Group Classes

In alignment with Mindful Partners’ intention to support the community through service, I teach the Life Skills 1 : Connection and Foundation Skills group classes as a volunteer instructor with the Greater Lafayette Kennel Club (GLKC). One hundred percent of all registration fees are received by GLKC.

Life Skills for you and your dog

Life Skills 1: Connection and Foundation Skills
Peace in ourselves, peace in our dogs.
7-week Class

For: Puppies and dogs 16 weeks and older
Day and Time: 5:30 PM, Tuesdays beginning October 13, 2026
Location: Greater Lafayette Kennel Club
Prerequisite: Life Skills 1 orientation (humans only) is required.
Fees: $140 (non GLKC member), $105 (GLKC member) - *100% of tuition goes to the Greater Lafayette Kennel Club

Schedule:

Class 1: October 13 (orientation, humans only)
Class 2: October 20
Class 3: October 27
NO CLASS - VOTE!
Class 4: November 10
Class 5: November 17
Class 6: November 24
Class 7: December 1

Description

Life Skills 1: Connection and Foundation Skills is a dynamic curriculum designed to support you and your dog in building a relationship rooted in presence and understanding.

While your dog is building foundation skills, you're building something too — the ability to slow down, notice, and show up in a way your dog can feel.

This curriculum blends science-based learning theory and clear communication with mindfulness — centered on connection, presence, and co-regulation. Your dog is a living reflection of your inner state; when you're calm, your dog feels it. This class teaches humans to slow down and listen, just as much as it teaches dogs foundation skills — building a base of real-world life skills for you and your dog to carry together.

Life Skills 1 is appropriate for puppies and dogs over 16 weeks of age and lays the groundwork for future Canine Good Citizen preparation, Pet Therapy Team training, and other Greater Lafayette Kennel Club classes.

Even if you and your dog have taken Life Skills 1 before, it's a curriculum meant to be repeated and practiced. Life isn't linear — it's a path that looks different for each of us, our dogs included.

What You Will Learn Together

• Week 1 - Connection & Community - Human Orientation (no dogs) — ("Inter-being"): relationship-based, science-based training philosophy; how dogs learn; reading body language (stress vs. engagement); choosing effective rewards; equipment basics; the mindfulness jar and 4-7-8 breathing. Teaches humans self-regulation first — because a calm handler helps create a calm dog.

• Week 2 — Attention & Engagement ("Connection before action"): engagement, hand targeting, offered eye contact.

• Week 3 — Impulse Control ("Peace is in the pause"): leave it, waiting at thresholds, calm four-paws-on-the-floor greetings, settling on a mat.

• Week 4 — Walking Together ("Connected walks"): engaged loose-leash walking, direction changes, structured sniff breaks.

• Week 5 — Come When Called ("Connection creates trust"): recall games built on trust.

• Week 6 — Calm in Real Life ("Practicing peace in motion"): stay with duration/distance, settling with mild distraction, polite walking past distractions.

• Week 7 — Reflection & Integration: partner skill stations, celebrating growth, community, certificates of completion, and next steps.

Class Intentions

• You leave with a foundation of real, usable life skills and stress-decreasing tools for you and your dog.

• You have a shared "language" of clear communication (markers, timing, rewards) with your dog.

• You discover a calmer, more present way of showing up for your dog — and a bond built on trust and connection.

• A clear path opens for Life Skills 2, Canine Good Citizen preparation, and Pet Therapy Team training, and other Greater Lafayette Kennel Club classes and activities.