Is this you ???
 
Do you need some help with your dog ?

Why not join one of our courses for pet dogs? As well as giving you practical help and advice on your dog's training needs, the courses are a great opportunity for you to meet other dog owners and for your dog to make friends with other dogs.

The Club participates in the Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme and the courses cover all the disciplines required for you and your dog to gain your Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award, but above all we aim to teach responsible dog ownership and basic obedience, so that everyone will go home at the end of the course with a well-mannered dog that can be taken anywhere without being an embarrassment.

The classes for pet dogs are held on from 7.30 on Thursday evenings in our very spacious hall in Erith.   (Click to see a map).  Each class is 45 minutes long with two experienced instructors..

The instructors are all very experienced dog owners and all of them compete in obedience competition with great success. We also have assistant instructors where help is needed.

Puppies are taken once they are fully vaccinated, and our puppy courses in 2008 run for 6 weeks at a cost of £40 which includes a puppy pack and an end of course assessment and certificate, if sufficient progress has been made.

Older dogs that have not completed the puppy course can join our Bronze KCGCDS course which

runs for 6 weeks at a cost of £40. 

On the final night of the first course, the class members take a Bronze Good Citizen Test.  If successful, they receive a recognised Kennel Club certificate and rosette. 

Anyone who has passed their puppy or/and Bronze can of course then go on to train for their Silver and Gold awards, which many people do. All these course are designed for pet dog training ,but they get more interesting and harder the higher the level goes. Also to cope with this demand of people wanting extra training after completing all levels of their Good Citizen Scheme, we have introduced the Gold Plus Class which incorporates many of the requirements of competitive obedience, although you do not need to compete to join this class, but it is very good to keep your dogs brain activated.

The Bronze test course is £40 for 6 weeks and the Silver Good Citizen course is £50 for 9 weeks. The Gold GCT and the Gold Plus class is £4 per week paid monthly in advance. We find that at this level dogs and handlers learn at a different rate so it is inappropriate to expect the Gold Test Handlers to take the test after 6 weeks. Each dog and handler will be tested when the instructor deems that they are ready and therefore most likely to pass the test.

Class Times:

Gold Plus 7:30pm                  Puppies 7:30pm                       Bronze GCT 7.30pm

Silver GCT 8:30pm                Gold GCT 8:30pm                  



Our methods are very gentle. We DO NOT use check chains and we do not allow any harsh handling. We train using treats, toys and play. 

On the first night of the puppy course, participants are given a 'Puppy Pack' which includes all the information needed to help them with the course. 

Homework sheets are also handed out, detailing the exercises that should be practiced at home.  (Coming to the class once a week is not enough !)
After the second week into the course, we do not allow any new people to join. We feel that this would delay the progress of the class and would not be fair on the new people and dogs, who would be behind the rest.
We are very keen for people (and their dogs) to come along to watch our classes before starting on a course so that they can get to know the instructors and to get an idea of our methods and practices. It also helps the dogs to get used to the hall environment.

During these informal visits, we can also give advice on any problems that people may have with their dogs or puppies, as they may have to wait a few weeks before starting their new course.