"In-Home Training at its finest, Awesome Paws Academy has a step-by-step approach

Awesome Paws Academy Training Options

• Initial Training Consultation / Behavioral Evaluation and Program Setup (K-9 or Feline)

  • Initial Consultations are for first-time clients.

  • When you call to setup the appointment, we'll take a brief history before setting up the Consultation. At the consultation we will then evaluate your pet and review an in depth history with you. If there are current behavioral problems, we'll try to address those first. We'll then start the pet on a suitable training program with recommended interval follow up sessions for any behavioral issues.

  • These initial consultations can be anywhere from 90 to 180 minutes. We'll establish goals and personalized lesson plans suited to meet you and your pet's needs. All ages, personalities, & breeds welcome!

  • Fees are calculated based on time and mileage...please inquire for further details.

  • Due to their nature, Aggression and Anxiety appointments are scheduled as soon as possible, so that the problematic behaviors can improve quickly.

• Aggression and /or Anxiety Modification

  • For first-time clients, the first session would be an initial training consultation. Then, we offer series options (much like a training course), depending on how much modification is required. 4, 6, and 8 session options available.

• Refresher Session / Follow-Up Training

  • Refresher Sessions are for follow-up training, proofing of the initial game plan and an overall progress report. We then setup new homework lesson plans to help you continue the training at your own pace. Most of our clients will now purchase Fun Passes for field trip proofing, teaching tricks, etc, to continue their training. See our Fun Pass section for more descriptions.

  • Fees are calculated based on time, mileage and driving expense...please inquire for further details.

  • Fun Passes or Courses can be purchased for those desiring multiple training sessions, which can help reduce cost.

• In-Home Training Courses (We Travel to You for Class!)

  • In-Home Courses are similar to obedience classes at a training facility, but in your home environment instead.

  • Most people start with beginning manners: Attention, Name Recognition, Sit, Down, Stay, walking nice on leash, proper greetings, and Leave It/Get It.

  • Others are able to work on intermediate or advanced manners and competition preparation. Even it you're not sure, we'll help design a program that's right for you!

  • Weekly spaces are limited, so reserve your spots soon! Arrangements for every other week lessons are commonly scheduled, and due to these sessions being at your own pace, they are flexible!

  • Current course fees for Basic Obedience Training are:
    * 4-session Course $375 (approximately $94/session)
    * 6-session Course $500 (approximately $84/session)
    * 8-session Course $600 (approximately $75/session)

  • Pre-Requisite: If a clear understanding of reinforcement techniques is present, none. If the owners are not sure how to reinforce each behavior to progress, an initial consultation may be required as the first session.

• Fun Sessions / Fun Passes

  • Fun Sessions are mini-sessions directed at teaching certain pinpointed behaviors or simply used to try new things! They can include (but are not limited to...let your imagination be your guide!):

  • - Rally-O – These sessions are focused on teaching the basics of Rally-O exercises so that owners may start to run thru courses to potentially compete.

  • - Tracking – These sessions are done so that the basics of tracking can be started and then built upon for potential trials

  • - Tricks / Fun Obedience – These sessions are based on just having fun with your dog and teaching useful (and not so useful, but fun) tricks. Some include: Wipe Your Feet, Get me a Kleenex, Pick up my Keys, Hi-5, Play Dead, Roll Over, Get It, being able to direct your dog to go get something, teaching basic agility obstacles and movements so you can attend a class with a head-start, and Much More!

  • - Canine Good Citizen Preparation – These sessions take you through a CGC Test so that owners can see what their dogs already know or need to proof before taking the test. A Certified CGC Evaluator from Awesome Paws can administer the test at a later date.
    - CGC Testing is only $15

  • - AKC Competition Preparation – These sessions are helpful in going over the Rules and Requirements of the standard trials and tests and evaluating the dogs for potential faults.

  • - *Schutzhund Preparation (and now AKC's Working Dog Sport)– From the BH on, these sessions will go over the Rules, Patterns and Requirements for all three phases. Evaluations can be done for the Tracking and Obedience Phases.
    (*Protection work will not be taught nor tested by the instructor. This phase needs to be tested by your helper. Awesome Paws can recommend a helper if you do not already have one.)

