About Staten Island Companion Dog

Staten Island Companion Dog Training Club is the borough's oldest dog-training institution by its own account, established in 1947 and run since then by volunteer members – over 100 active volunteers, the club says, without whom it would not exist. It is a non-profit 501(c)(4) and an AKC-sanctioned training club at 75 Ellis Street in Tottenville, with a second outdoor site used as the agility field.

What it teaches

The published class list runs from Puppy Kindergarten through Beginner 1 and Beginner 2 into Agility for Fun, Rally, Obedience, Agility, Scent Work, Therapy Dog Training and Breed Handling. The club describes this as all-inclusive training, from puppy kindergarten and basic beginner manners up to advanced competition in obedience, agility, rally and scent work. It also runs Canine Good Citizen and Trick Title testing.

How the club works

The stated mission is to promote responsible dog ownership through pet obedience classes, and the emphasis throughout is on teaching owners to train their own dogs rather than on training dogs for them. Membership is explicitly not required to train with the club, and the club states it does not discriminate against any breed or mixed breed – purebreds and mixed breeds are both welcome. Instructors are described as holding the highest titles in obedience, agility, rally and scent work.

Sessions, cost and access

Classes run in six-week sessions. The club publishes one discount: $10 off a first six-week session for an owner who adopted their dog from a shelter, with documentation. Missed group classes cannot be rescheduled, made up or refunded, though the club says the instructor will cover the missed material; classes canceled by an instructor or for weather are rescheduled. Visitors are welcome to watch classes at either the training hall or the agility field, which is an unusually open policy and a practical way to see the format before enrolling.

Competition side

Alongside pet classes the club hosts AKC obedience and rally trials, scent work trials, agility and FastCAT trials and AKC Fetch tests, rents ring time, and runs match shows, seminars and workshops. For an owner on Staten Island who wants to progress into dog sport rather than stop at manners, that competition calendar is the main local route in.