Field of Dreams

I found out while taking my dog there, that they have a room for «Bad Dogs». My dog happened to be one of them. She was considered «bad» because she was hard to get a leash on b/​c she was ‘wiggly’, and when left in a crate, she barked. When I would pick her up, her report card constantly had answered by «What I worked on today» as «Kennel Manners». That told me my dog is staying in a crate there too much. I could have kept her in a crate at home, for free! I now take my dog to Klub Kanine which is a farther drive for me, but the dogs play literally ALL day, rain or shine. Never crated. And the price is cheaper — worth the drive for me and my «bad» dog. Shame on you Field of Dreams, she was only a puppy. How calm and quiet did you expect her to be?

Field of Dreams provides a variety of dog training courses – puppy classes, obedience, agility, tricks and more. All the staff use the positive reinforcement philosophy, similar to the philosophy of Victoria Stilwell (It’s Me or the Dog). I’ve found the staff to be friendly, knowledgeable, and patient.
There is a puppy class for dogs 10 weeks to 5 mo. There are also agility and trick courses for older dogs. You sign up for these courses and are charged separately from obedience classses.
We started with the obedience training for dogs of a variety of ages. For obedience, basically you’re buying a limited membership – you pay for a certain number of months, and you and your dog can go to as many classes as you want during that period. There are 4 levels, and you progress at your dog’s speed. You might spend a couple of weeks at one level and 6 weeks at another.
You are required to begin by going to a free orientation session (people only, no dogs). Once you sign up for obedience, you get a card for each level with the skills you have to master. Your dog has to successfully demonstrate each skill on 2 separate occasions. Level 1 for instance includes sitting on command, but you can use food as a lure. In later levels, no lure. Levels 1 – 2 focus more on basic commands with your dog. Levels 3 – 4 are more about behaving politely in public and feeling comfortable around other dogs and people.
People often come alone to train their dogs, but in almost every session there are one or more «couples» (husand/​wife, parent/​child) learning to train together. It’s a nice atmosphere, and the staff support families learning together.
The building is like a decent sized warehouse with an outdoor fenced area and agility equipment. Classes are held either indoors or outside according to the weather. Inside there are dividers between «workstations» that help limit distractions from other dogs.
In March 2011, they added a doggie day school. This is a day care for dogs that also includes some one-​on-​one time for your dog to work with a trainer on the skills you want. I haven’t tried it yet, but will soon.
The only drawback to Field of Dreams is the location. It’s in Vinton, so it’s a bit out of the way for me. However, I highly recommend it to anyone (with a dog of any age) who wants to improve the behavior of her dog.