About Pap-Paws Dog Training Center

Who they are

Pap-Paws Dog Training Center works from its own facility at 450 McNabb Rd in Marshfield, about half an hour east of Springfield along I-44. The About page names Chuck Adams as the founder and describes him as bringing more than 20 years of dog training experience to every class he teaches; the Services page puts the center's experience at over 30 years. Robin Adams is named alongside him, and the site describes the two of them as having extensive experience with assistance dogs. The masthead describes the business as veteran owned and operated.

How the classes are built

Group obedience is level based rather than term based. The Services page sets out four levels: sit and sit-stay, down and down-stay and loose-leash walking; the same work under everyday distractions, plus resistance stays and a polite recall to front; turns, about-turns with sudden stops, longer stays, the start of off-leash heeling and long-distance recalls; and a final level that tests everything. Handlers are given four months from sign-up to work through them, with Saturday morning sessions and a Wednesday afternoon class for people who cannot make weekends. Certificates are awarded on passing.

Programs and prices

The center publishes its prices. Four months of group class is $600. Private lessons at the center are $75 for 30 minutes and $150 for an hour, and the site says video-chat lessons are available. The two-week board-and-train package, covering basic obedience and general manners, is $1,400; the four-week package, which adds off-leash confidence work, is $2,800; and an Elite package at $6,500 combines a four-week stay, a four-week follow-up and group classes for the life of the dog. A five-week aggressive behavior modification program is listed at $5,250, with the note that more time may be needed depending on the dog's history. Day training is $50 a day and daycare $20 a day when booked for a full week, and daily board-and-train is quoted at $100 a day with no minimum. The site adds that all prices are subject to change.

Beyond obedience

The Classes page lists agility, rally, Canine Good Citizen, scent work including deer-blood tracking, tracking, search and rescue, narcotics detection, and private lessons for specialist work such as protection and cadaver search. An eight-week class for dog and handler is $300, and one class culminates in visits to local nursing homes with AKC CGC and CGCA testing included along with therapy testing through Alliance of Therapy Dogs. The agility course is also eight weeks at $300 and is capped at ten dogs.

Practical details

Drop-off and collection windows are published, and the site is emphatic about paperwork: every dog left for training must arrive with current vaccination records and a negative fecal certificate from a vet, taken within 48 hours for training drop-offs and 72 hours for boarding.