Whether you’re starting with a new puppy, trying to improve your dog’s everyday manners, or looking for your next dog sport, we have a class for you.
Our group classes are designed to teach you how to teach your dog, so you’re both learning together. You’ll learn practical skills, practice them around real-world distractions, and build the communication and teamwork that make training work long after class is over.
Pre-registration is required for all classes. Payment and current shot records must be received to confirm your spot. Classes fill early!
Pricing:
6-week classes: $190.
3-week classes: $95
(Pre-Agility, Really Reliable Recall, & Intro to Nosework)
Friends & Family rate: $72 for your seventh class and every class thereafter.
Take at least one class per year to maintain your $72 rate.
Payment
- Pay online
- Drop a check in the mail to: Play Dog Excellent, 4113 Dayton Blvd, Chattanooga TN 37415
- Pay in person with cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, or Discover.
Notes on orientation:
Orientation is held the week before classes start, usually on Wednesday, but check the table below since it does occasionally change. We live stream orientation so that you can watch online. You are welcome to come in person, but without your dog, please. The doors open at 6:15pm in case you need to take care of shot records and/or payment. The presentation begins right at 6:45pm and lasts about an hour. We cover housekeeping, safety, motivation, equipment, and more, and some of our advanced dogs will do demonstrations showing off their skills to give you some ideas about which direction you may want to take your own training program. Orientation is the same each session, so if you’ve already attended, there is no need to come again.
| Orientation | Starts (week of) | Ends (week of) |
| 09/02/2026 | *09/07/2026 | 10/19/2026 |
| 10/21/2026 | 10/26/2026 | 12/7/2026 |
| 01/06/2027 | 01/11/2027 | 02/15/2027 |
| 02/24/2027 | 03/01/2027 | 04/05/2027 |
* Monday classes will start on 9/14 (9/7 is Labor Day)
Companion Dog Classes
Head Start
The best time to teach good habits is before bad ones have a chance to develop.
Head Start is designed for puppies 2–5 months old and gives you a practical foundation for life with your new puppy. We’ll work on house training, crate training, grooming, teething, nutrition, exercise, equipment, and plenty of positive socialization.
You’ll also begin teaching the skills every puppy needs: sit, down, coming when called, and walking politely on leash. Most importantly, you’ll learn how to help your puppy become a confident, thoughtful dog who loves to learn.
Puppy Plus!
Puppies don’t stay puppies for long. Now is the time to teach them how you want them to behave.
Puppy Plus! is for puppies 5–10 months old and focuses on the everyday skills that make life with a young dog easier—and more enjoyable.
We’ll work on polite greetings with people and dogs, walking nicely on leash, coming when called, and leave it. We’ll also work on focus, self-control, and the skills puppies need as they become more independent.
S.T.A.R. Puppy
Give your puppy a great start—and earn an AKC title along the way.
The AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy program combines basic training with the skills puppies need to become confident, well-mannered members of the family.
This class is especially recommended for families interested in therapy work or eventually pursuing the Canine Good Citizen program.
Manners Matter
Adolescence can be challenging. Training can make it a whole lot easier.
Manners Matter is designed specifically for dogs 10–24 months old—the age when many perfectly nice puppies suddenly seem to forget everything they ever learned.
Through games and practical exercises, you’ll teach your young dog better self-control and better decision-making. We’ll work on sit, down, come, and stay while addressing real-world challenges such as pulling on leash, jumping, barking, charging through doors, nipping, and inappropriate chewing.
Basic Obedience
Good manners make it easier to take your dog everywhere—and enjoy having them there.
Basic Obedience teaches the essential skills every companion dog should have: Come, Sit, Down, Wait, Stay, Leave It, Loose Leash Walking, and more.
But this class is about more than teaching commands. You’ll learn how to communicate clearly with your dog, recognize situations that may cause problems, and help your dog make better choices.
With practice and consistency, you’ll have the tools to build a reliable partnership with your dog both at home and out in the real world.
Really Reliable Recall
When you call your dog, you want them to come. Especially when it really matters.
This focused 3-week class teaches you how to build a recall your dog wants to respond to—even when there are distractions.
You’ll learn practical, easy-to-follow steps for building a strong recall and improving your dog’s response when coming when called really matters.
For dogs of all ages.
Canine Good Citizen & Canine Good Citizen Advanced
Want a dog who can handle the real world with confidence and good manners?
These intermediate-level classes prepare you and your dog for the AKC Canine Good Citizen and Canine Good Citizen Advanced certification exams.
You’ll strengthen your dog’s manners, self-control, and ability to work with you in increasingly challenging situations.
Do More With Your Dog
Not sure which dog sport is right for you? Try a little of everything!
Do More With Your Dog is a whirlwind tour through several dog sports, including nosework, agility, trick dog, and rally obedience.
You’ll explore new activities, surfaces, and equipment while strengthening foundational skills such as self-control and position changes. It’s a great way to build your dog’s confidence, discover what they enjoy, and find a sport you may want to pursue further.
For dogs of all ages.
Nosework & Rally
Intro to Nosework
Let your dog do what dogs do best: use their nose!
This 3-week introduction to nosework teaches dogs to search for rewards, work independently, and develop enthusiasm for the hunt.
We’ll build confidence around crates and new environments while teaching your dog that searching is fun and rewarding. This class is open to all dogs and is the starting point for our nosework progression.
Nosework – Pairing
Now we’re ready to turn that natural sniffing ability into a real nosework skill.
