Confidence, Calm, and Connection in a Controlled Setting

The 2-Hour Socialization Class is designed for dogs who need guided exposure to other dogs, people, and real-world situations—all in a safe, structured environment. Whether your dog is shy, overly excited, reactive, or simply needs more practice staying calm around distractions, this class offers the ideal setting to build social skills and emotional resilience.

With a focus on reading body language, managing arousal, and supporting positive interactions, this class helps dogs learn how to navigate social situations with greater ease and confidence. Handlers gain valuable tools and strategies for reinforcing calm behavior and building trust through consistent guidance.

This isn’t a chaotic free-for-all—it’s thoughtful, intentional socialization with structure and purpose. A great fit for dogs of all ages and experience level.

Location: Park of Choice. Check our Facebook for event location.

Investment: $10 for 2-hours

🍁Practical Obedience for Real-Life Calm
Build skills. Strengthen connection. Prepare for the season ahead.

Get your pup holiday-ready with our cozy, seasonal Fall Focus Clinics—a six-week series of themed obedience training sessions designed to help dogs stay calm, focused, and well-mannered in real-life situations. Whether you're prepping for guests, travel, or just peaceful neighborhood walks, these clinics offer the perfect blend of structure, fun, and practical skills.

🐾 What to Expect:

Each weekly session targets a different core obedience skill or real-world behavior challenge—all taught in a clear, supportive format that’s easy to follow and fun for both dogs and handlers. Our training focuses on:

• Reliable leash manners (even with distractions)

• Calm greetings at the door

• Settling quietly around activity

• Coming when called

• Focus and impulse control

• Polite behavior in social settings

🎃 Seasonal Highlights:

• Pup-kin Costume Week (optional, just for fun!)

• Graduation Photo Day – capture your progress 📸

• Fall Skills Certificate – celebrate your success 🎓
  
  

🐶 Who It’s For:

• Dogs of all breeds and ages (basic obedience recommended.

• Handlers looking for extra practice, structure, or support

• Anyone preparing their dog for the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

Location: Wells State Park
  159 Walker Pond Road
  Sturbridge, MA

🕐 Duration: 7 sessions (1 hour each)

💰 Investment: $150 for 7 sessions

3-Session Basic Obedience Program – With Behavioral Support

Ready to build better behavior and a deeper bond with your dog? Sit Happens Behavioral Specialists is proud to offer our 3-Session Basic Obedience Program, designed for dogs and their humans who want more than just sit and stay.

This isn’t your average obedience class—this is training with heart and purpose. We teach essential commands like look, sit, down, wait, leave-it, come, loose leash walking, drop-it, household manners, and polite greetings—but we do it with an emphasis on emotional regulation, impulse control, and handler-dog connection.

✨ Perfect for:

• Dogs 4 months and older

• First-time dog guardians or those needing a reset

• Families struggling with jumping, pulling, or overstimulation

• Anyone wanting to learn why their dog behaves the way they do—and how to help them succeed

✅ What’s Included:

• 3 private, in-home training sessions (60–90 minutes each)

• Printed obedience & behavior guide

• Custom training homework tailored to your dog

• 30 days of follow-up support

• Optional public practice upgrade available

This program lays the foundation for a dog who’s not just obedient—but emotionally balanced, focused, and bonded to you.

Location: Wells State Park
  159 Walker Pond Road
  Sturbridge, MA

🕐 Duration: 3 sessions (1 hour each)

💰 Investment: $150 for 3 sessions

🐾 Strengthen Skills. Build Focus. Train for the Real World.

Our Intermediate Obedience Class is designed for dogs who already have a foundation in basic cues and are ready to take their training to the next level. This class helps refine existing skills while introducing more advanced exercises that require greater focus, control, and responsiveness—especially around distractions.

Whether you're looking to improve consistency at home or prep for real-world challenges like busy sidewalks, guests, or group outings, this class bridges the gap between beginner obedience and advanced reliability.

🐶 In This Class, You’ll Work On:

• More reliable sit, down, and stay with added distance and duration

• Loose-leash walking with real-life distractions

• Come when called from greater distances

• Impulse control around people, dogs, and tempting environments

• Focus and engagement in new settings

• Polite greetings and calm behavior in group settings

This class is perfect for dog owners who want to deepen their bond with their dog, prepare for public outings, or set the stage for more advanced training and service work.

