training

Fall Training to Begin Mid-September

The Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson, Inc., is pleased to announce three dog training classes scheduled to begin mid-September.

Puppy Kindergarten will be held Thursday evenings at 6:00 p.m., at the Humane Society of Jefferson County‘s Community Room, W6127 Kiesling Road, Jefferson, WI, with the first class meeting on September 19.

Basic Skills and Everyday Manners will begin Sunday, September 15, at 12:00 noon, in the Agility Barn at Celtic K9 Academy, N2501 Wenham Rd, Fort Atkinson, WI. [Basic Skills is full as of 9/9/24.  Call the KCFA at 920-568-0364 and ask to be put on the waiting list.]

Continuing Basic: Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Skills, will also be held at Celtic K9 Academy, beginning September 15, at 1:00 p.m.  To enroll in this class, dogs must have completed KCFA’s Basic Skills or an equivalent class elsewhere, and should be able to  demonstrate basic skills such as sit, down, stay, come, walk on a loose leash, polite greetings, etc.

Preregistration is required for all classes and class sizes are limited.  Visit this page and scroll to the bottom for the required forms to print, complete and mail, together with payment and vaccination records, to reserve your spot.  Don’t delay, as classes fill quickly!

 

CANCELED – Beyond the Basics: A Dog Training Sampler

This class has been canceled because the minimum enrollment has not been met by the deadline.  We know August is a busy time for vacations, and we hope to be able to offer this fun class at some future date.

Wondering what comes next for your dog after learning “Come,” “Sit,” “Down,” and “Stay?”    Plenty!

Build on your dog’s basic skills and explore new skills with Beyond the Basics: A Dog Training Sampler.  This four-week class will introduce handlers and their dogs to a different fun canine sport each week: Agility, Rally, Scent Work, and Trick Dog.

Each class meeting will introduce participants to foundation skills and essential concepts for getting started in the featured sport and will include guidance on resources and where to look for continued learning and training.

Classes will meet at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoons in August (8/4, 8/11, 8/18, and 8/25) at the Humane Society of Jefferson County’s Community Education Room.

A prerequisite for this class is completion of a Basic Skills and Everyday Manners group training class or equivalent (see KCFA’s Skills Required to Advance).

The registration fee for this four-week session is $20 for KCFA members and $40 for non-members.  (Have a $10-off coupon from your Basic Skills & Everyday Manners graduation?  Use it for this class!)

Space in Beyond the Basics: A Dog Training Sampler is limited!  Mail registration forms, vaccination records (unless you’ve recently submitted vaccination records for a KCFA class) and a check for the correct fee (and $10 coupon, if applicable) to KCFA at P.O. Box 205, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538.  Find the registration forms on this page.

Puppy Training Tips

During this COVID-19 pandemic, it’s difficult to take a puppy “out and about” so it can experience a wide variety of social situations and stimuli. Though KCFA has had to cancel classes for the summer, we want to encourage “puppy parents” to provide training and educational opportunities at home. In support of those who’ve recently acquired a puppy, KCFA’s Puppy Kindergarten instructors and Training Committee have collaborated to produce several informational articles. Please visit the Course Descriptions page for the links to these articles.

For a smile break, check out the Parade of Puppies video on our Join the Fun page, or visit the link directly at: https://s3.amazonaws.com/embed.animoto.com/play.html?w=swf/production/vp1&e=1595467127&f=VLxyfocoDGhzlzbv4RWfgA&d=0&m=p&r=360p+720p&volume=100&start_res=720p&i=m&asset_domain=s3-p.animoto.com&animoto_domain=animoto.com&options=%20allowfullscreen/iframe

Service Dog Tales

Come join us on Saturday, July 28, at 1:00 p.m.,
to meet working service Cadence pushing door buttondogs and their handlers, and to listen to their stories of teamwork and transformation.  Learn about the functions of service dogs, how they’re trained, and laws that apply to them.  The presentation will be held in the Community Room of Dwight Foster Public Libary, 209 Merchants Ave, Fort Atkinson.  Admission is free and the public is invited.

Amber Marzahl, a member of the Kennel Club of Fort Atkinson,  will anchor the presentation with her service dog, Cadence.  Gulf War veteran Warren Demmin and his PTSD service dog, Loki, will add their own remarkable story to the presentation, and Katie McDonald, with her service dog, Zyko, will talk about what it takes to train a service dog and what functions they might perform.

Topics will include:  What is a service dog?  Who can benefit from a service dog?  What public access rights do service dogs have?  What are a business owner’s rights with regard to them?

The growing problem with “fake” service dogs will be discussed.  These are dogs that don’t perform services other than providing companionship, but are purported by their handlers to be service dogs in order to gain access to housing or public venues where dogs aren’t usually permitted.

Time will be allowed for questions from the audience, as well.

Here’s a poster you can print and post to help us spread the word about this event:    Service_Dog_Event_Flyer