Group Dog Training Classes in Portland, OR

Do you have a dog that pulls on walks, ignores your trained cues, barks at everyone, and seems to have endless energy, leaving both of you exhausted? Or perhaps your dog behaves well but sometimes struggles to focus on you? Maybe you have the perfect pet and want to deepen your understanding of animal behavior and learn tools to modify it in the future. If so, "Beyond Obedience: Life Skills for the Modern Dog" is for you!

Behavior goes beyond simply obeying commands; it involves the ability to experience situations and make appropriate decisions. In "Beyond Obedience: Life Skills for the Modern Dog," we will equip you with the knowledge and skillset to empower your pet to make better choices. By understanding the Human-Animal Bond, general dog behavior, and the principles behind adjusting your pet's mental and emotional state, along with specific skills and exercises, you will become an expert at reading your canine companion.

Together, we will transform your dog's perspective of their environment and provide you with relief from the daily active management you may currently face.

The first class is online, the remaining 5 classes are in-person at our NW Portland location.

Cost:
Working Spots - $225.00

Based on the acclaimed book series and training program created by Leslie McDevitt, our Control Unleashed class is for dogs and handlers who are ready to take their training skills to the next level.

Through the layering of powerful pattern-building and dog-led environmental processing, you and your pup will work on deepening your team’s communication, engagement, and agency as you face increasingly challenging environments.

this class, we will be exploring the power of predictability, and how it can boost your dog’s resiliency by teaching them to “expect the unexpected.”

This is a 6-week group class held in-person at Synergy Veterinary Behavior in NW Portland.

Prerequisites:
Our virtual foundations class, Reactive Rover: Homeschool or via individual instructor permission (email info@synergybehavior.com).

You will be expected to have confident leash handling skills, a basic understanding of reward markers and reward delivery, and the ability to reasonably redirect and engage your dog in the presence of other dogs and humans.

Cost:
Working Spots - $250.00

Does your dog bark and lunge at other dogs on walks? With our 4-week Reactive Rover: Homeschool Online Class learn powerful, simple tools and skills for transforming your walks from stressful to calm. Use your own body movement and relaxed leash handling to maximize your reactive or over-excited dog's ability to cope with stressors. We will give you practical skills for you to implement on your walks for quick improvement!

The first week is approximately 90 minutes and all other classes are 50 minutes.

Class offers both working spots (limited 6) and auditing spots.

If you are local, this class is designed to be taken before our Reactive Rover: Real Life class.

This 4-week class is meant to be attended live (unless you register as an auditor). There will be a recording that is available just for the duration of the class.

Cost:
Auditing Spots - $100.00
Working Spots - $175.00

Looking for some fun activities to do with your dog to expand their minds? This 5-week class will explore ways you and your dog can use scent games for energy-burning and enrichment. Prepare for an engaging introduction to scent and scent-based games and activities!

• Week 1: Online introduction
• Weeks 2-5: In-Person Scent Games!

Students will learn:

• The importance of scent to dogs.
• Basic anatomy as it relates to olfaction.
• Different Scent Detection Games, both for inside and outside the home.
• Types of scent enrichment activities, such as DIY snuffle mats
• Miscellaneous topics like dog body language/behavior change as it relates to searching and how temperature, humidity, and airflow affect scent

This class is reactive dog friendly. Prerequisites are:

• Your dog should not show reactivity towards people.
• Your dog should be able to be non-reactive when hearing other dogs in the vicinity.

Cost:
Working Spots - $175.00

You've done some nose games and enjoyed them, now it's time to make it even more interesting! Join us for Level 2 of our popular Nose Knows program.

This class is 5 weeks in-person.

Cost:
Working Spots - $175.00