Your Place or Mine?

Family Dog Obedience offers three basic types of services: House Calls at your home, private lessons, and group obedience classes at the Butler location.

House Calls are individualized appointments, set up at your convenience, that will address problem areas specific to your family dog. It’s often asked of Val, “Can’t you just take the dog home with you for a few weeks?” Unfortunately, that solution usually doesn’t’ solve the issues. The best, most successful dog training, is primarily addressed at training YOU, the dog owner! You are the one who has to live with the dog, not anyone else. Sometimes it can take just one appointment to see changes in your dog, but keep in mind that many behavioral problems you may be experiencing have taken months to develop. It is often recommended that the family considers several lessons, spaced a few weeks apart. These follow-up lessons can fine tune any new developments in your “pack” and leave all family members happy with the new arrangement. There is no required number of lessons or packages for sale – when you are happy, Family Dog is happy.

What’s Involved in a House Call?

In-home training lessons are generally one-hour sessions, but longer sessions can be arranged if needed. This first session will involve a thorough question-and-answer period. Once several causes and factors have been determined and the initial assessment of your family dog is performed, Val will begin to make recommendations and will demonstrate various techniques to show you immediate results. Many clients remark at the end of just one lesson “Wow, I can’t believe it’s the same dog!” If children in the family wish to be involved, they can sit in on future sessions, but we ask that they not attend the first lesson.

Scheduling

Lessons are scheduled at least 1 week in advance. With the acquisition of our new 8,000 sq ft training facility in Butler, house calls in Pittsburgh areas can only be done on Wednesdays & Thursdays during daytime hours. Some of the areas Val travels to include: Glenshaw, Fox Chapel, Shadyside, Oakland, Edgewood, Gibsonia, and Sewickley.

Clients from outside these areas can still schedule a private lesson at our training center, which is conveniently located 1 mile north of the Clearview Mall, in Butler. With all the accommodations at the training center, from obedience & agility equipment, to other dogs as distractions in a controlled environment, you will be amazed at how much can be taught in just one lesson. Multiple lessons are recommended though, to help establish consistency.

Lessons that are cancelled with less than 24 hours notice (and not rescheduled within 2 weeks) will be charged a fee, as will appointments that are deemed as “no show.”

PLEASE NOTE: If you or any member of your family has the flu, please cancel your appointment as soon as possible and reschedule. CANCELLATIONS VIA EMAIL AND/OR TEXT ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. Appointments are made by phone, and cancellations deserve the same courtesy.