Train
Paws4ever is committed to supporting you and your dog throughout your relationship together. Our professional dog training instructors use positive and proven-effective methods to help you and your dog achieve your training goals.
We offer a variety of fun and accessible private lessons, group classes, and workshops for every age and level.
Tuition supports shelter pets
Paws4ever is a completely independent non-profit organization that operates an Adoption Center for dogs and cats rescued from our local county shelters. Unlike tuition fees at for-profit dog training businesses, your tuition for Paws4ever’s Dog Training Program saves lives and provides quality care for homeless pets in our community.
Paws4ever’s Training philosophy
You may have noticed that your dog does not speak human language or read minds. Wouldn’t that be easy? Positive reinforcement is the best way to build communication, cooperation, and trust between you and your dog. The best part about this type of positive training is that it not only works well, but it can be fun and confidence boosting for both of you!
Think about dog training like driving a car: you can steer all day, but you still won’t go anywhere without the gas. Rewards are the fuel for behavior that keeps your dogs engaged and encourages them to keep trying. Rewards are our way of communicating to Rover what it is that we like and want to see more of.
Punishment on the other hand, such as yelling at a dog or yanking their leash, is like the brakes. It impedes progress, so it doesn’t have a place in the Paws4ever classroom. If a dog is too afraid to make a mistake, then they’ll stop offering behaviors altogether, leaving no opportunity for productive learning. Instead we want them to enthusiastically keep working with us so we get the chance to say “Yes! That right there! Do that!”
Positive training isn’t just safe and humane–it’s proven effective. Dogs learn better when they are motivated and comfortable–don’t you?
Our trainers are happy to talk your ear off about the many benefits of using positive-reinforcement based training, so please feel free to ask further questions if you are curious about the hows and whys of dog behavior. Let’s talk!
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COVID-19 NOTICE
We are offering in-person classes, with social distancing, mask use, and as much fresh air flow as possible. We will be updating classroom rules as we follow guidelines from health professionals and the state to determine the safest course of action for our dog training classes.
See the group class page for safety protocols for in-person classes.
We are also currently offering private consultations in-person and virtually by phone and video.
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“Keeva is an amazingly wonderful sweetie and thank you every day for helping me feel more confident with her. Your reassurance made all the difference for our future together. We went from being a family thinking we had made a mistake, to a family who can’t imagine thinking about giving her up! She gets so much love from all of us (and gives it back) and relishes every second.
Thank you so much Susan! You’re the best!”
“I received help for my dog Ivy from one of your dog trainers, Melanie. Ivy was rescued from the county shelter. She was a super reactive dog who I couldn’t control. I didn’t know how I could keep her…but I couldn’t send her back either.
I tried 2 other trainers before I came to Paws4ever. Neither were very patient with Ivy and wondered why I adopted her. My first meeting with Melanie was like a therapy session for me. Someone would help me!
I attended individualized training sessions and then took each of the classes offered there (twice each). The patience I received with Ivy at Paws4ever was a lifeline for me. Ivy continues to be very energetic but we work continually on it. The cats, birds and squirrels are quite a challenge, but its going to be ok.
Thanking Paws4ever for the work that you do. “
“We are so glad we enrolled our puppy CJ in Paws4ever’s Puppy Day Camp Program. While it was nice to have some quiet time for uninterrupted Zoom meetings and remote work, we were most grateful for the highly caring, expert, and personalized attention and skills training our puppy CJ received during camp. She solidified some skills (like recall and “leave it”) much more quickly than she would have with home training alone. Additionally, we were thrilled with her opportunities for socialization with other pups and humans, especially during Covid-19. One additional highlight from Puppy Day Camp was receiving the weekly emails from Cecelia – they were packed with detailed information about what CJ had learned and worked on during the previous week, as well as information about how to continue her learning in our home environment. As a bonus, the emails also included super cute videos of CJ during day camp! We would highly recommend Paws4ever Puppy Day Camp to anyone who is caring for a new fur creature!”