CLASS LOCATIONS
- Classes are either held at Jeffrey’s Pet Store in North Beach (1841 Powell Street) or Black Nose Trading Company (342 Divisadero at Oak Street). Check class schedule for details.
CLASS PROTOCOLS
- Please leash your dog in and around the building and to leave and enter class.
- Please allow time for your dog to go to the bathroom before class. There are plenty of wide sidewalks and trees in the area.
- If you have a very active dog, it might be helpful to bring them to the park before class.
- There will be time for the dogs to socialize after class. Once in the building please keep your dog focused on you and away from other dogs.
- Please bring your dog to class hungry. That means skip the meal preceding class for most dogs!
WHAT TO BRING TO CLASS
1. A hungry dog
2. Soft, tasty, easy to eat Food-Rewards cut into tiny pieces.
3. An easy-access treat bag that can be worn HANDS-FREE on the body.
4. A 4′-6′ leash.
5. A flat-nylon collar. PLEASE DO NOT bring choke, prong, citronella or shock collars to class.
If your dog PULLS ON LEASH, please use a humane no-pull device.
dogEvolve recommends the following products:
SENSE-ible Harness by Soft Touch Concepts
EASY WALK HARNESS by Premier Pet Products
WHY WE USE FOOD IN CLASS Food is a requirement for ALL life. Therefore, all life has evolved with an intrinsic, genetic motivation to work for food. Dogs that were not interested in food did not survive or have offspring. Therefore your
Training Treats should be small, tasty and soft.
dog MUST have come from a long-line of food-loving dogs! Your dog may also love ATTENTION (pets & praise) and/or TOYS (balls, squeakers, tug-ropes) when at home or in the park, but these items are hard to repeat and/or deliver quickly in a group setting. All DogEvolve classes will include information of including “real-life rewards” as replacements for food rewards as appropriate in the training process. However, PLEASE bring food to every class.
We don’t want your dogs to get fat, and neither should you! Please DON’T FEED your dogs prior to coming to class. Skipping a meal before class will have HUGE BENEFITS to you and your dog -it’s not cruel, its clever motivation. Instead of feeding the food to your dog before class, BRING IT TO CLASS! While some dogs will work for their dry food in class, most need a novel food item when around other dogs and distractions… bring the kibble, but don’t forget the bag of tasty treat-rewards!
THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT HELPS
Please bring a Bait-bag, Fanny-Pack or Apron to class for holding treats.
While there is nothing wrong with holding your dogs bag of food-rewards or keeping treats in your pockets, it is not ideal when working a class situation. Special purchases are not necessary, an old fanny-pack is fine as is a fishing-style vest that has easy-access pockets. I have even seen a nail or kitchen apron work well. Bags that must be strapped over the shoulder are less ideal.
Many pet stores also carry special bait bags. Some have snap-shut openings, some clip onto belts with drawstrings, and some are worn as a belt. The right bait bag for you will be worn comfortably, allow for you to reach quickly and easily into the opening for rewards and able to be secured so that your dog can not steal treats.
CANCELLATION POLICY
In the event that a class participant wants to cancel their participation in a dogEvolve Class or Workshop, the following policies apply:
- Cancellations must be made within 10-days of the class start date to receive credit towards another class or a full refund.
- All other cancellations made prior to the class start date will be refunded the full registration fee minus a $50 administration fee.
- DogEvolve does not issue refunds or credits for class sessions missed by the client.
- If a class is cancelled due to a lack of enrollment or for other reasons, dogEvolve will attempt to reschedule clients into an alternative class. If this is not possible, a class credit or refund will be made available.
