Programs >> Home for Good Training

The Home for Good program offers low-cost behavioral group training for people who have adopted a pet from any shelter or have rescued a homeless pet. Our Companions offers three classes:

• Family Companion
• Family Companion II
• Field Trip Class

Family Companion

This 8-week course is specially designed for people who have just adopted a dog. The course teaches common behaviors associated with adopted dogs, phases of canine emotional development, socialization, and offers positive reinforcement techniques that start and keep the relationship with their new pet companion positive and rewarding. This course facilitates a better understanding of dog communication, strengthen their relationship/bond with their dog, learn the importance of management, and build on their obedience skills.

Each week owners will learn techniques to help them build on their training skills: introduction to positive reinforcement, refocusing techniques, sits, downs, stays, recalls & relaxed heel. The Family Companion course focuses on the relationship between the owner and a new dog. This course is offered to dogs adopted from the selected shelters through the Home For Good Program.

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Family Companion II

The Family Companion II course has a specialized curriculum for dogs that may not be successful in a traditional class due to having reactivity issues, fear issues, lack of trust, anxiety etc. This class helps pet owners manage, refocus and succeed in a variety of situations with dogs who react adversely to each other and/or people. This course includes management techniques, understanding and reacting to signs of stress in your dog, proper dog-to-dog introductions, strengthening the bond with their dog, understanding dog communication, and behavior modification techniques.

Each week owners will learn techniques to help them build on their training skills with more emphasis on control for: sits, downs, stays, recalls & relaxed heel. Dogs must have taken a basic obedience course prior to attending this class.

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Field Trip

Our Companions specializes in offering courses for dog who have special training needs. We believe that reactive dogs with special behavioral needs are the dogs who most need training resources. To that end we have developed a curriculum to provide safe, group classes to help reactive dogs and their owners live together more successful.

The Field Trip Class is a new and much loved class that allows graduates of the Family Companion II class to develop further and put their new and improved social skills to practice outside in the real world.

The owners get to practice and apply the skills they have worked so hard to develop in class, and most importantly, they learn to better communicate with their dogs. The dogs get to take in the smells of a whole new environment, and learn coping skills to overcome their reactivity. Afterwards everyone can go home and relax, because a tired dog is a happy dog!

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All Our Companions classes are based on the principals of positive reinforcement training. All classes aim at teaching pet owners how to deal with common behaviors associated with adopted dogs, phases of canine emotional development, and offers positive techniques that start and keep the relationship with their new pet companion positive and rewarding. The program also offers follow-up support for all families to ensure successful life-long adoptions.

We currently hold classes at:

• Brady's Place located in South Windsor, CT

Please contact us at Training@OurCompanions.org for more information.