NORTH LAPEER
CANINE ACADEMY (NLCA) is located just off Michigan
Highway M-24 between Lapeer and Mayville and offers top quality Obedience
and Agility training
in a quiet country setting. The client can choose the type of
instruction which best
serves his needs; we offer PRIVATE COACHING, GROUP SESSIONS, and
CLASSES
CLASSES are
offered five times a year, in January, May, July, September and
November. Enrollment is limited to 6 students per Instructor for
Focus/Motivation,
Obedience, and Trick training classes. Competition Agility classes are
a bit larger (8-9 teams) to create a more trial-like atmosphere, and
longer ( 1.5 hours).
Both Daytime and evening classes are available.
Students may register online, which we prefer (see note at the bottom of our
CURRENT SCHEDULE or by
telephone(989)795-2663. See the class descriptions
for more information.
Owners/ Instructors Gary and Sherry Wargo have been involved in dogs
and
dog training since 1970. For many years Sherry taught dog obedience
and puppy
training classes for breed clubs and in local schools. After
becoming involved in Dog
Agility in 1990, they realized that if they wanted to teach agility
classes it would be
necessary to find a facility willing to allow them to store
equipment on the premises.
In 1993, when they were unable to locate such a facility in their
area, they decided to
build a dog training facility on their own property.
The Academy building
was
completed and this website launched in April of 1993, and the first
classes were held
in May 1993. Originally the NLCA program was focused on Competition
style
obedience and Conformation classes, with just a bit of agility and
community obedience.
As the interest in Agility has grown, the Competition obedience and
Conformation
classes were dropped to allow more space for agility classes. NLCA
still offered one
day per week of basic obedience classes until December 2000, when the
decision was
made to specialize in Agility. Both Gary and Sherry have titled dogs
at the highest
levels of agility. They continue to compete and win, though age and
the demands of the
business dictate that they enter only a half- dozen or so trials each
year.
NLCA has grown rapidly and has developed a reputation as a top-quality
training
center. In 1996 Gary took early retirement from his position
at Eastman Kodak Co.
to work full time as instructor and equipment manager at the
Academy. As a team,
the Wargo's are particularly dedicated to enhancing the relationship
between the
students and their dogs. Their training style is positive and
non-violent, with emphasis
on creating a means of communication between dog and handler. To
this end, they
teach only positive incentive methods, and make use of operant
conditioning methods
promoted by such wonderful animal trainers as Karen Pryor and Gary
Wilkes.
They feel these methods are continuing to revolutionize animal training
and dog
training in particular. Agility training is an extremely dynamic
field, with new and
better training methods being developed constantly. To stay abreast of
these new
methods, Gary and Sherry read extensively and attend seminars given by the
top
trainers around the world, bringing the latest and best training methods
home to their
students.
| Last Updated December,2011 | Website Design and all Graphics on this website © 2003-2011 Sherry Wargo |


