Training Options
Initial Consultation / Behavioral Evaluation
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Initial Consultations are for first-time clients.

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When you call to setup the appointment, we'll take a brief
history over the phone to help you determine which options
are available to suit your needs and then setup your
Consultation. At the consultation we will then evaluate your
pet’s temperament, obedience history and training
relationship with you. If there are current behavioral
problems, we'll try to address those first by helping you
gain more verbal control over your pet in fun ways. This is
where problem behaviors start – a lack of understanding and
mis-communication or too much required through force or too
fast. We keep our training programs fun so that our dogs
LOVE listening to us! We'll then start the pet on a suitable
training program with recommended interval follow up
sessions for any behavioral concerns.
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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!
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Fees include travel time, consultation and training time,
mileage, written follow-up homework exercises and any items
we may use during our visit (treats, toys, etc). There are
neither hidden fees nor minimum training session
requirements.
Aggression and/or Anxiety Modification (Storm Phobias also)
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For any Aggression or Anxiety Consultations, you will be
scheduled with Julie specifically due to her experience and
success in modification of these types of behaviors. Your
consult will be scheduled as soon as possible, so that we
can help redirect these behaviors into more desirable ones.
Julie attends continuing educational seminars, can contact
mentors and professional training colleagues for opinions if
needed and has a vast resource network for helping each
patient individually succeed. She works with foster dogs
from various rescues when they have these behavioral
concerns and has a high success rate of being able to
re-home these individuals at the end of their programs.
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For first-time clients, the first session would be an
initial training consultation where we can come in and
evaluate the extent of the behavior and offer a gameplan to
follow up on in 10-14 days. Due to the nature of these
concerns, generally more than 2 sessions are needed for
follow-up and we offer package options for this reason.
Consistency and proofing are critical for success in these
cases.
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Please call us to discuss your current situation in more detail.
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Fees include travel time, consultation and training time,
mileage, written follow-up homework exercises and any items
we may use during our visit (treats, toys, etc). There are
neither hidden fees nor minimum training session
requirements.
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Due to their nature, Aggression and Anxiety appointments are
scheduled as soon as possible, so that the problematic
behaviors can improve quickly.

Refresher Session / Follow-Up Training
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Refresher Sessions are for follow-up training, proofing of
the initial game plan and an overall continuation of
training. We then setup new homework lesson plans to help
you continue the training at your own pace. Most of our
clients will purchase Fun Passes for field trip proofing,
teaching tricks, etc, to continue their training. See our
Fun Pass section for more descriptions.
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Fees include travel time, consultation and training time,
mileage, written follow-up homework exercises and any items
we may use during our visit (treats, toys, etc). There are
neither hidden fees nor minimum training session
requirements.
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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!)
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In-Home Courses are similar to obedience classes at a
training facility, but in your home environment instead.

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Most people start with beginning manners: Attention, Name
Recognition, Sit, Down, Stay, walking nice on leash, proper
greetings, and Leave It/Get It.
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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!
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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!
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Current course fees for Basic Obedience Training
include travel time, consultation and training time,
mileage, written follow-up homework exercises and any items
we may use during our visit (treats, toys, etc). There are
neither hidden fees nor minimum training session
requirements.
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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 and can be
done for a reduced fee with the course package.
Group Training Classes
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Now offered through Cudahy Kennel Club. 3820 South
Pennsylvania Ave, Saint Francis, WI 53235. Call 414-769-0758
for next enrollment dates.
Fun Sessions / Fun Passes

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Fun Sessions are mini-sessions directed at teaching certain
pinpointed behaviors or can be simply used to try new
things! They can include (but are not limited to...let your
imagination be your guide!):
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- Rally – These sessions are focused on teaching the
basics of Rally obedience exercises so that owners may start
to run thru courses to potentially compete.
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- Tracking – These sessions are done so that the
basics of tracking can be started and then built upon for
potential trials
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- 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!
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- 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
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- 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.
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- *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.)
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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.
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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
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Great for proofing under distractions.
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Similar to Refresher Sessions, but at a field trip setting,
like: a pet store, recreation park, dog park, family
member's house, even the vet's office!
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These CAN be substituted for a fun pass session, or
purchased individually, depending on location, $45-60 per
session.
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Instructors set up sessions with owners ahead of time and
then meet with the pet at the specified location to work the
pet under new distractions. Initial Consultations are
required or pre-requisites are determined on an individual
basis.
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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.
Competition Performance Critiques (Run-Thru Sessions) (AKC and
Schutzhund)
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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.

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

Nail Trimming Series (Making Nail Trims Easier!)
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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
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Would you like to be informed of our next Seminar?
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Give us your name, e-mail address or phone number and we
will contact you with upcoming dates and times!
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Or visit our Home Page for our events listing!
In-Our-Home Training School (Boarding School / Boot-Camp Option)
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This
is a GREAT option for when you are going on vacation or out
of town.
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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.
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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.
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We do not use choke chains, pinch collars, or electric
collars. Regular collars and leashes are used for walking,
but we firmly believe in also teaching the concept of
"naked" obedience as often and in as many environments as we
can, because you rarely see an emergency happen when your
pet has a leash on. So we use positive, motivational
techniques based on learning and reinforcement theory, not
on coercion or punishment. 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 and 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.
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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.
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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.
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Goals are determined at a consultation, usually prior to the
requested boarding date so that we can meet you and your
pet, have a fun mini-session, and take care of any
paperwork. The fee for this consultation is $50 and will be
credited towards your boarding program upon completion of
the program.
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Fees include:
- 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 an education for when
you arrive back home!
- Miscellaneous Services: Laundry Care, Dishwashing Service,
Tug Toys, Tennis/Other balls for retrieve games,
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.
(Depending on the time of year, we feed a mixture of Purina
ProPlan & Royal Canin or Wellness & Merrick Blend that is
chicken based and tends to be an easy transitional mix).
- One free In-Home Private Lesson for each week the pet is
in the program (i.e. 3 week program = 3 in-home lessons)
- Free Phone Consultations throughout your pet’s training
life
- Natural Balance Training Treat Rolls (used as treat
rewards)
- Daily Stuffed Kong
- Training Field Trips for Socialization and Proofing (This
includes going to veterinary hospitals, pet stores, dog
parks, recreation parks, visiting family and friends, and
even on other in-home consultations!)
- Written homework instructions
- Program pictures and sometimes even training videos!
- Lifetime E-Mail Newsletter Signup
Pricing:
- First week in the program $700 ($100/day)
- Each additional week $595 ($85/day)
* Ask about any monthly specials or multiple week discounts!
Not sure what the best option is for you?
Call 262-308-2523 to speak with a trainer for a recommendation.
If you are not sure which program is the
right one for you or have any additional questions or concerns,
please just give us a call:
262-308-2523
Or e-mail us at:
awesomepaws@wi.rr.com