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Our family companion Labrador young adults will make an excellent addition to your home. Husband and wife owners and
head trainers Steve Koven and Jean Damon have been training dogs and working with dog owners for over 20 years. Our business is family-run;
raising and training dogs is our full-time occupation. We do not believe in cookie-cutter dog training. Each puppy is hand-picked for temperament from high-quality
AKC registered bloodlines from breeders in the Midwest. Our goal is to meet our customers’ needs precisely and provide the
highest quality of training for each individual puppy or dog. The cost of a family companion Lab is $3750.00 plus sales tax.
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The parents of our companion dogs are OFA certified for hips and we offer a 2-year guarantee on the health of your new family member.
All our dogs are current of the following: spay/neuter, rabies, distemper combo, lyme, bordetella, heartworm preventative, and Frontline. Our companion
dog training covers behavior and social skills with people and other dogs, crate training, and obedience. The obedience training covers all commands on and
off-leash, as well as an introduction to basic agility training, which builds self-confidence. Training starts when our labs are 8 weeks old.
They go through a thorough training regiment 6 days a week, and graduate the family companion program at 7 months of age, when they
will be ready to interface with their new owners. Listed below are the commands that we cover.
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OBEDIENCE COMMANDS
- HEEL - walking nicely with loose lead on left side of handler
- AUTO-SIT – while on Heel command, dog will automatically sit on the left side when handler comes to a stop
- AUTO-STAY – after auto-sit, dog will automatically stay until commanded to move, or released off of command
- WALK AWAY - handler leaves dog while on command
- LOOK AT ME - dog looks at handler
- COME – recall to handler
- CENTER – auto-sit directly in front of handler
- FINISH (HEEL) – dog moves from center position to the right behind the handler and auto-sits on handler’s left side
- FREE SIT – dog sits on command, usually from free mode
- STAY CLOSE – dog keeps close to handler, but is not on Heel command
- DOWN – lie down
- RECALL TO SIT – dog commanded to sit from a down position
- STAY - hold position and don't move
- OKAY – dog is off command, free
- QUIET – stop barking, whining etc
- NO – correction word generally followed by verb or descriptive of what the dog should not be doing, or the command that the dog broke (ie. no – sit)
- NO BITE – do not mouth or peck at hands or feet of handler
- OFF – do not jump (on people, furniture, etc)
- LEAVE IT – don’t mess with that
- DROP IT – dog should spit out whatever should not be in mouth
- ENOUGH – time to stop
- EASY – slow down, relax, or concentrate
- GOOD! – praise and reward
- GET YOUR BIRD! – go get toy
- BRING ME YOUR BIRD! – retrieve toy
- RELEASE – let go of toy or object that is allowed in dog’s mouth
- STUTTER STEP – stop in place
- HERE – direct dog to a spot
- HURRY UP – go potty
- IN – go in (house, car, crate, etc)
- GO GO GO! – speed up, encourages drive
AGILITY COMMANDS
- READY – keys dog up to start, usually get a bark
- SET – placement of dog
- COME – return to handler
- OVER – dog goes over jump
- IN – dog enters an obstacle (ie tunnel)
- UP – dog climbs up an obstacle (ie A-frame)
- EASY – slow down, concentrate
- HERE - directs dog where to go
- STAY – Hold position and don’t move
- OKAY – dog is off command, exercise is finished
- GOOD – praise and reward dog
- GO GO GO! – builds up drive and speed
- TURN AROUND – dog turns around
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There is no such thing as a robotic dog. This means that having a well-trained dog requires consistent reinforcement of commands and good behavior. It is
imperative that you, as the new dog owner(s), continue to exercise your new family member daily, as well as routine obedience workouts 3-4 times a week,
and always follow up on your commands. Because of the amount of training already done with our dogs, this will be relatively easy for you to accomplish.
Without this maintenance of your dog’s training and behavior, the solid foundation that you started with can slip,
and regression in training will occur. It is much easier to maintain your dog’s level of training than to retrain a dog once it has regressed. We will
give you a solid well-trained puppy/dog, and everything you need to maintain it. On your scheduled pick-up day, you and your family will spend the day
at our facility interfacing with your new best friend, learning how to work with and train your dog. Our goal is for you to acquire a high level of
comfort and confidence in your skills with our K-9/handler interfacing program, and we will work with you until this is achieved. Upon completion of this
program, you will receive a certificate of completion of training for obedience and agility, as well as all your training gear (6 ft leather lead,
training collar, nylon choker, and light lines to continue your off-leash work). You can always count on us for any follow-up help
or questions you may have. If you are unable to make the trip to Wisconsin to pick up your puppy, or would like to fly your pup back home after interfacing here,
another option would be shipping your new dog to you via Continental Airlines
(www.continental.com).
Transportation of your pup to the airport can be provided by Paws Around Chicago (www.pawsaroundchicago.com).
Additional costs would apply.
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Please look through some examples of our family companion training.
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DOGS AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE
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These pictures were taken January 25, 2012. This group of puppies ranges from 10 to 14 weeks in age. They are shown here in order from youngest to oldest. They will be ready to interface in late spring 2012.
We are now accepting deposits. If you have any questions or you are interested in a trained Labrador puppy, please contact us or call 920-293-4460.
Thank you,
Jean and Steve
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SPRING CLASS 2012
A (female) |
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B (female) |
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C (female) |
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D (female) |
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E (female) |
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F (female) |
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G (female) |
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H (male) |
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I (male) |
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J (male) |
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K (male) |
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L (female) |
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M (female) |
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N (male) |
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O (male) |
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P (female) |
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Q (female) |
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R (male) |
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S (male) |
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T (male) |
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FAMILY COMPANION GRADUATES
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Thank you for your interest in our dogs
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