Well mannered dogs - what a joy!

We offer training in numerous AKC certifications for you and your dog. Our favorite is the AKC Farm Dog Certification - a kind of Canine Good Citizen (CGC) on the farm. Your dog will learn how to negotiate the sights, sounds and textures found in the farm environment. Training at SchaSam Farm allows you to have your dog deal with livestock (goats, the wandering community peacock and sheep), move quietly on leash, negotiate unfamiliar surfaces, politely go through a gate, ignore other dogs and strangers, stand on a straw bale, allow for their handler to perform a check for the things a dog’s coat can pick up, calmly deal with typical noises, and patiently wait while the handler feeds the stock (the goats and sheep love this part of the certification!). SchaSam Farm normally hosts two AKC sanctioned Farm Dog Certification trials each year. AKC Canine Good Citizen and CGCA is for the suburban/urban dog - being a good citizen around people and human noises. AKC Trick Dog training teaches you how to train your dog to perform AKC approved tricks which can then be evaluated for the AKC Trick Dog titles. Sam is an approved AKC Farm Dog Judge as well as CGC and Trick Dog judge.

AKC Temperament Test training is provided to show you how your specific breed should react to various tactile, sound and sight situations. Officially - AKC Temperament Testing (ATT) tests how a dog reacts to a variety of stimuli. Desirable traits are that the dog will be emotionally stable, inquisitive, cooperative, appropriately social for its breed, biddable and demonstrates the ability to recover from a startling situation in a reasonable amount of time. Undesirable traits are fear, shyness, lack of cooperation and an inability to recover from unfamiliar or unexpected situations. Examples of undesirable behaviors include being afraid of friendly strangers or unfamiliar stimuli, obsessive barking, and aggression. In the ATT, dogs are tested in 6 categories of stimuli that include: Social, Auditory, Visual, Tactile, Proprioceptive (motion) and Unexpected stimulus. Use the Contact page to get in touch with us for private lessons or check the Events page of this website for upcoming workshops, group lessons or certification dates (usually fall, winter and spring).