Life Skills Foundation

Life Skills Foundation are the skills and behaviours that you need to teach your dogs to help them develop into well mannered, happy, safe and friendly dogs, dogs that you can take proudly anywhere! The classes cover a multitude of both exciting and life exercises. They are skills such as:

- - a really reliable recall
  - a solid stay
  - greeting people and dogs politely
  - food manners and leaving food (human!)
  - comfortable being handled and groomed
  - walking on a loose lead
  - crate and boundary games
  - relationship building
  - having a confident dog… and so much more!

This is just a small example of the skills covered but they are all taught using positive, reward-based training methods. The main underlying theme of all of the classes, regardless of the level, is building a happy, positive relationship between you and your dog. We also encourage you to ask questions.

To ensure success we always suggest that you work with your dog in small steps, to give them the best possible chance of getting the behaviour right, and therefore gaining a reward. If we set them too difficult a challenge, and they fail, and continue to fail, they will become de-motivated and lose all interest in us and our attempts to work with them. Because of this, we always suggest that you set yourself and your dog small and achievable goals.

You will work in a small class with one of our experienced trainers who can give you the best advice specific to your goals. This is a great opportunity for you to socialize with other like-minded dog-owners who want to get the most out of their relationships with their dogs. And of course it’s a super time for your dog to work around other dogs in a controlled environment. Many classes at other clubs are much larger than this but we feel this number will allow you maximum time for progress.

Please be aware our classes run for 50 weeks per year.

Life Skills Foundation Benefits

We run weekly classes aimed at different levels and abilities of dogs. (see our upcoming workshops below.) We would begin at starter level and you can progress right through to our genius level. By coming to Life Skills Foundation Classes you will benefit from the Devon Dogs Team Membership Package which includes:

Progressing along with other students in the class
ReceivIng regular homework
Periodic planning and goal setting
Discounts on certain workshops
Discounts on certain products
10% off of your stay at Bowerland Holiday Cottages
A fantastic annual gift
And your monthly 3 hour class!

Last but not least, you will also have access to our awesome Facebook group Devon Dogs Student Room, which is a private group. Here you can ask questions, receive useful tips and post your progress videos. And you will also receive notification of workshops before we release them to the general public. Our regular students and trainers are all members, so you will have access the very best group of optimistic dog trainers! Please fill in the form below and a member of our team will be in touch with you shortly.

121 Intro Welcome Package

In order to join our Life Skills Foundation training, you will need to purchase our 121 Intro Welcome Package as an initial starting point. The 121 Intro Welcome Package rolls straight into our weekly classes – it is planned and super easy for you to do this.

During the first few weeks of your 121 Intro Welcome Package, all you will need to do is to set up a standing order for £65, which is payable on the first of each month. It’s as simple as that! READ MORE…