American Dog Obedience Center

08/07/2025

Lulu trained with us during June. She was compliant and easy - unless she wasn’t. Her family felt she could do better, even tho she was usually pretty good. They were correct.
Many dogs miss out on their best lives because their families settle for “usually” or “mostly.” It’s not just the people who benefit from our brand of training; dogs benefit greatly too, from increased participation in family life when their humans can depend on them to consistently behave appropriately. Consider, too, that our courses also include important information to enable families to better understand their dogs’ communication and behaviors.
If your family is settling for mediocre behavior, contact us about a September class for your dog. We promise to keep expectations real.

07/07/2025

Atka is a beautiful young German shepherd, recently adopted when we worked with her last month. It’s an ongoing mystery to me, how the perfect adoptive families are able to select just the right dogs. Atka’s story is not ours to to tell but it’s fair to write her quirky behaviors could be challenging. Even tho, it happened again after working with Atka and her “new” family. After our lesson I felt she had landed right where she belonged. Wonder-ful how that happens.

02/07/2025

Nature’s silent fireworks in the sky Monday, from our house looking east over the pond.

29/05/2025

Welcome back to Nature’s photo studio.
We told Labrador retriever Doc we were taking class photos in the daisies — and he showed up ready to flaunt his authentic self. Perfect!

19/05/2025

You’re a daisy if you do.
~ Doc Holliday

Border collie Rave On does, and she is. Note her smile here in nature’s photo studio. I feel like a daisy for catching that! We hope your week includes daisy-do moments - and happy smiles too.

14/05/2025

We love hearing from you “formers”! These 2 master magic carpetitions trained at American Dog Obedience Center a few years apart, a few years ago. The magic was transferred from their original carpets to this set up in their family’s home. Here, they are waiting to be released for dinner. A very fine testimonial accompanied the photo – and it’s beyond satisfying to read about their levels of success. Thank you!

13/05/2025

Beyond an entertaining sketch, this is an insightful post from a dog training professional in another country.

Ever wonder why having dogs walk in a straight line beside a relatively slow two-legger has inspired the creation of some of the most suppressive equipment for dogs?

Loose leash walking in this way is the antithesis to fun for most dogs. It’s so often a human want rather than a dog need.

It's a pretty tall order to ask dogs, who naturally move about their world in such a different way to human-style, to walk in the way that we do. So if we want that, because, let's be realistic, sometimes we need it for safety, then we have to make sure they get to do it their way a helluva a lot. So they get to do it do********le, if you will...

11/05/2025

Several hundred mothers are here on this page. Thanks for choosing American Dog Obedience Center LLC to help you with the dog. You really don’t have to do it by yourself.
The rascal in this photo is Jet, from a previous class.

06/05/2025

Border collie Rave On routinely depends on Norman’s Master Tech Auto to keep her ride going strong. Today she waited in their comfy customer area while technicians dealt with the dreaded check engine light on her Jeep. Everyone there is courteous, knowledgeable, and respectful of our time - and we appreciate that.
We had to combine an appointment with Rave On’s veterinarian with unexpected vehicle maintenance, so it was a bonus that Master Tech welcomed Rave On inside. I’ll provide a link to their website in case anyone else here might enjoy their special brand of customer service.
https://mastertechauto.net/ Team Butler gives them 5 stars!

05/05/2025

We had the pleasure of working with Cato last month. He loved retrieving, discs are his favorite - but this trainer cannot throw a disc to Cato’s level of the game. Fortunately we decided together that a Kong AirDog toy, thrown brilliantly, was a very fine second choice.
Let’s use this happy catch to announce an unexpected May opening. It’s a narrow window but it could be your dog’s golden opportunity. Contact Kris if something like this might work for you. May 13 or 14 arrival with a May 28 or May 30 lesson/leave last day. Keep in mind, we need the family’s participation in a 2 - 3 hour lesson on your dog’s last day with us. Our military, former military, and former client discounts are still available.

28/04/2025

Honey went home earlier this month. Her energy and enthusiasm - for EVERYthing - is impressive. It’s easy to understand how inexperienced families might feel daunted by this relentless happiness in such a powerful body. But Honey’s family was already familiar with American Dog Obedience Center and trusted us to maintain the “happy” while introducing new behaviors to help her manage it. Thank you. It’s an honor to be your go-to. Good girl, Honey.

22/04/2025

Celebrate Earth Day every day with your dog. Effective off-leash training allows dogs to enjoy their outdoor environments in purely dogly ways.