New to NOCI?
If you or your dog are new to Northwest Obedience Club, please complete the New Dog checklist.
Obedience
Purebred and mixed breeds are welcome!
We offer classes for dogs age 6 months and older. Classes meet 50 minutes each week and each session runs for 7 weeks. Class sizes are limited; pre-registration is required.
General Session Fees:
- Non-members: $150
- Member: $85
- Members with 2 Service Credits: $60
Upcoming Sessions
Level: Puppy
Puppy Class is for puppies 6 months and younger. Puppies must have proof of age-appropriate vaccinations, including two DHPP vaccines.
Puppy class is a non-formal class that covers more than sit, down, and stay. It also encompasses socialization and building trust, confidence, and a positive connection to the handler using positive training methods to shape behaviors. Your puppy will learn all foundation exercises to move on to Beginner class after puppy graduation.
Core Skills:
- Leash handling
- Heeling
- Sit
- Down
- Stay
- Front and finish (around and swing)
- Stand
- Life saving recall
Additional skills:
- Introduction to stimuli to help build confidence
- Tunnel
- Ladder
- Cones with weaving
- Obstacle agility course
- Impulse control
- Marker words and release words
AKC Star Puppy Test will be administered on the last week.
Level: Beginner
To advance beyond the Beginner class, dogs must exhibit specific skills. This is typically achieved after several sessions in the Beginner class. Instructor approval is required to advance to Pre-Novice.
Objectives:
- Limited use of luring
- Automatic sits during heeling
- Down on command
- Heeling appropriately during a simple heeling pattern
- Handler is able to walk around the dog to heel position when returning to the dog from a stay (dog remains in sit position)
- Sit for exam
- 30 second sit/stay and down/stay
- An on-leash recall
Food rewards will be used: Our training method is to mark and reward correct behavior.
Level: Pre-Novice
Prerequisite: Mastery of Beginner Obedience objectives.
As well as learning new exercises, Pre-Novice students will refine the skills they learned in the Beginner Obedience class.
Students in Pre-Novice class must master a level of criteria prior to advancing to a Novice level class with Instructor approval.
Heeling Skills:
- Focus on handler/engagement between handler and dog (use of high-value treats)
- Appropriate marking and rewarding of behavior
- Proper leash handling
- Use of commands
- Heel position; auto sit in heel position upon halting
- About turn, U-turn, Quarter turns on a pivot (left and right)
- Gait changes (slow/fast)
- Reverse and call to front
- Dog is under control at all times
Commands:
- Heel position (set up, get in, etc.)
- Sit
- Down
- Sit and stand for exam
- Finishes (swing and around)
- Stay/wait at end of leash (one minute stay on sit and down)
- Front/come at 40 feet (recalls)
Figure Eight:
Handler pacing remains the same while dog speeds up or slows down to accommodate the handler.
Level: Novice
Prerequisite: Pre-Novice class skills and approval from the Pre-Novice instructor or with approval from the NOCI Director of Training.
In this class you will refine the skills developed in the Pre-Novice class and ultimately have the skills necessary to show your dog at the Beginner Novice or Novice level in AKC or UKC to achieve the Beginner Novice (BN) title, or Novice level to achieve the Companion Dog (CD) title.
Showing your dog is certainly not mandatory, but that is the standard you will be training up to. Anyone who has met the criteria to be in a Novice class is welcome.
Exercises to be Refined:
- On and off leash heeling
- Figure eights
- Sit & stand for exam
- A 40′ recall on the flat and a recall over a high jump
- Group exercises consisting of a one-minute sit/stay and one minute down/stay
- A sit/stay while the handler walks around the room
- Sit/stay — get your leash exercise
Handler Skills:
- Footwork
- Hand position
- Non-verbal cues
Level: Pre-Open
Prerequisite: Dog must have earned at least one leg in the Novice class toward their CD to be eligible for the Pre-Open class, or with approval from the NOCI Director of Training.
In this class students will begin to work on the skills required at the Open level.
Skills:
- The drop on recall
- The command discrimination exercise (stand, sit, & down from a distance)
- Introducing the dumbbell to the dog, and how to get them to hold it
- The retrieve on the flat & retrieve over the high jump
- The recall over the broad jump
- The open version of the stay and get the leash exercise
- Variations of these exercises that are used in the UKC Open class
Level: Open
Prerequisite: The dog must have earned at least one leg in the Novice class toward their CD, be holding and retrieving the dumbbell, and be started on the Drop on Recall, or with the approval of the NOCI Director of Training.
All skills introduced in the Pre-Open class will be refined so that eventually the dog can compete at the Open level in AKC or UKC.
Skills:
- The drop on recall
- The command discrimination exercise (stand, sit, & down from a distance)
- Introducing the dumbbell to the dog, and how to get them to hold it
- The retrieve on the flat & retrieve over the high jump
- The recall over the broad jump
- The open version of the stay and get the leash exercise
- Variations of these exercises that are used in the UKC Open class
Level: Pre-Utility
Prerequisite: The dog must have earned at least one leg in an Open class toward their CDX, or with the approval of the NOCI Director of Training.
In this class class students will begin to work on the skills required at the Utility level.
Skills:
- Heeling with no verbal commands to their dog (all signals)
- A drop, sit, & come using no verbal commands (all signals)
- A stand at the halt in the heeling & signal exercise
- The scent discrimination exercise, where the dog is trained to find & retrieve an article scented by the handler
- The directed retrieve exercise, where the dog will learn to retrieve the correct glove from the three placed out
- The moving stand exercise, which includes a more thorough exam than at the Novice level
- The directed jumping exercise, which consists of a 40’ go out, and then a directed recall over either the high or the bar jump
Level: Utility
Prerequisite: The dog must have earned at least one leg in the Open class toward their CDX, be able to execute scent discrimination among several articles, and have a general understanding of the Directed Retrieve & Directed Jumping exercise, or with the approval of the NOCI Director of Training.
All the skills covered in the Pre-Utility class will be refined to prepare the student to show at the Utility level.
Skills:
- Heeling with no verbal commands to their dog (all signals)
- A drop, sit, & come using no verbal commands (all signals)
- A stand at the halt in the heeling & signal exercise
- The scent discrimination exercise, where the dog is trained to find & retrieve an article scented by the handler
- The directed retrieve exercise, where the dog will learn to retrieve the correct glove from the three placed out
- The moving stand exercise, which includes a more thorough exam than at the Novice level
- The directed jumping exercise, which consists of a 40’ go out, and then a directed recall over either the high or the bar jump
New Dog Checklist
Application
Click here to download and complete the NOCI class application.
Vaccinations
Obtain a copy of your most recent vaccination record from your veterinarian.
Submit by Mail
Submit completed paperwork via US mail, or in person. We accept checks or cash.
Peggy Roesner, NOCI Training Hall Secretary
Northwest Obedience Club, Inc.
110 W. Woodstock Street
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
Ready to Register?
Current students/members adding a new to NOCI dog are registered by the Training Hall Secretary. Owners must first submit an application with a copy of their veterinary vaccine records and payment to the Training Hall Secretary.
*Important: Online Registration is for current students ONLY.