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All
classes are taught at
Fur-Get Me Not
4140 S.
Four Mile Run Dr
Arlington, VA 22206 |
Levels Class Schedule
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Time |
Mondays Instructor: Tammy |
Tuesdays Instructor: Vivian |
Wednesdays Instructor: Vivian |
|
7:30pm
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Level 1 |
Level 2 |
Level 2 |
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8:30pm
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Level 3 |
Level 4 |
Level 1 |
Levels Orientation, CGC Testing,
and Puppy Playdate Schedule
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Date |
Time |
Class |
Instructor |
|
Thursday,
August 5 |
7:15pm-8pm |
FREE Puppy
Playdate |
N/A |
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Sunday, August
8 |
9:00am |
CGC
Test |
Vivian |
|
Thursday,
August 12 |
7:30pm |
Orientation |
Vivian |
|
Thursday,
August 26 |
7:30pm |
Orientation |
Tammy |
|
Thursday,
September 2 |
7:15pm-8pm |
FREE Puppy
Playdate |
N/A |
|
Thursday,
September 9 |
7:30pm |
Orientation |
TBD |
|
Thursday,
September 23 |
7:30pm |
Orientation |
Vivian |
|
Thursday,
October 7 |
7:15pm-8pm |
FREE Puppy
Playdate |
N/A |
|
Thursday,
October 14 |
7:30pm |
Orientation |
Tammy |
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Thursday,
October 28 |
7:30pm |
Orientation |
Vivian |
|
Thursday,
November 4 |
7:30pm |
Orientation |
Tammy |
| Sunday, November 14 |
9:00am |
CGC Test |
Tammy |
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Thursday,
November 18 |
7:30pm |
Orientation |
Vivian |
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Thursday,
December 9 |
7:30pm |
Orientation |
Vivian |
What is Levels
Training?
What
are the advantages of Levels Training?
What if I want
to continue once my membership expires?
How many levels
are there and what do you learn in each level?
What are the
requirements to enroll?
How do I get
started?
What is your
refund policy?
What are puppy
playdates? Canine Good Citizen Test
Pricing and Seminar Descriptions
What is Levels Training?
Levels training is a fairly new concept in dog
training. The idea is that you progress through the
training program at your own pace - unique to both
you and your dog. In the Levels Training Program,
each level focuses on a core set of behaviors and
each level builds upon the previous level. Once you
have demonstrated you have mastered the behaviors in
your level, you advance to the next level. The
program is designed so that everyone begins in level
1, even if you have had previous training. If you have
attended advanced training classes with your dog,
you may test into a higher level. However most
students attend at least one Level 1 class as a
refresher, even with prior experience.
What
are the advantages of Levels Training? Start classes on your schedule! No need to wait
until the next round of classes are scheduled. You
can begin class as soon as you have attended
orientation, which take place every other week. In addition, you register for a
membership, rather than a series of classes. You may
select a 2 month, 4 month, or 6 month membership and
can attend class as often as you like for the level
you are currently enrolled. For example, both our
Level 1 and Level 2 classes are taught twice per
week. If you can't make it one night, you can come
the other night - or both! You get to come as often
as you wish, unlike traditional 8 week classes where
if you miss a class you fall behind. This
flexibility is the key difference between
traditional classes and levels.
What if I
want to continue once my membership expires? We actually encourage you to extend your membership!
Unlike traditional classes, where once class ends
the only way you can continue is to advance to the
next class or reenroll in the same class. In the Levels program you can
continue with your training without missing a beat
and advance to the next level when you and your dog
are ready. It’s easy to extend your membership
in 1 month increments for as often as you like and
you do not have to begin in level 1 or attend
another orientation.
How
many levels are there and what do you learn in each
level? There are 4 levels. Each level focuses on a specific
set of behaviors and each level becomes increasingly
more difficult, providing you more practice to build
and strengthen behaviors that were taught in
previous levels. Each class is 45 minutes in length.
-
Level 1 teaches you the basics of reward
based training. In this level, we use a
continuous reward schedule. The primary reward
is food and it is used to establish a positive
relationship between you and your dog. Our goal
is to build a solid foundation for attention, in
addition to grooming and handling, touch
targeting, hand
signals for sit and down, reduce jumping, and socialization.
-
Level 2 focuses on dog manners and is
similar to a conventional Basic Obedience
training class. In this level, we use a
continuous reward schedule with the primary
reward being food. We work on strengthening
attention behaviors through more challenging
exercises such as loose leash walking and
recalls, expand our jumping and grooming and
handling exercises to include strangers,
transition from sit down hand signals to verbal
cues, introduce leave it, drop it, settle, and
continued socialization.
-
Level 3 introduces a higher level of
complexity through the use of distance and
distractions. In this level we transition to an
intermittent reward schedule and expand our
rewards to include food, play, and praise. We
continue to strengthen behaviors for attention,
sit, down, loose leash walking, recalls,
socialization, and we introduce stay and fun
tricks.
-
Level 4 is for the student that has
interest in taking the
AKC Canine Good Citizen Test. Canine
Good Citizen Test. In this level we place more
emphasis on real life rewards such as praise and
play. We focus on recalls, stay, turns,
automatic sits, loose leash walking, advanced
tricks, continued socialization, and the 10 GCG
skills necessary to pass the CGC Test. We
also increase distractions by working outdoors.
