Do you dream of having that well-behaved dog that everyone loves to be around? You know the one. A dog that sits when asked, comes when called, walks nicely on a leash and greets people calmly?
If so, we can tell you that it is PAWSible!®
When you enroll in our Basic Manners class, you will be professionally guided by Beth who will show you how to, not only teach the basics commands, but how to apply these to the real world!
First learn how to teach:
Then you will learn how to use those important skills which will make your life with your dog more manageable and also much more enjoyable! Start learning immediately how to have a dog that stops jumping on counters and reacting to novel people or dogs.
You’ll be amazed at how much your dog learns in just six weeks!
Your instructor in every course at It's PAWSible!: Beth Ostrowski-Parks, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA.
All of the classes shown here are taught in our 5000 sq foot facility where we currently are having a maximum of 8 dogs. I always have another Certified Dog Trainer assisting me as well! This helps ensure you’ll have time to interact with me and get your questions answered.
If you’re ready to have the dog you’ve always dreamed of, check out the two options below and select the one that best suits your training goals.
Who: Any puppy or dog over the age of 9 weeks
What:Basic Manners class + Puppy and Dog Training Ebook
Where: In our 5000 Sq. Foot Training Center
Duration: Once a week for six weeks
When: Listed Below are START DATES
Pick the date and time and continue for 6 weeks.
Why: To learn how to have a dog that LISTENS!
Fee: $295.00
Next classes start:
Saturday, January 23 @ 9:30 a.m. FULL
Tuesday, February 9 @ 6:00 p.m. FULL
Tuesday, February 23 @ 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 6 @ 9:30 a.m.
Current class size limited to 8 dogs.
Who: Any Puppy or dog over the age of 9 weeks
What: Basic Manners class + Behavior Consultation+DVD+Ebook
When: Group Class meets
once a week for 6 weeks and a
Behavioral Consultation (90 minute meeting)
scheduled at a mutually agreeable time.
Fee: $485.00 (save 10% off individual pricing)
Next classes start:
Saturday, January 23 @ 9:30 a.m. FULL
Tuesday, February 9 @ 6:00 p.m. FULL
Tuesday, February 23 @ 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 6 @ 9:30 a.m.
Current Class size limited to 8 dogs
Frequently Asked Questions for Group Classes
Such a challenging world we live in!
At It's PAWSible!, we have been committed to providing the safest community for our clients to come and train their dogs. We are following all mandated requirements by the State of Massachusetts and local health departments. We are limiting our dog and handler teams to 1-2 people per dog. If you are attending a Private lesson or Behavior Consultation, 3 or 4 people is okay. All people entering our doors must wear a facemask. We also man the doors with one of our trainers to keep surface touching to a minimum. Since our training center is 5000 square feet of virtually open space it is very easy to keep 6 feet distance from each other. Since we re-opened for live classes in June, we have reduced our class size to 8 dogs maximum. Our advanced agility classes, where students need more gear and crates, are limited to 6 people per class. We clean all chairs and tables and surfaces between each class. We also have hand sanitizing areas available. We feel strongly, if you decide to attend classes here, that you will feel safe!
We would love to tell you. Here are the three main reasons!
1) All three of our Pet Dog trainers that teach the Basic Manners and the Ultimate Puppy Classes are Nationally Certified through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). We attain the CPDT-KA Credentials through a very extensive exam that is offered only twice a year. The test is no joke, it's very difficult as the council wants to be sure that we know what we are doing and also that we understand the science of animal learning. Beth is also certified through the same council as a Certified Canine Behavior Consultant (CBCC-KA). Again these credentials took a lot of study to attain. We all have to take continuing education courses if we want to keep these credentials, too.
2) The training center was built for dog training. Our 5000 square foot training center is clean, beautiful and when you walk in, you would never know it's 20 years old. You will not even smell a trace of dog smells here. That takes effort and we put it forth. Our center is heated in the winter and air conditioned in the summer.
3) Probably the most important: The training you will receive is the best. It's PAWSible! has been here long before others and we continue to be here when some dog training businesses quit.
We care deeply about your success and we are here for you for as much information as you want. You won't just learn sit, down, stay and the basics. You will learn how to handle true life issues and concerns. We understand that the best method of advertisement is to have a great reputation and we know we do. But we are aware we have to not only earn that, but keep that too!
As the owner of this business answering these questions, you can see I'm very proud of what we have accomplished here. I hope I've convinced you which is most important.
