Cultivate your dog’s good manners, build new skills, and strengthen your bond with your dog in a fun, safe, and encouraging environment!
Whether you’re looking to teach your dog foundational behaviors like loose leash walking, stay, and coming when called, improve your dog’s ability to calmly approach and greet other dogs, or help your dog (and yourself) relax when their excitement or stress level gets a little too high, we have a class for you!
At Birch Bark, we believe that group classes, in addition to being educational and enjoyable for both dogs and people, should be focused on real life. Our practical approach to training for the real world will give you and your dog the tools you need to navigate this world together with greater confidence, ease, and joy!
“We looked forward to sessions every week. They were fun, engaging, and extremely educational.”
– Eric, dad to Najee
Basics Classes
Foundations
Our 6-week introductory class covers everything you need to lay the groundwork for a positive and connected relationship with your dog: basic obedience cues, foundational principles of canine learning, troubleshooting common behavior problems, and more!
Appropriate for dogs ages 4 months and up.
Location: Buena Vista Park, Vista
Registration fee: $250
| Saturdays at 10a | Apr 25 – Jun 6 skip 5/23 |
Specialty Classes
Butt Sniffing 101
A 5-week series that focuses on setting you and your dog up for success when preparing to meet other dogs on leash. In addition to developing good handling skills, teaching new cues, and building engagement when on walks, we will take a closer look at canine body language so you can better support your dog during introductions.
Dogs attending must be known to be friendly or tolerant of other dogs within 10-15′. Unsure if your dog is a good fit for BS101? Please reach out!
Location: Buddy Todd Park, Oceanside
Registration fee: $250
| Wednesdays at 5:30 | Mar 11 – Apr 8 |
Butt Sniffing 201
The next level of the Butt Sniffing series will advance your dog’s social skills and etiquette of 5 weeks of class. We will focus on more and lengthier nose-to-nose greetings, build skills to keep your dog calm when it’s not the right time to play, and discuss troubleshooting when things go wrong, always with a strong emphasis on safety and consent.
Dogs must have previously completed BS101.
Location: Buena Vista Park, Vista
Registration fee: $250
| Saturdays at 10a | Mar 14 -Apr 14 Skip 4/4 |
Zen Dog
Our 5-week signature course is designed to teach your dog skills to increase their ability to relax and calm, even in stressful situations. This class will elevate your relationship with your dog by giving you deeper insight into the intricacies of what your dog needs to feel safe and at peace with the world, while diving deep into what mindful dog training really is.
Location: Buddy Todd Park, Oceanside
Registration fee: $250
| Saturdays at 3p | Apr 11 – May 9 |
Zen 2
Are you ready to dive deeper into mindful dog training? Zen 2 offers an in-depth exploration of impulse control—what it is and how to manage it—and the physiology of stress. We’ll explore new exercises and calming practices for both your dog and yourself, along with simple acupressure techniques to help reduce anxiety. The course culminates in a field trip, giving both dogs and their humans the chance to practice what they’ve learned and find a bit of Zen in a fresh environment.
Dogs must have previously completed Zen Dog.
Location: Weeks 1-4: Buddy Todd Park, Oceanside; Week 5: field trip TBD
Registration fee: $250
| Check back soon! | |
Special Events
Field Trip Adventures
Next Field Trip: Guajome Regional Park Hike!
Birch Bark’s field trips are the perfect outing for you and your pup! Explore fun and exciting North County locations where your dog can practice their skills and tackle new challenges while you’ll get expert coaching and support to help strengthen your bond and boost your training game. Let’s hit the trail—together!
Location: Rancho La Costa Preserve
Registration fee: $45
| Saturday, January 24th, 11:30am | |
The Anti-Social Puppy Club
While it’s called the Anti-Social Puppy Club, ASPC meetings are for dogs across the sociability spectrum: friendly, feisty, or fearful!
There are no prerequisites to attend: the ASPC is open to all, but if you have a super-spicy pup, let’s connect to make sure we set your pup up for success and a good time!
This 75-ish minute event offers structured training opportunities, social engagement (both for humans AND dogs!), fun challenges for the dogs and people, and goodies & prizes, too!
Location: Buddy Todd Park, Oceanside
Registration fee: $45
| Check back soon! | |
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