Training Classes

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

Teach your dog the basic skills needed to succeed in everyday life. Skills covered include sit, down, come, stay and leave it. This class also covers common behavior challenges such as jumping up. 

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

Continuing Canine Manners is designed to advance the skills your dog has already learned in Canine Manners. By slowly escalating the distance, duration and distractions in the class exercises, you and your dog will strengthen your bond, become more proficient in your training, and better able to perform in real-life situations. 

Prerequisite: Canine Manners

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

If you share your life with a dog, you’re familiar with distractions. Squirrel! Dog! A place to sniff! Learn how to win what may sometimes seem like a losing battle with the world where your dog is attracted to so many things. Understand the best ways to gain and maintain your dog’s focus and how small steps, good treats and patience are your best allies to winning back your best friend’s wandering attention. The first class is for people only. 

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

House Manners will help your dog put his best paw forward and develop polite behaviors in the home. Skills include getting on and off furniture when asked, giving polite greetings and waiting at doors.   

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

Street Manners is an intermediate-level course with a focus on developing the skills dogs need to take on the world, especially during outdoor walks! There will be a heavy emphasis on overcoming leash pulling and dealing with distractions. 

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

Scent hounds are a popular and much-loved addition to many families. Their unique and charming personalities are hard to resist. But starting life as a working dog and being focused on following their nose, may mean your training isn’t going exactly as planned in the home. Join our training team, who are passionate about hounds, to learn how to optimally motivate, train and reinforce your scent-loving companion, as well as help him or her acclimate to the sights and sounds of life in a new environment. 

Dogs 4-18 months · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

Surviving Adolescence is for dogs in their challenging “teenage” stage of development. Teach your dog the basic skills needed to succeed in everyday life. The skills we will cover include sit, down, come, stay and leave it. This class also covers the importance of proper socialization during this growth stage and common behavior challenges such as jumping up. If all Surviving Adolescence sessions are full, dogs 6 months and older may be registered for Canine Manners.  

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

This is the introductory level of Rally at the Richmond SPCA. Attention will be focused on brushing up and building upon basic obedience skills and your ability to converse fluidly with your dog. Foundational exercises will be taught that will improve your future Rally performance. We will also begin to learn the basic signs of a Rally Obedience course.

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

For those who wish to compete, this is the class where we begin to prepare you for competition. We will continue to learn the various Rally signs. For competitive and non-competitive students alike, your bond with your dog will continue to blossom as we deepen the Rally experience. Some students may choose to begin competing while taking Rally B.

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Track & Training Center

At this stage, most students who have chosen the competitive route are starting to compete in WCRL, AKC, and other forms of Rally Obedience. For both competitive and non-competitive students your ability to communicate with your dog in a team-like partnership will flourish. In Rally C, we introduce off-leash work. Most competitive students at this level will be competing for WCRL Intro and Level One titles as well as the AKC Novice and Intermediate titles.

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Track & Training Center

In Rally D, your conversation with your dog and ability to work off leash will become fluent. Most of these students are competing for WCRL Level 2 and 3 and Flash titles as well as AKC Advanced through Excellent titles or higher. We will maintain and solidify your partnership with your canine companion.

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Track & Training Center

Agility A offers an introduction to agility and agility equipment for new dogs and handlers. Dogs should know sit and down and be generally under control when off leash. Dog agility is a sport in which a handler directs a dog through an obstacle course in a race for both time and accuracy. 

Dogs 6 months and older · 8 weeks, 1 hour · Track & Training Center

Agility B is for dogs and handlers who have completed Agility A (or equivalent) and want to perfect their performance on all pieces of agility equipment. Students will improve their handling skills (turns/crosses/jump sequences) over jumps and tunnels, and their performance of the teeter, A-frame and dog walk. 

Prerequisite: Agility A or equivalent

Dogs 6 months and older · 8 weeks, 1 hour · Track & Training Center

Agility C is for dogs and handlers who have completed Agility B (or equivalent) and have learned the agility equipment and want to start focusing on the skills needed to run full courses. Dogs and handlers will polish basic handling moves, practice short sequences of obstacles and longer courses and continue to improve their equipment skills. 

Prerequisite: Agility B or equivalent

Dogs 6 months and older · 8 weeks, 1 hour · Track & Training Center

Agility C/D is for dogs and handlers who have completed Agility C (or equivalent) and want to spend more time practicing their performance at this level before moving on to Agility D. Agility C/D offers advanced agility practice for dogs who know the equipment well and are ready to compete (or are already doing so). Students will work on skills and drills to enhance the working relationship between dog and handler. 

Prerequisite: Agility C

Dogs 6 months and older · 8 weeks, 1 hour · Track & Training Center

Agility D is for dogs and handlers who have completed Agility C (or equivalent). Agility D offers advanced agility practice for dogs who know the equipment well and are ready to compete (or are already doing so). Students will work on skills and drills to enhance the working relationship between dog and handler. 

Prerequisite: Agility C or equivalent

Dogs 6 months and older · 8 weeks, 1 hour · Track & Training Center

Agility Skills and Drills is a class for dogs and handlers who have completed Agility B (or equivalent). If you are interested in improving specific skills needed to run agility courses then this could be the perfect class for you. We will tailor the drills to fit the dogs that attend. 

Prerequisite: Agility B or equivalent

Dogs 6 months and older · 6 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

Tricks are tons of fun and a great way to bond with your dog! This class includes catching and shaping while covering fun activities like roll over, wave and more. Dogs and trainers of all levels are encouraged to attend.

Dogs 6 months and older · 6 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

In Tricky Manners class, you and your dog will have fun while advancing your dog’s basic manners skills. Strengthen behaviors such as leash walking and wait while learning fun yet helpful tricks such as back up, middle and leg weaves. This class can serve as an introduction to trick titling, agility and other fun canine activities.

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

Building Bonds to Build Behaviors
Would you like to bring your dog’s training to the next level? You can obtain increased focus, and improved recall and leash walking by building a bond and strengthening the relationship between you and your dog. Join this fun and active class to help your dog learn how to choose you over the attractions and distractions in the world (squirrel!) 

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

Building Confidence is a beginner to intermediate course for people who would like to help their dogs be more confident when interacting with the world around them. This class will focus on skills for the dogs, confidence building games and team building games for dogs and handlers. 

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

Creating a Calm Dog is designed for dogs who can be energetic and a bit too excitable. Skills learned in class include place, settle, crating, leave-it, wait, and other behaviors that help your dog understand the importance of controlling their impulses. We'll talk about the importance of exercise, enrichment and sleep for your enthusiastic pup.

Dogs 6 months and older · 7 weeks, 1 hour · Smoky's Training Center

This is an entry-level class for dogs who growl, bark or lunge toward dogs or people while out on walks. Learn how to identify your dog’s triggers (source of fear or excitement) and help your dog learn to be less worried about his or her triggers, have better focus on you and make better decisions instead of reacting.