Obedience is done with the use of agility. Many of our agility items involve the participation of the handler. The dog is not taught to complete an agility course as quickly as possible, rather navigate an obstacle course with you, at your pace and under your direction. Dogs are made to sit or down out of position. In addition to building their confidence, it teaches them to take direction from you in any given situation and familiarizes them to different surfaces.

Scent work involves man tracking and various scent exercises in indication & location and discrimination & location. Scent is truly a rewarding and fascinating world to work in with your dog. Many exercises you learn can be done at home and with your children. These are constructive exercises that provide both your and your K-9 with a sense of accomplishment. Scent work is confidence building and teaches you excellent communication skills with your dog, working as a team and how to read their body language.

Protection work is done to teach you and your dog how to respond in a real life altercation. We train no sport competition. All applicants desiring to train in protection work must demonstrate competence in handling. All dogs must participate in obedience and agility as well as protection to provide a well rounded, stable dog.

Classes are mixed in experience level with the exception of advanced training being done separately. We feel the young pups learn by watching the older dogs and the older dogs benefit from the distraction of the younger pups. Handlers as well learn a great deal by watching the experiences of others. We will work to the individual capabilities of each K-9/Handler Team.

By training with Mike McConnery at The Dogmen Inc. you will: