Frequently Asked Questions

As soon as you get your puppy and they have their first round of vaccines you can get started on private lessons. Once your puppy has their second round of vaccines, you can start classes. Your puppy doesn’t have to know anything prior to lessons or classes. 

Nope! I refuse to believe the old adage that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

While I am educated in multiple training methods, the only method you will see me use in classes or lessons is positive reinforcement. 

Only good things! Happy fun time, treats, a ball toss, tug time…whatever motivates your dog!

We try again. I typically use a no-reward-marker like “uh-oh” or “oops” and then try whatever I was doing with the dog again. 

A Private Lesson is a one-on-one lesson with you, your dog, and a trainer. Our Private Lessons are all in-home, so that means we come to you! We can discuss and work with you and your dog on any dog topic you might be having trouble with. From barking to jumping up, house manners to leash skills, we cover it all. Our training approach is positive reinforcement (toys, treats, physical and/or verbal praise), which will help you develop a stronger bond with your dog and help to make training more fun for both of you! 

Included in that hour is: 

• Hands-on training with your dog in your chosen environment (in your home, your backyard, a local park, pet friendly stores, etc)

• Quality instruction from the trainer - We pride ourselves on giving science-backed quality information during these lessons, but not so much to overwhelm you! 

• Lesson notes and plans emailed at the conclusion of the lesson, so you don’t have to remember everything. Our notes are typed up, but if you’re more of a visual learner we also have an amazing video library we like to share, and are always willing to make new videos for you if needed. 

An in-home Private Lesson is $50/hour. The average price for a Private Lesson in Yakima Valley is roughly $70/hour, and we are well below that. It’s not that we don’t value our work or don’t know our worth (trust me, we do both), we want to be affordable for most people in the Valley so that ALL DOGS can be trained.

I do not accept cancellations for Private Lessons. I am happy to move your lesson to another date and time that we are both available, but my schedule is already quite tight, so please make sure you are willing to commit to the lesson before booking. If I arrive for your Private Lesson and you are not home, I will wait outside your home, in my car, for 15 minutes past the start of the lesson - while trying to get a hold of you. If I am unable to get a hold of you after 15 minutes past the start time of the Private Lesson, I will leave and you forfeit your Private Lesson time slot and you will not be issued a refund. You are free to book online again in the future, but I keep track of no-call-no-shows (NCNS) and if you have three NCNS, I reserve the right to refuse service to you. 

Since the Private Lessons are in-home: For puppies I only require that your puppy have their first round of vaccines. For adult dogs, I require a valid rabies vaccination, and would really like your dogs to be current on all their other vaccines, but their Rabies vaccine being current is non-negotiable. 

A Group Class is a class with one instructor and up to six total dog/handler teams. Group Classes meet for one hour a week for five weeks, giving you a total of five classes. We have a syllabus where we cover pre-selected topics, and weekly homework for the teams.

At this time, we’re ironing out all our group class info. Check back soon!

Super young puppies need to have at least two vaccines to start classes.
Your adolescent puppy must be AS VACCINATED as they can be for their age. 

Your adult dog must be fully vaccinated. 

(Vaccines: All vaccines must be verified by the administering veterinarian. DHLPP (annual) & Rabies - The Bordatella vaccine (Kennel Cough) is not required but is strongly suggested, considering the environment we will be in)

Yes. For example: If you miss a week four puppy class, I’ll let you know when the next week four puppy class occurs so you can sit in on that class. Please call, text, email, or message me via Facebook to let me know you will be missing class. I need to know you will be missing the class BEFORE the class occurs. You will not be able to do a make up class if you have not notified me and have already missed the class.

While I don’t have “audit” spots available for whole classes, you are more than welcome to sit in on a singular class in a rotation to make sure that the environment and the way we instruct works for you and your dog. 

Because puppies in different developmental stages require different things. While each level of my classes goes over a lot of the same information, puppies from 3-6 months of age are socializing with other puppies who act and play very similarly. Puppies from 6-8 months act and play similarly. We also change up the level of distractions in the older classes to suit the ages of the older puppies. 

Yes, absolutely! My email is: Jess@SmartyPawsPNW.com and our phone number is (509) 490-7448

No, because I can’t. Any training that is done with your dog will require lots of in-environment reinforcement and generalization, which is something I leave to the handlers to accomplish. I cannot be with you every step of the way, so it is up to you to put in the work when I am not there. 

Well, that entirely depends on how much time and effort you put into training your dog and WHAT you’re training your dog to do. The method of training I use (positive reinforcement) does require repetition, but if you are able to put in little bits of work every day with your dog, you will see results. If you do not wish to put in the work with your dog, you won’t see results, and I’m not the trainer for you. 

You betcha! Those types of cases are what I live for. I would suggest a private lesson before signing up for classes, so we can assess your dog and see what training path is best for them. 

While that is something I have done begrudgingly and infrequently in the past, I will not be doing this going forward. The training is only as good as the time and effort you are willing to put into it. 

Yep! I have no problem with that, in Private Lessons or in Group Classes. Anyone who will be handling the dog should work on training the dog as well. Please keep in mind that it is your responsibility to monitor younger children, so they don’t create a disruption in class. 

Nope. I train ‘em all. From the 175 lb English Mastiff to the 3 lb teacup Yorkie. 

I do, on a select basis. Board and Trains (B&Ts) are not something that I offer to the public. B&Ts are something I recommend to clients that I have worked with a few times and I think they could really benefit from one. If someone emails me asking about a B&T and I have not worked with that specific dog, I will not accept them into the B&T program. There is more about the B&T, but that is information I will only discuss with clients that I offer the B&T. 

I offer obedience classes and CGC classes, both of which could be used to help train a service dog. While I have trained service dogs in the past, that is not something that I am currently offering. Self-training a service dog is a very long and difficult process. If you have questions regarding the service dog training process, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email.