What should we enrol in?

Available Classes

Our club offers the following classes:

• Canine Good Basic (Beginner pet dog/puppy classes)

• Canine Good Citizen  (Foundation, Bronze, Silver and Gold)

• Rally-O

• Agility

• Competition Obedience

• Noseworks

• Tracking

• Trick classes

Most classes run over the school terms.

Your First Step:

Canine Good Basic (beginner pet dog/puppy class)

Rotorua Dog Obedience Club is a recognized training provider for the nationwide  Canine Good Citizen™ programme.

Our beginners class aims at pet dog owners and their dogs. It is working towards getting a well mannered dog that is an enjoyable addition to your family.

In this class we show you how to teach your dog basic commands such as sit, lie down, come when I call you, walk nicely on the lead, wait and stay, “pay attention to me”, basic health information and some basic tricks.

We work on getting a good bond between you and your dog.

Other things you will be working on are

• Appearance and Grooming

• Food manners

• Accepting Friendly Strangers

• Walking in a controlled manner with distractions and through people

• Stay tied up with owner both insight and out of sight

• Control around other dogs

This is a 8 week course with a nationally recognised DogsNZ qualification at the end.

The course costs $100 which includes club membership for the remainder of the current financial year.

Where to after this?

Once you have completed Canine Good Basic you can then attend further courses at the club. For attending courses you must be a current financial member.

The cost for all of the courses below is $25 per term. If you take more than one course or train with more than one dog we have discounts; please see our fees for more details.

Canine Good Citizen (CGC)

This is a nationally recognised award run by DogsNZ.

The emphasis with CGC is to ensure that your dog will be a respected member of the community because it is trained to act with good manners in the home, in public, and in the presence of other dogs.

CGC has 4 levels - Foundation,  Bronze, Silver and Gold.

The only requirement to enter the CGC classes is passing CG ‘Basic’.

Canine Good Citizen - Foundation

This is the next step up from Canine Good Basic with more advanced exercises to build up your partnership with your dog including going out into the community for real life experiences.

Canine Good Citizen - Bronze/Silver/Gold

These classes follow on from CGC Foundation as you work your way up the ladder of awards.

You must have gained Canine Good Citizen Foundation.

Rally-O

Rally-O is best described as a combination of obedience and agility and is suitable for all ages of dogs and people. It is ideal for young and old dogs, as young dogs can learn more in a relaxed environment, and old dogs can keep active whilst not overdoing it.

Rally-O is a sport which contains elements of obedience and agility. The course has numbered stations with a different exercise performed at each station. Courses can include cones and jumps as well as turns, sits, downs and recalls.

Rally-O has competition weekends where you can go and compete against other handlers and dogs at the same level as you.

To attend Rally-O you need to have graduated from Canine Good Citizen Foundation and have good heelwork.

Agility: Foundation

Agility is a fun activity using a range of agility equipment - jumps, tunnels, weave poles, A-frame, seesaw, and dog walks. Agility is great exercise for dog and handler alike, as they learn skilled control to negotiate a course containing a variety of obstacles. All sizes of dogs are catered for.

You must have a good recall and be able to work with your dog off lead to attend this class.

Agility: Starters/ Competitive

You must have graduated from Agility foundation to attend theses classes.

Agility competitions are held on lots of weekends where you can compete with your dog against others at your level.

Other Classes  

The following classes run once or twice a year when we have enough demand.

Competitive Obedience

It’s all rewards-based training, and it can have great benefits in increasing your dog’s bond with you and learning to work as a team. Competition training is like brain-gym for dogs (and handlers!). It’s especially good for very high drive dogs and working breeds, who can never be tired out with exercise… but five minutes of brain work will wear them out. It also helps with their impulse control in daily life, so they can develop into a pet that is a dream to have around the house.

Owners sometimes think, ‘my dog needs to be better behaved, or older, or have gone through all the domestic classes’. Not at all - starting sooner is better. Competition heeling is a completely different skill to loose-lead walking. We start training the foundations of that very early on, as puppies. Too old? Rescue dog? Too crazy? All types of dogs can succeed in obedience. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time; short bursts of training are always better. You can train in the TV ads (or pause Netflix). It’s all about increasing and perfecting skills, and making it fun for you and your dog.

If you are interested in competitive obedience you must have completed Canine Good Citizen Foundation.

Noseworks

Noseworks is a fast growing search and scenting dog sport. It harnesses a dog’s natural ability to use his nose to find hidden scents.

We show you how to teach your dog to search for a particular scent – just like the drug dogs on TV!

To attend this class you must have graduated from Canine Good Basic, have a dog who is calm with other dogs close by.

This course runs over 4 weeks.

Tracking

In this class we teach our dogs to follow the scent or track of someone – just like the Search and Rescue dogs.

This course runs over 4 weeks.

Tricks Class

In this class you learn how to teach your dog fun tricks such as shake hands, wave, spin, roll over etc.

To attend this class you must have graduated from Canine Good Basic and have a dog who is calm around other dogs.

What to bring to classes

• Lots of small, yummy treats for your dog (such as cheese or skinless sausage) that can be eaten quickly without the dog choking on them - excited dogs often forget to chew! Possum is a great choice and is available with the dog roll at your supermarket. Aim for small pieces - treat quantity is more important to your dog than treat size.

• We recommend you do not give your dog a full dinner before class. They will work harder for their treats and they will not have to do exercise on a full stomach which can cause medical problems.

• Suitable attire for training - clothing you don't mind getting dirty and closed shoes.

• A tug type toy for the dog (NOT squeaky please as this distracts other peoples' dogs).

• A suitable leash and collar- NO Choker chains or retractable leads.

• Toilet bags for cleaning up after your dog.

​Back to top