I first encountered Ann Braue’s Canine Training Center after a particularly bad experience at another local training center which imposed extremely negative effects on my young Golden Retriever. Since I was very interested in going on and competing in obedience, I was very happy to find that ABCTC does offer beginner level, as well as more advanced obedience classes in addition to their well-known Agility core program. Debbie Erb, who is an obedience instructor at ABCTC, was particularly helpful in getting my dog and I back on track to fulfilling our goals. Currently, I have two Golden Retrievers that I am training for competition; four year old Katie, and 8 month old Kirby.

Thanks to ABCTC, specialized obedience classes in the twin cities, and a lot of hard work, Katie went on in the AKC arena to become 2006 #3 All Breed Novice A dog in the country, 2006 #1 Novice A Golden Retriever, 2007 #5 All Breed Open A, 2007 #3 Open A Golden Retriever, and has received several obedience excellence awards, as well. We are presently training to enter top level AKC Obedience in the Utility classes sometime in the near future. It is my goal to obtain our AKC UD title, then go on to the more lucrative UDX and Master Obedience titles. A thousand thank you’s to ABCTC for helping Katie regain her lost confidence after our unfortunate beginnings on this journey she and I have shared.

My Golden Retriever puppy, Kirby, comes from a very exclusive obedience/agility background. He has the temperament and potential to truly excel in dog sports. In addition to specialized early obedience training in the twin cities area, I thought it was very important to also put Kirby in classes at ABCTC. I feel the classes at ABCTC truly promote a close dog/handler bond. This type of bond is absolutely essential to compete successfully in top level dog sports. Kirby successfully graduated from ABCTC’s Puppy Kindergarten program, Beginner Obedience program, and is currently in an Intermediate Obedience class at the ABCTC Banbury center. These are all excellent classes taught by instructors who have been competing successfully for many years with their own dogs in both competitive obedience and agility. These trainers are also well versed in positive reinforcement and stress the importance of making any new learning situation fun for your dog and for you!

Although my focus is on competitive obedience, my dogs and I also enjoy the agility classes that ABCTC provides. ABCTC has a world class agility program developed by Ann Braue. I know very well from personal experience that these agility classes not only comprehensively prepare the dog/handler team for success in the agility show ring, but they also helped build confidence and poise in what otherwise was a very hesitant and insecure dog/handler team. Its simply amazing how far we have come with the help of ABCTC.

I whole hearted recommend all the classes at ABCTC—both obedience and agility—and am living proof of what you can accomplish with your dog if you work hard and surround yourself with world class instructors. Thanks again to ABCTC for all your help. I truly appreciate you guys!

Karen Thompson, Katie, and Kirby

Eau Claire, WI