Basic Manners
A Semi-Private Group Class
Registration for the 2nd Summer session of Basic Manners classes is OPEN!
Class availability is updated in real time.2nd
Join the training team that has been voted Bangor’s Best every year since 2011 and rated as one of the Top 10 Dog Trainers in New England by Best Businesses of America for 2020.
Description
This class is for students who have completed our Puppy Headstart class or those with older dogs who want to learn more about their dog and teach them the basics.
Basic Manners is not suitable for overtly reactive or aggressive dogs or those who are very fearful in novel situations. Contact us for information on how we can help you.
In Basic Manners, we will teach you to train your dog to respond to visual and audible cues for attention, sit, down, come, heel, give, and leave it. This is a semi-private class consisting of two teams of one to two students with their dog and one instructor. Classes may be held both indoors and outdoors in our upstairs training room. Each session is approximately 40 minutes long and will meet at the same time and day for six weeks. The cost of the class is $219.
All students will receive the following at their first in-person class:
- A copy of our 200+ page book Best Friends for Life, homework sheets, two clickers, and twelve ForceFreePets/Green Acres Kennel Shop coupons worth up to $54.
- Students who have completed our Puppy Headstart-ONLINE class who enroll their puppy in Basic Manners within 90 days of finishing Puppy Headstart will receive a $30 Green Acres gift card at their first Basic Manners class.
Please understand that class postponement due to the COVID pandemic is a possibility. In addition, due to the pandemic, we may also find it necessary to limit attendance to one student per dog.
Approximately two weeks before attending the first class with your dog, you will be sent an email containing links to view our orientation videos. You will require access to the internet and a desktop computer or tablet to watch these videos. While you can watch them on a smartphone, we do NOT recommend it. It is your responsibility to watch these videos before the first in-person class. These videos cover information on canine behavior, training, and human and canine communication that are the foundation of what we will be teaching you in the classes you attend with your dog. You will also receive access to written material that supplements the video and the in-person lessons. The videos can be accessed via a desktop computer, a tablet such as an iPad, or a smartphone. The material presented in-person by your instructor is dependent on you watching the videos ahead of time. You will have access to these materials until the final class.
Summer Schedule
If you wish to receive an email before the next round of classes are made public, fill out this form to subscribe to our mailing list.
Fees & Registration
Your dog’s space in class is reserved as soon as you complete our class registration application and contract AND pay the $219 registration fee. This fee is 100% refundable until two weeks before your class starts. You will be given access to the course videos at that time, and the payment is no longer refundable.
April 2025
WED-4PM-Basic Manners Dog Training Classes
WED-5PM-L2 Advanced Basic Manners Dog Training Class
SUN-10AM-The Joy of Sniffing-Dog Training
SUN-11AM-Basic Manners Dog Training Classes
May 2025
MON-7PM-L2 Advanced Basic Manners Dog Training Class
MON-6PM-Basic Manners Dog Training Classes Sold Out
THU-10AM-L2 Advanced Basic Manners Dog Training Class
COVID-19 Precautions
- Please refrain from entering our facility or training field if:
- You or anyone in your household has knowingly been exposed to someone testing positive for COVID-19. Please follow the Maine CDC’s recommendations for reporting and self-quarantine.
- You or a member of your household have traveled out of state and are required to self-quarantine per Maine CDC protocol.
- Please wear a properly fitting face mask anytime you enter the store or training field for the protection of yourself, staff, and our community. All staff members who have contact with clients will be wearing a properly fitted face mask inside and outside the store. If you are not wearing a face mask, you may be asked to leave immediately.
- Because of the size of our shop, we have elected only to allow two clients at a time inside the store.
- Staff will be parking as close to the road as possible to leave the front spaces available for clients. This will help clients also see how many people are inside. If you are unsure, a staff member will come out to let you know when it is ok to enter. We understand this may cause some delays, but it ensures the safety of everyone.
- Please maintain at least 6’ of space between other clients and staff when inside the building.
- Please, whenever possible, only have one family member per household enter the store for purchases or for dropping off or picking up a pet.
- All classes will be prescheduled via phone or email. Notices of changes in class schedules will be sent via email and posted on the Green Acres Kennel Shop Facebook page, and it is the student’s responsibility to check their email regularly.
- In-person classes may be held outside or in our training room at our discretion.
- Only one family member per pet may attend class at this time.
- To minimize interaction between classes, please arrive on time but remain in your car until the current class has been dismissed, and the staff has given you instructions that you may enter the training field or training room. Be patient as staff will need to sanitize common areas between classes. When you are dismissed from class, do not linger in the store or near the training field and remember to maintain social distancing.
- Please maintain a minimum of 6’ between clients and trainers for the safety of both the dogs and the humans. Areas may be marked off in the field to aid in social distancing. Please remain in the area designated by your instructor.
- No interaction between dogs will be allowed.
- Please do not bring purses and other items to set down on the floor or ground or hang on the fence. Treat bags, clickers, and other supplies need to be on your person. If needed, we will provide water bowls and water for the dogs. We need to minimize the areas we need to sanitize
- No food or beverages for people, other than one bottle of water per person are allowed in the training field.
- All equipment that is provided by the instructor and comes in contact with a student will be disinfected after each student and between classes.
- Trainers will maintain social distancing whenever possible. When demoing with a client’s dog, they will sanitize the leash and their hands afterward.
- Hand sanitizer will be provided to be used when needed throughout the session.
- Students will not be allowed to assemble in any entryway, exit, or other shared space before or after their lesson/class.
- Students must maintain social distancing protocols at all times while on the training facility property, including while exercising their dog before and after lessons/classes.