At It’s PAWSible! we use a method called Lure-reward. It is a method that I’ve been using for 20 years and it works really well. All of the instructors have been trained by me so we are all very consistent. The basic idea is to teach behaviors using a lure (treat). This then becomes a hand signal and the treat is “faded”. To see how lures quickly become hand signals, check out this great video of our one of our trainers demonstrates the technique. The treat then becomes a reward and over time you reward randomly depending on what exercise you are doing. Some rewards can be faded quicker than others. I reward the recall ( “coming when called”) for a long time, if not forever! This skill is the most important "command" we can teach our dogs and sometimes it's the most difficult one for your dog to do. We need to make this one worth your dog's effort!
In our Beginner classes (Ultimate Puppy and Basic Manners) we do not use clickers to teach. I am not opposed to clickers at all, I just feel that many novice dog owners don't want the hassle of one more thing to think about. If you are clicker savvy and want to use your clicker, I have no problem with that.
If you ever want to learn how to effectively use a clicker, we can do a private lesson. Just understand, you do not need a clicker to effectively train a dog. We've been teaching here for 20 plus years with lots of successful students without using clickers.
Keep in mind the trainers here are all very famililar with clicker training and love it, we are just trying to encourage people to train the way they are most comfortable as long as it is positive reinforcement training.
Here is a direct link to our training schedule page. We have many options. We also have some great training package specials that will save you a little money! The dates listed are START DATES. If you choose a particular start date then that is the time your class meets each week. Both the Ultimate Puppy Class and Basic Manners classes are six weeks long.
When we go back to classes AT It's PAWSible!: We have a 5000 square foot facility that we planned and had built for the purpose of training dogs. We have plenty of room. Before the COVID19, I would encourage large families to come but now I limit the human participation to 2. It's important to understand that your dog doesn't learn here, he learns at home with your family.
To help with this, we have two options for an extra helpful training tool. We have the It's PAWSible! Dog Training DVD that I wrote and produced that has over 3 hours of information on it. It makes a great tool to help families be consistent.
In 2020, I introduced my Online Basic Manners course. This version also has so much available to you by way of video instruction and PDF files that you can print. Either of these can be purchased on line or by a simple phone call!
But having a tool like this is great for family members to help keep everyone doing the same thing.
We are always available for private lessons either here or at your home as well.
Please see above for COVID19 requirements. Only 2 humans per dog allowed at this time.
If you do bring children to class, please be aware that we are expecting you to have full responsibility for them and that if there is a problem with control, we will ask you to make other arrangements for the rest of the weeks of class. Thank you for your understanding!
Also, children need to be told that they cannot go up and visit any of the other dogs in class. We run a very safe dog training facility at It’s PAWSible! and we are very proud of that.
One more thing to keep in mind, this is a GROUP class so there are other people there without kids and they deserve the same amount of attention as you do. Thank you for your understanding.
Since COVID19, I am limiting the size of group classes to 6 dogs until further notice
If you think your dog may not be ready, it’s a good sign that perhaps he or she is not. Oftentimes, dogs new to families (rescue or shelter dogs) or adolescent dogs who have seemingly suddenly become "out of control", need a consultation before they come to a group class. This is for safety reasons but also to help you and your dog be set up for success. This would be in the form of a behavioral consultation.
If you want schedule a behavioral consultation which is 90 minutes, we can do that. I would praise your intuitions and let you know right now, that you are making the right choice! That way we can work directly on your issues and concerns about yoru dog. Also your dog gets to be in the training center without the pressure of other dogs or people. We appreciate your honesty.
Thank you for asking. There are no make ups for missed classes. However, people miss classes all the time. Life is very busy and also unexplained colds and sickness can sometimes cause someone to miss a class. We will do everything in our power to make sure you are caught up.
However, don't let a vacation cause you to put off training. Your dog is learning 100% of the time. The goal is to have him learn only good things! Good dog training information will help you to attain that goal.
GREAT QUESTION! This is very important. Your dog could love dog biscuits at home. He could love dog treats at home or his kibble. But when you take your dog into a very distracting atmosphere, which is what a dog training class is, you need something that will get his attention. We sell many healthy soft training treats at It’s PAWSible! but what I recommend that you bring is cut up real meat (any leftovers are fine). You can also buy cooked chicken strips or even beef strips at any grocery store. Get creative! Turkey meatballs, leftover meatloaf! String cheese is one of my dog's favorites and it's so easy to work with (and inexpensive).
If your dog never gets anything but kibble and dog cookies and you want to try good healthy soft dog treats, we have plenty available for sale!