| rev:text
| - Malik graduated from the first level of obedience here two months after we first adopted her! Our adoption agency recommended we take her to some sort of obedience training as soon as possible. Make it part of her transition... I think they were right! It was a great bonding activity to do with a new addition to your family, and it lays out some simple ground rules right at the beginning that you can continue to build on forever.
At $135 per six-week course (one hour long, once a week), it is one of the most inexpensive obedience schools in the city, but still one of the best! Class sizes are small - there were 10-12 dogs in our group.
Our classes were held at College & Bathurst, at College United Church. It's a convenient location to get to from just about anywhere, and there are about six free parking spots in behind the church.
Dorothy Avery, the instructor and owner (presumably the mother in "Mother Knows Best"), is sooooo funny. We decided she would be the perfect character for a recurring SNL sketch. Dorothy's dog for demonstrations in class is a bright red stuffed thing she calls "Fido". It's hilarious. She is a great subject to do an impression of, and her one-liners are PRICELESS! All joking aside though, she is certainly a dog expert, and a no-nonsense trainer. Her own dogs do shows.
The Mother Knows Best website is fantastic - something sorely lacking in a LOT of dog obedience places in the GTA. I have no idea why!!! We found it very useful to read through the handouts available on the website before taking classes, and we have gone back and used them as reference points since finishing the classes. I think it's useful information whether you take a MKB course or not! Check out all the sections - there's a pretty cute photo gallery of Dorothy's clients as well.
We plan to continue on and take Dorothy's agility classes with Malik. She'd be awesome at the crazy obstacle courses, I think! She's too small to really do the frisbee stuff at 5 1/2 pounds!
The Martingale collar recommended by Dorothy changed our lives. Walks are a very enjoyable activity now, as opposed to being pulled along and Malik being choked by a collar or pinched by a harness because she's pulling so hard!
Dorothy's classroom helper/teaching assistant's name is Ola, and she's amazing too. Much younger and much more intimidating, all the dogs in the class were completely submissive to her - a la Cesar Millan -it's nuts! She DEFINITELY knows what she's doing, and is great at one-on-one tips if your dog is a little slower to catch onto something.
At the last class, if you and your puppy pal are successful (which no doubt you will be), you participate in a graduation ceremony. Your dog walks up and receives a handshake and a diploma. I added a pic of the certificate - obviously we brought it home and framed it. It's definitely one of the most adorable moments of my life so far, and the photos are priceless. If your pet is essentially your child, it's a moment filled with pride and joy. Our little girl's all grown up!!!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)