Learning to wait.

Let Best Friends Canine Academy  help you take your puppy or adult from "wild and woolly" toward a civilized canine citizen. No dog is too young or old to learn. Our mission is to help you learn the knowledge and skills needed to transform your dog into a well-mannered family member, and to teach your dog behaviors that you will use at home and in public. 

You and your dog will find learning rewarding and enjoyable through the use of the most up-to-date motivational methods that guide you step by step toward the final goal. Human students are given hand outs and lesson notes to help in the learning; phone consultations with established clients are free. Best Friends offers private and in-home lessons and consultations, group classes, and board & train programs.

Augusta Farley, the trainer, has a M.A. in education and advanced  coursework in animal cognition. She currently trains and competes in  French ring, mondioring and schutzhund. She and her dog, "Jesse," placed 10th out of 20 in the Level I World  Mondioring Championships in Switzerland in 2003.

Member USMRA, AWMA, USA, NARA

"First Steps" Puppy School (for pups 2-5 months)
(click for flier)
Start your pup early to learn how to pay attention and to understand your communication system. You will be a better teacher by learning about behavior modification and canine behavior.  Then, you can easily create habits you want and prevent unwanted ones.

Our early education program:                                                  

•     Teach socially appropriate behaviors with guests, children, dogs and cats
•     Teach safe behaviors around food and toys, and being handled and groomed
•     Puppy obedience: Walk on leash, recall, positions, stay, go to bed, wait and leave it
•     Problem solving: Mouthing, nipping, chewing, house training, running away, shyness
•    Agility, tricks and being crated. 

Family Dog I.
Next Class begins Spring 2008. Watch for flier.

Continue your dog's education with basic obedience training. These exercises are introduced with minor distractions:
   Sit and Down Stay                             Wait at gates and doors
   Walk on leash and Heel                      Leave it
   Rocket recalls                                     Handling and grooming
   Go to place                                         Greeting manners
   Agility                                                Tricks

Family Dog II.  Next class Spring 2008. Watch for flier. We introduce new exercises, more distractions and a higher level of control. Exercises from the AKC Canine Good Citizen test are added. Requirement: Family Dog Beginners. See www.akc.org for more information about the CGC.
   Hand signals                                        Heeling "Meet and Greet"
   Sit for exam/grooming                         Food Refusal             
   Sit and Down in motion                       Introduction to retrieve

SPECIAL COURSES( upon request):

AKC Canine Good Citizen Test. Pre-requisites: Family Dog Intermediate or equivalent

Rocket Recalls. Teach your dog to come reliably and quickly when called.

Problem Aggression. Family Dog: Beginners and Intermediate exercises taught in a controlled environment with special attention to the problem behaviors.
 

PRIVATE LESSONS, CLASSES, BOARD & TRAIN

Private Lessons. At your home or our facility our one-on-one lessons with your personal trainer allow you to chose the pace and course content for your dog or puppy.  We offer a special 4-lesson plan in your home for puppies 2-5 months starting at $200.
Fee: From $50/hour or 10 percent off 6-lesson package.

Classes.  "First Steps" Puppy School, Family Dog Obedience Training and Canine Good Citizen classes are offered in 4-and 6- week courses at Best Friends Pet Resort.  Families are encouraged to attend the classes.  Register with Best Friends Pet Resort
Fee: 4-week course at $80 and 6-week course at $120. 

Behavior Consultation. Puppy rearing, separation anxiety and problem aggression are my specialties. One-time consultations are available to help evaluate your dog and design a behavior modification program.  
Fee: From $50/hour. First consultation is generally 90 minutes.
 
Board and Train. If you are not a do-it-yourself person or your time is limited, let us start your dog's education.  Socializing and basic obedience are included in daily, weekly or monthly programs for basic, intermediate and advanced training.  
Fee: $12 per day plus boarding charge, or 2, 3, 4 and 6-week programs starting at 2 weeks for $395. Half-price follow-up lessons are available to help you practice what your dog has learned.  A special 10-day puppy plan for boarding and training starts at $275.

Daycare with Training and Socialization.  Leave your dog for the day for  grooming, training, playtime with friendly canine companions, and agility.
Fee: Daily Daycare starts at $14. Special plans available at reduced rates.

Augusta Farley has been training dogs since 1975 and professionally teaching people to train dogs since 1980. Augusta has a MA with post-graduate work in animal learning, plus she is a certified secondary education teacher in California.  Using her knowledge of teaching and learning, Augusta specializes in making dog training easy and fun for both human and canine.  

Augusta has titled dogs in schutzhund/IPO, FH, French and mondioring, AKC conformation, obedience, tracking and AKC/ASCA, ISDS-style herding. She is among the few who has competed internationally in both IPO and mondioring.
 
Member: ABKA, USA, AWMA, USMRA