About AHPDTC

A club, not a business

The Adirondack High Peaks Dog Training Club describes itself as a not-for-profit organization formed by local dog owners and dog-training enthusiasts, located in Saranac Lake and run exclusively by dedicated volunteers. It was chartered in 1988 with twenty-five members and now has ninety-three. Its clubhouse is at 676 Kiwassa Lake Road and its classes are taught by club members on a volunteer basis, open both to members and to dog owners in the wider community. That structure is worth understanding before you contact them: there is no commercial program to buy, there is a class ladder to join, and membership is a separate thing you can apply for.

The class ladder

The published catalog is a genuine progression. Companion Dog 1 starts it. Companion Dog 2 runs eight weeks for dogs that have completed the first, adding distance work, response under increasing distraction, control exercises, loose-lead walking and recalls, taught through games and tricks, capped at six dogs. Canine Good Citizen is a four-session module – three working sessions and a fourth in which the test is administered – open to dogs that have finished Companion Dog 2 or the equivalent, capped at six. Canine Community Adventures takes a group of four out into the real world for four weeks, visiting local businesses, parks and trails, with instructor approval required and a note that handlers should be comfortable on varied terrain. Beyond that sit Introduction to Scent Work built around the AKC program, Intro to Rally as a get-ready-to-rally course covering attention, heel position, stays, fronts, finishes and pivots, Intro to Agility over eight weeks covering jumps, tunnel and contact obstacles, a Trick Class, and K9 Conditioning, an eight-week class using fitness equipment to build balance and body awareness for dogs from puppy to senior.

What the club is for

Classes are available for owners who want to teach a puppy or dog good manners around the house and yard, and higher-level classes for people interested in formal showing or working toward obedience and other performance titles. The club states that more than a hundred and fifty member dogs have passed the AKC Canine Good Citizen test, and that members train and compete in obedience, rally, agility, therapy work, field and hunting, herding and breed championships.

Practicalities

General enquiries and the membership application go through the club's own address; class questions go to the training committee by email or phone. Class sizes are small enough – four to six dogs – that places are genuinely limited, and several classes specify whether dogs attend the first week or the handler comes alone.