Piscataqua Obedience Club

Piscataqua Obedience Club offers both family dog and competition classes, typically 55 minutes long. Programs include a 5-week Sport Sampler covering Agility foundations, Rally Obedience, Tricks, Scentwork, and Weight Pull. Tricks classes are 3 weeks, focusing on mental stimulation and bonding, with an option for AKC Trick Dog titles. Manners classes, for dogs 7 months and up, cover leash walking, recall, and focus with distractions.

AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy classes, for puppies 8 weeks to 6 months, teach essential skills like socialization, basic obedience (down, sit, stand, loose leash walking, coming when called), and responsible ownership. Advanced Manners, called Attention and Focus, is a clicker-based class for higher-level skills, including long-distance and off-leash work. Rally Obedience classes, offered at Novice/Intermediate and Advanced/Excellent levels, teach handlers and dogs to navigate courses with various exercises.

Competition Obedience classes are ongoing, using a punch card system, and cover skills for Novice, Open, and Utility levels, including heeling, stays, recalls, dumbbell work, and jumps. Fitness classes, including Canine Conditioning (advanced) and Introduction to Fitness (beginner), focus on exercises and stretches for canine health, strength, and enrichment. Nose Work classes, taught by a NACSW Certified Instructor, introduce dogs to scent work, progressing from boxes to interiors, exteriors, and vehicles, with an advanced Odor class for teams that have passed their Odor Recognition Test. Private Nose Work lessons are also available.

Pricing Summary

Piscataqua Obedience Club offers affordable training. Standard 5-week classes are $150, with member prices at $120. AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy classes are $175. Shorter 3-week classes, like Novice/Intermediate Tricks, are $90. Punch cards are available for $120 for ongoing competition obedience classes. An additional $15 fee applies for AKC Trick Dog title evaluations.

Class fees are non-refundable. A $50 fee is charged for returned checks, and future payments may require cash or money order if a second check bounces. Non-payment within 10 days will restrict participation in classes/events until the balance is settled.

Policies

Class fees are non-refundable. Clients are asked to email if they are unable to attend sessions to discuss options.

A returned check will incur a $50 fee. The original amount plus the fee must be repaid within 10 days. If a second check bounces, all future payments must be made by cash or money order. Non-payment within 10 days will result in restriction from participating in classes/events until the balance is settled.

Dogs that are sick (coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge) should be left at home. Clients are asked not to crowd the entrance and to allow the previous class to exit before entering the building.

Piscataqua Obedience Club (POC) is a non-profit dog training club dedicated to fostering and deepening the relationship between dogs and their owners. Based in Berwick, Maine, they offer Manners and competition level classes. They welcome purebreds, mixed breeds, rescue dogs, puppies, seniors, and everyone in between to their classes. Their certified instructors use motivational training techniques that emphasize kind, positive treatment.

They provide both family dog and competition classes, with class durations typically 55 minutes unless otherwise noted. They offer a variety of specialized classes including Sport Sampler, Tricks, Manners, AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy, Attention and Focus, Rally Obedience, Competition Obedience, Fitness, and Nose Work.

The club aims to provide affordable, experienced, and positive training. They are located at 4 Coffin Lane, Berwick, Maine, in the same building as Dirigo Ranch Feed & Seed.

Accomplishments

Piscataqua Obedience Club has been operating since 1973, providing experienced training. Their instructors hold various certifications and have extensive experience.

Dani Cyr, a Certified Canine Athlete Specialist and Veterinary Assistant, has been training since 2009. She is an AKC CGC evaluator, UKC SPOT evaluator, and American Temperament Tester for the ATTS. She is also the head trainer for Dirigo Working Dogs and a licensed judge for 5 weight pull organizations. Her dogs compete in weight pull, dock diving, rally, coursing rat hunting, agility, and GRC.

Pam Hansen is a NACSW Certified Nosework Instructor (CNWI) with 10 years of K9 Nosework experience, having competed up to the Summit level and achieved Elite Championships with three dogs in NACSW. She has taught at POC since 2022.

Merrillynn Hill has been teaching for POC for over 15 years and has been training and competing for 30 years. She has worked with top trainers and earned multiple OTCH’s and HIT on her dogs.

Deb Mazjanis, an educator and counselor, has been working with dogs and participating in dog sports since 2007. She is an AKC Canine Good Citizen evaluator, a certified AKC Level 1 and 2 Fit Dog Instructor, AKC Fetch Dog Judge, and AKC Temperament Evaluator.

Stephen Hersey has been an AKC Rally judge since 2005, approved for all rally and non-regular obedience classes. He has shown Skye Terriers in conformation since the mid-1980s, breeding multiple group placements and wins, including National Specialty Best of Breed. He has shown multiple dogs to CD and CDX obedience titles and Rally obedience titles, including RAE. Five generations of his Skye Terriers are TDI certified, and one earned an AKC THDX for therapy work, receiving the Therapy Dog of The Year ACE Award in 2017.

How to Get Started!

To enroll in classes, email Piscataquaobedience.info@gmail.com. For Nose Work specific instruction, include “NW” in the email title, and a link to the class registration form will be sent. Current students receive first preference in new sessions. For Competition Obedience classes, contact the club to enroll or observe a class. For the Attention and Focus class, dogs with reactivity issues require instructor approval.