  • Fun Passes have been designed to offer discounts for owners who would like to try different areas of training without dedicating their time to a set class, but would like more than just one session. These sessions are done in a field trip setting and are good for ANY Fun Session and one session can even be used for one Field Trip session.

  • Individual Sessions for $45-60, depending on your location.

  • Fun Passes:
    - 5 Session Fun Pass – Good for 5 sessions - $190 ($38/session)
    - 10 Session Fun Pass – Good for 10 sessions - $350 ($35/session)

  • Typical sessions are 30-60 minutes and you and an instructor will generally meet at a pet-friendly location at a halfway travel point.

  • Pre-Requisite: A clear understanding of reinforcement techniques. If an owner is unsure of reinforcement techniques, an Initial Consultation may be required as a first session.

• Field Trip Sessions

  • Great for Proofing Under Distractions

  • Similar to Refresher Sessions, but at a field trip setting like: a pet store, a park, a family member’s house, even the vet's office!

  • Instructors will set up sessions with owners ahead of time and then meet owners with their pets at the specified locations to work the pet under new distractions. Initial Consultation required or pre-requisites determined on an individual basis.

  • Can be substituted for fun pass sessions, or purchased individually for $45-60, depending on location.

  • Pre-Requisite: Initial Consultation or a confirmed and clear understanding of reinforcement training via phone consultation with one of our instructors.

• ~NEW~ Mini-Class (Small Group) Sessions

  • Our latest training option is being able to have your friends train with you!

  • Know people who want to get started in training or even just simply want to proof existing behaviors? If you get together a few of your friends, we all can train together for as many sessions as you would like! Distraction environment training IS important for proofing!

  • Fees are calculated based on number of attendees, session-length requested, and driving expense...please inquire for further details!

• Competition Performance Critiques (Run-Thru Sessions) (AKC and Schutzhund)

  • These sessions are done at a local training facility or kennel club at one of their Run-Thru matches. The benefit of this is that the trainer is with you, evaluating you and your pet, and making suggestions. A final progress report will be made so that follow-up training can be provided to enter an upcoming trial.

  • Current fees are determined by location of the Run-Thru

  • Typically:
    Waukesha Area - $20
    Milwaukee Area - $25
    Racine Area - $35
    Kenosha Area - $45

• Pre-Adoption (Pre-Purchase) Puppy Consultation and/or Temperament Testing

  • Pre-Purchase Consultations and/or Temperament Tests are for new owners or owners that want to ensure that they are receiving the best puppy fit for their family. An instructor will meet with you and the breeder (if a breeder doesn't want to temperament test the puppy, then beware - as this typically means you should go elsewhere!) and help determine which puppy will fit best into your family.

  • Not sure what breed is best for your lifestyle? Phone Consultations are available to discuss just that!

• Nail Trimming Series (Making Nail Trims Easier!)

  • Nail Trim (This is the trim plus polish with Dremel Drill)
    - w/ In-Home Training Session - $20
    - w/out In-Home Training Session - $45 to cover gas expenses
    - “Just-the-Nails” Nail Trim Training Session to teach owners - $75 (includes step-by-step guide to help keep sessions fun and easy)

• Seminars

  • Would you like to be informed of our next day Seminar?

  • Give us your name, e-mail address or phone number and we will contact you with upcoming dates and times!

• In-Our-Home Training School (Boarding School / Boot-Camp Option)

  • In-Our-Home Training (like a Boarding School or Boot-Camp Option) is where we will take your dog into one of our homes for boarding and training purposes. Since the owner previously worked with dogs in a kennel-like training facility with a boarding school program, she understands that transitioning to the home environment after training in a kennel is hard to do...not impossible, but harder to do. It requires at least the same effort, if not more, from the parents to help in that transition. It is also very hard to work on problem behaviors like: counter-surfing, housebreaking, chewing, getting or staying off of furniture, chasing other household pets, barking at cars/squirrels, or even perimeter barking, etc, in a kennel situation. Most "problem" behaviors occur while the pet is off leash in your home or yard...and in a kennel, they are commonly on-leash. Most pets do not seem to feel as if the kennel is "theirs" and therefore rarely offer the territorial problems that are occurring on your property.