What
are the requirements to enroll? While not every dog is a good fit for a group class
environment, this determination is ultimately
decided based on your dog's level of aggression
towards other dogs and people. Some of this can be
determined from the questions we ask on the
registration form. A trainer may follow up with you
by phone prior to orientation to discuss more
details and determine if private consultations might
be better suited for your dog. If you are concerned
about whether your dog is friendly enough to attend
a group class, please speak with a trainer before
enrolling. It is important to understand that dogs
that are shy, timid, frustrated, excited, aroused,
or unruly when meeting other dogs or people, can be
just the right fit for a group class so that you have the opportunity and
class structure to teach them the proper way to
interact with other dogs and people.
Assuming there are no major aggression issues, all
dogs must meet the following requirements:
- must be at least 5 months or older
- while dogs do not need to be spayed or neutered
to attend class, we do ask that any female in
heat remain home until her cycle is complete
- must show proof of rabies vaccination
- since group class requires close proximity with
other dogs, we highly recommend all dogs have
the bordatella vaccination
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all dogs must
be free of parasites, including fleas and
ticks, free of infectious disease, and in good health
How
do I get started? Advance registration is required. Orientation
is required for all new students. If you have attended a Fur-Get Me Not class in the past but this
is your first time attending a Fur-Get Me Not levels
class, you still need to attend an orientation.
Orientations are scheduled approximately every 2
weeks and last approximately 2 hours. During
orientation, the instructor will introduce you
to the levels training program, learning theory, and
the proper use of a clicker with practice exercises.
Please do not bring your dog to orientation. All
students will be supplied a clicker, instructions,
and homework exercises to practice before you attend
your first level 1 class.
What is
your refund policy? Once you attend
orientation,
there are NO REFUNDS.
Exceptions may be
made on a case by case basis due to a dog illness or
injury. Please note that orientations determine the number of incoming
students we can take based on current enrollment
numbers. This allows us to manage class
sizes across the entire program. Because of this orientations tend
to fill fast, we recommend you register early.
In addition, we do not allow make-up classes.
The levels program allows you to attend class as
often as you like when your level is taught, for
your entire membership, which is good value for your
money over conventional 8 week classes. If you
decide to stop attending class and later ask for a
refund, we will not be able to accommodate this
request because your seat up to that point has
prevented us from enrolling another student in your
place. However, if you provide notice to us of your
interest to withdrawal from the program and we are
able to fill your seat with another student, we may
be able to provide a pro-rated refund for the
remainder of your membership.
What are
puppy playdates?
Puppy
playdates are for all dogs less than 1 year of age and
are offered free to the public. Daycare
attendants will be
on site for assistance and to monitor play
activities. This is a
great opportunity to socialize your dog in a safe,
controlled environment with dogs of similar age.
Canine Good Citizen Test
The AKC Canine Good Citizen Test dates are
listed below. Test fees are $20 per dog.
Pre-registration is preferred but walk-ins are
welcome. Test fees are non-refundable.
The AKC publishes guidelines for which our CGC
Evaluators must adhere to, to ensure the test is
fairly measured to all who apply. Therefore,
there are no guarantees your dog will pass.
Test fees will not be refunded if your dog does not
pass the test. Upon successfully passing the
test, the CGC evaluators will submit the test
results to the AKC who will then issue you a CGC
Certificate. For more information about the
CGC Test items, please visit the
AKC website. The STAR Puppy Test is also
offered to dogs less than 1 year of age.
Puppies must be enrolled and have attended at least
6 classes by an AKC Approved CGC Evaluator.
For more information about the STAR Puppy Test
items, please visit the
AKC website.
CGC Test Dates:
- Sunday, August 8 at 9:00am
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2 Month Membership $225
(membership is per dog)
This membership is good for two months from
the date of your orientation or the date you
choose to extend your membership. If
this is your first training class, you will
likely remain in level 1 or advance to level
2 within this timeframe. If you have
previously taken 2 or more training classes
with your dog, you may advance faster
through Levels 1 and 2, however they will
still be beneficial for you as a refresher
course.
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4
Month Membership $375
(membership is per dog)
This membership is good for four months from
the date of your orientation.
Given 4 months to work on your training
goals it is feasible to accelerate to levels
3 and possibly 4 during this timeframe. This
will of course vary greatly depending on how much
practice you do outside of the classroom.
If you are interested in earning your CGC,
we recommend this membership.
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6 Month Membership $525
(membership is per dog)
This membership is good for six months from
the date of your orientation.
With a 6 month membership, it is reasonable
to progress to Level 4 during this
timeframe. We recommend this
membership if you are interested in earning
your CGC and having repeated exposure to
working on more challenging behaviors while
outdoors.
Extended Membership for 1 month $99
(membership is per dog)
You may choose to extend your membership in
one month increments. You may
continue to purchase as many months as you
like for as long as you like. We recommend
extending your membership even if you feel
you have made progress with your dog.
Training is a lifelong process and is not a
quick fix. When you begin to make
progress, it is critical that you keep
working at it and providing the proper
environment to practice and hone these
skills. You may choose to take a break
from training and come back at a later time.
You may re-enroll by registering to extend
your membership. This way, you pick up
in the very same level you left off.
Your membership extension begins the date
you register or if your membership has not
expired yet, then it will be extended on the
day your membership expires.
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