of a 40’Go Out, and then a Directed Recall over either the high or the bar jump.

The prerequisite for this class is the dog must have earned at least 1 leg in the Open class toward their CDX, be doing the scent discrimination with at least several articles out there, and have a general understanding of the Directed Retrieve & Directed Jumping exercise, or with the approval of the NOCI Director of Training.

All the skills covered in the Pre-Utility class will be refined to prepare the student to show at the Utility level

This class is where all the fun starts. Foundation agility is essential for the performance of the dog and creates a high-quality team that will ultimately enjoy the most fun, as well as success, in the future. The curriculum will focus on the individual dog’s needs to build confidence in agility training. There will be fun and games played to aid in the use of small obstacles like wobble boards, planks, etc. The handlers will need to give the dogs many treats and lots of toy play to establish a high rate of reinforcement to work with objects as they begin to build a team connection. There will be some amount of time on working on leash in the beginning. That said, the dogs will need previous experience in a social environment, preferably in one of our obedience classes at NOCI. This is for the safety of the dogs. All dogs will have some frequent times in a crate and it would be a great help to all teams to have a soft folding crate in class for dogs to stay in. This class will set dog/handler teams up for success as they progress in agility.

Topics to cover are so many that a complete list is not practical in this description. However, here are some brief examples: Mat work, clicker/marker use, table work, wobble boards, planks, rear end awareness, shaping, targeting, using a high rate of reinforcement, teaching verbal cues, the use of games to bring on object focus as well as handler focus, single bar jumps, tunnels, intro to contacts, 2×2’s/channel weaves and more. The main idea in each of these topics is to allow the dog to think that all the behaviors they are doing are their idea while the handler is influencing it. Having a dog think it’s their idea will help them to proceed with confidence. Some of the objects in agility are so challenging for dogs that if they are pressured, or even lured, they will develop poor skills or outright refuse to perform the necessary skills. Topics will increase as skills in teams increase. This class is often repeated and participants who stay together will probably find themselves in a hybrid between Foundation agility and Beginner agility.

Prerequisites: Dog and handler teams will have prior experience in group class environment. Dogs cannot exhibit aggression towards people or other dogs. Dogs should exhibit a reliable recall and sit/stay. Dogs need to be comfortable with other people touching its body and collar. Dogs need to be relatively comfortable in a crate. Director/instructor approval.
NOCI instructors are excited to introduce the game of dog agility to everyone! Come join us.

For information about any of our Agility Classes contact the Director of Agility Training at  .

This class continues the elemental work from the Foundation class and builds on it towards full size equipment. The curriculum will progress with a focus on Distance, Distraction, and Duration of training behaviors that will be built in agility. These are the 3D’s of training a fluid performance in the future. In this class the A-frame will be going upwards towards a full height when dogs are confident as well as the dog walk. Teeter banging and climbing will be built towards performing a complete teeter. Jump work will continue with small skill sets building up towards sequencing. Participants in this class will be directed to add a jump towards weaves and a jump toward contacts and vice versa when teams are ready. Dogs will begin to perform angles towards obstacles and turns upon exits. Handlers will learn to train and perform common sequences to add confidence for the dogs towards doing coursework. Progress in weave-pole training with emphasis on this continuing at home to allow for a confident weaver will be ongoing. 

Note, it is difficult to train a dog to weave in a once-a-week class, so it is VERY important for teams to follow up at home or a rental time with this as homework. 

Handlers will continue with handling skills on an ongoing basis with importance on connection with the dog, cuing the obstacles, and support of those cues to help the dog with commitment. Obstacle discrimination will be introduced. The handler will learn how to change directions with a post turn, a front cross, a rear cross, and a blind cross is. The handler will begin to learn how and when to perform these handling moves.

Prerequisite: Previous foundation class and director/instructor approval.

This class is for dogs that have confidence on all obstacles in an agility course. The handler also understands all the basics of handling and is ready to put that understanding into sequencing to develop a continuation of skills. The team will be increasing its speed and connection. All obstacle performance will be done at full height level and distractions will be increased. The dogs on channel weave poles may be in the last parts of their training, however, you must complete all weave training by the end of this class to continue on into other levels. Continuing work will be done on obstacle discrimination. The goal of this class is to coach teams towards a performance on full courses that would be found at competition level.

Prerequisite: Previous beginner class completed and director/instructor approval.

This class is for dog/handler teams that are confident working together on all obstacles found in an agility course. Weave pole training must have been completed. Teams may be starting their journey into competition, in the midst of it, or performing at competition level. This class will be on full courses. There will be a focus on advanced levels of agility techniques and many technical skills will be practiced. There will be emphasis on greater distances and distractions to build commitment with better performance for the dog/hander team. The focus on this class will be to coach teams to be confident in competition. However, there is no requirement to be a competition team.

Prerequisite: Completion of a previous Intermediate agility class and director/instructor approval.

This class is focused on competition agility teams. Teams should be at or close to the highest levels in competition in any chosen venue. Competition type examples would be: Excellent/Masters AKC, Level 4/5 CPE, USDAA Masters, UKI Senior/Champ, or their equivalent in the modified jump heights. Teams will be working on technical skills such at tight turns, timing on handling, timing on cuing, shortening competition performance time, and training on very technical courses. These courses will be similar to Premier, Biathlon, or Master Series types of courses.

Prerequisite: Completion of an Advanced class and or already actively competing in agility. Director and instructor approval is also needed.