Town & Country Dog Training Club

The club offers year-round obedience and rally classes for both family companions and dog sports. Their training program emphasizes solid fundamentals applicable to various dog sports.

Classes are held in group settings, often with multiple classes running simultaneously, and are designed to accommodate dogs of all skill levels. They can make accommodations like sight barriers for sensitive dogs.

Specific classes include Basic Manners, Intermediate Manners, CGC & Trick Dog Novice Prep, Intro to Rat Sports, Urban Challenge Games, Rally, Obedience, Scent Work, and Freestyle. Classes are offered on Tuesdays (online), Wednesdays (in-person at Furrtropolis and Metro Ed), and Thursdays (in-person at Furrtropolis).

Pricing Summary

The club offers cost-effective classes. They provide a one-time $10 discount for rescue dogs; clients must sign up for a class and email a scan of the rescue paperwork to receive the refund.

Policies

For class refunds, if requested up to one week before the class starts, fees are refunded minus an $8 processing fee, or the full amount can be held as credit for future classes/events. If requested in the week before class starts, a refund minus $8 is given if the spot is filled; otherwise, the full fee is held as credit. Once class starts, refunds are only considered for valid medical reasons, and only credits for missed classes are provided. If TCDTC cancels a class, the entire fee is refunded.

For CGC and Tricks testing, no refunds are given unless the spot can be filled. If TCDTC cancels the tests or cannot test a participant for any reason, the entire fee is refunded. Seminar refund policies are specified in the seminar description or flyer.

Town and Country Dog Training Club, Inc. is a non-profit organization that offers year-round dog training classes to dog lovers in Santa Clara County. With over 40 years of experience, they provide small, cost-effective classes focused on raising well-behaved and happy dogs using purely positive reinforcement (R+) training methods.

Their training philosophy emphasizes mutual understanding and trust, not fear, and they strictly prohibit aversive techniques and equipment like choke, prong, pinch, or electric collars. The club aims to help dogs become Canine Good Citizens and develop strong bonds with their handlers, while also offering advanced classes for various dog sports.

They host accomplished trainers for multi-day seminars and clinics on specific topics. Novice and experienced handlers, as well as novice and experienced dogs, are all welcome.

Accomplishments

Town and Country Dog Training Club has been actively conducting training classes for over 40 years as a non-profit organization.

Their trainers hold various accomplishments and certifications. Bea Moore, the Training Director, has trained multiple dogs to UD titles, earned numerous Rally, Agility, Field, Barn Hunt, and Freestyle titles, and is an AKC Obedience and Rally Judge. Cathy Leavitt completed Karen Pryor’s Dog Trainer Program, has 17 years of experience as an educator and 8 years teaching dog training, and competes and judges Barn Hunt and NASDA events at regional and national levels. Ani Elmaoglu is a KPA-CTP, a certified AKC CGC and S.T.A.R Puppy Evaluator, and has volunteered at Bay Area shelters for over 20 years. Laura Tsuk has been dedicated to dog obedience and agility since 1996, successfully training and titling numerous dogs in Rally Obedience, Agility, and CGC programs, and is a certified CGC evaluator. Kathy Childers is an AKC certified Fit Dog Instructor and a Certified Canine Fitness Instructor (CCFT) through FitPaws/University of Tennessee. Lynn Ungar started obedience training in 1974, has earned multiple championship titles in Canine Musical Freestyle, competes at the champion level in Rally FrEe, and has been teaching obedience for close to ten years. Denise Gormish has 20 years of experience training and trialing dogs, with titles in obedience, rally, tracking, agility, NoseWork, and Scent Work, and has participated in pet therapy. Alamelu Sankaranarayanan is working towards her Fenzi Sports Foundation Certificate, has earned multiple AKC titles with her dog, and is an active board member, substitute trainer, and class secretary at TCDTC.

How to Get Started!

To sign up for a class, clients should visit the classes page on the website, select a class, add it to their cart, and pay online using PayPal, Visa, or Mastercard. An email confirmation will be sent, and registration details will be forwarded to the secretary and instructor.

Paper registrations are not accepted. When signing up, clients are asked to indicate any dog issues from a dropdown menu; the club will then contact them to discuss and evaluate if the dog is suitable for a group setting. Those interested in future sessions can email the club to be added to a waitlist.