  • This is why we also recommend a minimum of 2 weeks, if not 3, in our homes, so we can spend that first 1/2 to full week bonding with your pet and having them accept our home as theirs. During this initial phase, we play a lot of learning games and starting the fun experience of eye contact and attention to us in all situations. Food rewards, learning your dog's preferred "magnets" (food, toys, freedom, praise/massage, cuddle time, etc), is all in this period of time...some dogs take longer to bond then others, so this phase varies in length. Then, the next phase is spent teaching your pet the agreed upon beginner cues. We'll start the process of cueing the behaviors in as many environments as possible (this is why we require full vaccination programs because we may go to pet stores, veterinary clinics, dog parks, and other dog friendly environments). The third phase is then spent adding more distractions, more variable situations, and proofing the new cued behaviors. You'll hear our instructors say "it takes 3000 to 7000 repetitions for a dog to typically start to understand a cued behavior...3000-7000. That's a lot of repetitions!" But the reason our program works is because we try to do as many FUN and REWARDING repetitions as we can, multiple times a day, in many environments, so your pet can begin to understand the cue applies everywhere, before ever going home...then we introduce variable reinforcement theory, so that you shouldn't have to pay every time...but we'll explain this in more detail at your consultation so that you understand the program fully.

  • We do not use choke chains, pinch collars, or electric collars. We firmly believe in teaching "naked" obedience (leash laws do apply however in public settings) because we rarely see an emergency happen when your pet has a leash on. So we use fenced in areas and other safe environments to help your pet learn the Rules of a Recall, Name Recognition, and basic cues. You WILL have to do follow-up work at home to help your pet transfer what he/she has learned over to you...but the games we will show you will make it easy and fun...a few minutes here an there over the course of a day is all it takes to refresh your pet that the new game applies at home too. If your dog could talk, he/she would probably even thank you for it, as now they have a way to get your attention and Communicate with you...in ways that are not destructive.

  • Our life's goal is to help you build a better RELATIONSHIP with your pet, not just teach them to "obey"...obedience can come with equipment from any trainer. A relationship comes from trust and understanding. Your dog just doesn't know how to communicate with you...yet.

  • Whether for beginning, intermediate, or advanced training, conformation, anxiety or aggression issues, or simply that you're going on vacation and want your pet to have an Education while you're away, we can help. Whatever your goals, Awesome Paws Academy can help your dog learn new (or modify old!) behaviors.
    - Goals are determined at consultation and program payment in full is required at this consultation.
    - This option is by permission only of the owner of Awesome Paws and is used only under certain circumstances.
    Pricing includes:
    - An everyday home environment. Complete with TV and couch time, play with other pets (dogs and cats) if you so choose, walks, games, and so much more...We can truly provide your pet with a home-away-from-home environment.
    - Multiple training sessions each day will provide your beloved friend with stimulation and and an education for when you arrive back home!
    - Miscellaneous Services: Laundry Care, Dishwashing Service, Tug Toys, Tennis/Other balls for retrieve games, Stuffed Kongs, Snack-times, Socialization, their own Kennel area, Chew Toys, Bedding & Bowls
    We request that each owner provide the food, as switching diets can cause stress related colitis. Our food can be used for an additional $3 per day. (We feed a mixture of Wellness and Merrick Blend that is chicken based and tends to be an easy transitional mix).
    - One In-Home Private Lesson for each week the pet is in the program (i.e. 3 week program = 3 lessons)
    - Free Phone Consultations for up to two years
    - Natural Balance Training Treat Rolls (used as treat rewards)
    - Daily Stuffed Kongs (2-3 per day)
    - Training Field Trips for Socialization and Proofing.
    - Written homework instructions
    - Program pictures on the homework page (some can even be sent via e-mail upon request during the program)
    - Lifetime E-Mail Newsletter Signup
    Pricing:
    - First week in the program $600 (approx $85/day)
    - Each additional week $525 (approx $75/day)
    * Ask about any monthly specials or multiple week discounts!