In Pairing, dogs begin learning to search for birch odor by pairing scent with food. We’ll introduce different types of hides and containers, add challenges such as chairs and tables, and continue developing confident, independent searching.
Dogs must be at least 8 months old and have completed Intro skills. It’s not unusual to repeat this class before moving on; the goal is to build a strong foundation before adding complexity.
Nosework – Advanced
Your dog knows how to search. Now let’s make the search harder.
Advanced Nosework introduces clove, anise, and cypress odors and adds the challenges that make nosework increasingly interesting: height, barriers, distractions, and blind hides.
You’ll also begin learning the mechanics of trialing so you and your dog can transition from training exercises to working as a competition team.
Dogs must be at least 8 months old and have Pairing class skills.
Nosework – Competition
Ready to take your nosework skills into competition?
This repeatable competition-level class is for teams who want to sharpen their skills, solve harder problems, and become more confident trialing.
You’ll work with all of the scents used in C-WAGS and AKC trials—birch, cypress, anise, and clove—while tackling challenges such as aging, airflow, multiple hides, pooling odor, converging odor, and changing conditions. We’ll also work on handling, indication, problem solving, and assessing trial readiness.
Rally Obedience – Intermediate & Competition
Obedience with a little more movement, teamwork, and fun.
Rally combines obedience skills with a course of more than 50 possible exercises. You and your dog work together through a series of signs, making decisions and communicating as you go. Rally is a great choice for dogs and handlers who enjoy learning together and want to keep building obedience skills in a more active, varied format.
Agility
Pre-Agility
Before you teach the obstacles, teach the skills that make agility fun and successful.
This 3-week class builds the foundation your dog needs for future agility training. We’ll work on start-line stays, down stays, recall, crate skills, release cues, impulse control, body awareness, conditioning, and confidence on different surfaces.
You’ll also learn how to reward effectively and warm up your dog, while developing a love of tugging and other activities that build confidence, focus, and teamwork. Pre-Agility Progression Checklist
Agility Foundations
Start building an agility dog who is confident, enthusiastic, and ready to learn.
Agility Foundations introduces the building blocks of agility through fun, carefully structured exercises.
You’ll begin teaching shaping, shadow handling, start-line stays, cone wraps, jump grids, weaves, tunnels, and contact end behaviors. Along the way, your dog will learn obstacle commitment and the beginnings of independent obstacle performance. Agility Foundations Progression Checklist
Agility Skills
Now we’re turning those foundation skills into real agility skills.
Dogs build greater obstacle independence through jump drills and more challenging tunnel work. Weave entries are shaped and proofed, contact behaviors move onto low-height equipment, and handling expands to include front, blind, and rear crosses.
You’ll also begin distance handling, introduce the table and teeter, and learn how timing and reward placement affect your dog’s performance. Agility Skills Progression Checklist
Agility Obstacles
It’s time to learn the whole agility playground.
Dogs become comfortable with the complete range of agility equipment, including six-pole weaves, tunnels, contacts, and specialty jumps.
You’ll build toward full-height equipment while continuing to improve obstacle commitment, tunnel discrimination, distance skills, and performance around distractions and increasing challenges. Agility Obstacles Progression Checklist
Agility Handling
Your dog knows the obstacles. Now learn how to tell them where to go.
This class focuses on the handling skills that allow you and your dog to work together efficiently on a course.
You’ll learn and practice front crosses, blind crosses, rear crosses, tandem turns, lap turns, 270s, 180s, collection, wraps, and the backside send. Distance work and cues such as Out, Bypass, and Go On are introduced and developed.
We’ll also focus on the difference between the dog’s line and the handler’s line—and how your choices affect your dog’s path. Agility Handling Progression Checklist
Agility Novice/Open Competition
Ready to put your skills together on real courses?
This class bridges the gap between learning individual skills and competing successfully.
You’ll work on full-height contacts, advanced tunnel and weave skills, backside sends, serpentines, pinwheels, distance handling, acceleration, deceleration, and wraps. Full Novice and/or Open-level courses give you the opportunity to practice putting those skills together.
We’ll also cover competition skills such as mental management, trial preparation, and course analysis. Agility Novice/Open Competition Progression Checklist
Agility Master & Beyond
For teams ready to tackle the complicated stuff.
This is advanced agility training for experienced competition teams who want to sharpen their handling and tackle increasingly difficult courses.
We’ll work on advanced threadles, turn-aways, backside handling, serpentines, collection and wrap techniques, blind and rear crosses, distance handling, layering, difficult openings, tunnel challenges, and more.
Expect challenging sequences, advanced course analysis, and plenty of opportunities to refine the details that matter at the Master, Premier, and international levels.
Agility Power
Break complicated handling skills into pieces you can actually learn.
Agility Power takes challenging handling techniques and breaks them into small, manageable steps. Once a skill is solid, you’ll learn how and when to use it effectively in a sequence.
Agility Power focuses on four main areas: distance handling, turns and wraps, backsides, and threadles and serpentines. Each area is covered over a full 6-week session. The goal isn’t just to learn another handling move—it’s to build the confidence and understanding to know when that move is the right answer.
Open to students at the Novice/Open and Master & Beyond levels.
Agility Coursework
Train on the kinds of sequences you’re likely to see in competition.
Already competing and looking for a chance to dissect challenging courses? This advanced class is for teams proficient on all agility obstacles, including 12 weave poles.
We’ll analyze and practice sections from recent courses at major events, including AKC, USDAA, UKI, ISC, and CPE Nationals, Invitationals, and Championships.
It’s an opportunity to work on the challenging pieces of real competition courses.