Founded in 1958, the ACT Companion Dog Club was formed to help people learn how to train their dogs. Classes are held in basic obedience for the pet owner and in advanced exercises for those members who wish to pursue competition in obedience, agility, flyball or tracking trials.

Over the years thousands of dogs, both purebred and crossbred, have received their education in the Club's classes. The Club also does demonstrations and has an active dogs as therapy team which visit older or disadvantaged groups. The Club is a non-profit organsiation, run by volunteers and many people have contributed their time and skills so that today we have a well-equipped and flourishing club.

The core of our training methodology is motivational training. This method relies on motivating the dog to want to do as it is asked (rather than being compelled to do as it is told) by rewarding appropriate and desirable behaviour - that is if the dog does something that is followed by a pleasant experience it is more likely to repeat this behaviour again. Motivational training uses techniques that follow least harm strategies (particularly for people training a dog for the first time) - if you get it wrong you get a disobedient dog that still loves you (rather than a disobedient dog that is afraid of you). For many dogs food is the primary motivator (what really turns them on) but toys, balls, pats or just about anything that the dog finds rewarding can be used. To learn more about our training methods, look at our Principle of Training page.

A typical day training at CDC.