About Francis Field Dog Obedience School

<h2>A competition-oriented obedience and rally school in New Lenox</h2>

<p>Francis Field Dog Obedience School trains at 801 East Francis Road, New Lenox, IL 60451. Its published pages cover obedience, rally, correction clinics, classes and an events calendar, and its intake form asks new students to pick from three training goals: basic manners, behavioral problems, or training for competition. The school leans toward the last of those &mdash; the schedule is built around ring time, run-throughs and group heeling rather than pet manners courses.</p>

<h3>The school&rsquo;s own history</h3>

<p>The about page says Lynn Heidinger started Francis Field Dog Obedience School in 2017 and sets out her competition record at length, including obedience showing from 1968 and a list of High In Trial and High Combined awards. It also records that she died on September 23, 2024, and states what the school did next: &ldquo;To honor her, we kept the school running and endeavor to continue what Lynn had started by encouraging students to train with their choice of equipment as long as it is done with fairness, kindness and compassion.&rdquo; That sentence is the closest thing the site gives to a method statement, and it is quoted rather than summarized because the school words it carefully.</p>

<h3>Instructors</h3>

<p>The about page carries first-person bios for several instructors. Dianne A. writes that she showed her first dog in 1971, switched to Belgian Tervuren in the early 1980s, applied for an AKC Obedience Judging License in 1989 and was grandfathered in as an AKC Rally judge in 2003. Pattie I. is described as having trained dogs for over 40 years, having worked over 25 years as a veterinary technician, and as competing in obedience and agility. Mary R. is described as having worked with dogs for over 30 years and as having developed therapy dog teams and community crisis response comfort dog teams.</p>

<h3>Classes and policies</h3>

<p>Drop-in obedience runs Monday afternoons and Tuesday mornings at a published cost of $10.00 per person, which includes 15 minutes of individual ring time or run-throughs, with group heeling at a set hour. A rally training class runs Monday evenings, also $10.00, with walk-ins able to run three courses; the site says it is facilitated by an AKC Rally judge. Extra utility ring time is an additional $10.00 per 15 minute slot. Pre-signup is not needed for the rally class. One rule is stated firmly on more than one page: the school &ldquo;maintains a strict policy that any dog with a bite history cannot train at the school,&rdquo; and instructors may refuse any dog with a history of aggression.</p>