Let’s turn good dogs into great ones—together.

Location: Wells State Park
  159 Walker Pond Road
  Sturbridge, MA

🕐 Duration: 3 sessions (1 hour each)

💰 Investment: $150 for 3 sessions

🐾 Focus, Flow, and Fun with Every Step!

Ready to add rhythm, connection, and creativity to your training? Our Doggy Dance & Heel class blends the precision of structured heeling with the playful movement of canine freestyle. Whether you’re looking to polish your dog’s heelwork, build better engagement, or just try something new and joyful, this class offers a unique way to train together and have fun doing it.

Through music, movement, and mindful footwork, you and your dog will learn how to stay connected while walking together in sync—even with fun twists, turns, and tricks added in!

🎶 In This Class, You’ll Learn:

• Focused heelwork with turns, changes of pace, and smooth transitions

• Engagement games to boost attention and teamwork

• Basic canine freestyle moves like spins, leg weaves, and bows

• How to combine cues into short, rhythmic routines

• Confidence-building for both dog and handler

• A better heel that feels natural, light, and in sync

🐶 Who It's For:

• Dogs with basic obedience skills (sit, down, stay, leash walking)

• Handlers looking for a fun, relationship-building activity

• Great for high-energy dogs or those who love to learn and move

No dance experience required—just a leash, some treats, and a willingness to have fun. Come heel, twirl, and groove with us as we build obedience and style one step at a time!

Location: Wells State Park
  159 Walker Pond Road
  Sturbridge, MA

🕐 Duration: 3 sessions (1 hour each)

💰 Investment: $150 for 3 sessions

🌿 Adventure Obedience – Outdoor Challenges 🐕

Drop-In Dog Training in Real-World Nature Settings

Does your dog know their obedience... until a squirrel appears? Want to build focus, confidence, and control in real-life environments like trails, parks, and urban greenspaces?

Adventure Obedience – Outdoor Challenges is not your typical obedience class. This 6-week series is designed to test and strengthen your dog’s training in the wild — with real-world distractions like joggers, bikes, wildlife, and unpredictable terrain.

🧭 What You’ll Learn:

• Reliable recall around squirrels, birds, and distractions

• “Stay” on logs, rocks, or near moving people and wildlife

• Loose-leash walking and heel on trails and uneven terrain

• Impulse control with smells, sights, sounds, and temptations

• Confidence-building in new environments and dynamic settings

🐶 Best For:
Handlers comfortable walking outdoors for 30–60 minutes 

Dogs 6+ months old with basic obedience. If you are able to manage your dog yourself, you are welcome to attend! Of course we are here to assist you in any way we can!
Note: Not suitable for highly reactive dogs at this time

We rotate through local parks, trails, and greenspaces to keep things fresh and functional. No two sessions are the same!

🎓 Each Week Brings a New Challenge:
🌳 Orientation & nature engagement
🥾 Trail manners & heeling on terrain
🐿 Distraction recall with wildlife
🪵 Long stays in dynamic parks
🚲 Urban impulse control
🎉 Real-world adventure course & graduation hike

📍 New Environment Weekly – Real-World Ready Obedience
We’ll meet in different parks, trails, and urban greenspaces each week to give dogs and handlers fresh challenges and opportunities to grow together.

Location:Various Parks. Check our Events on Facebook for more information on the Starting location for this class.

🕐 Duration: 6 sessions (1 hour each)

💰 Investment: $150 for 3 sessions

🐾 Task Training for Everyday Helpfulness

This class is perfect for dogs learning to assist their handlers—or just those who love to fetch with purpose! Whether you're training a future service dog or want to teach your companion how to be more helpful around the house, this class focuses on building the skills needed to retrieve objects calmly, confidently, and reliably.

We break down the retrieve into easy, step-by-step exercises that teach your dog how to pick up a specific item, hold it gently, carry it, and deliver it right to your hand.

🔁 In This Class, Your Dog Will Learn:

• Targeting and identifying items to pick up

• Gentle holding without chewing or dropping

• Carrying and delivering objects to hand or lap

• Problem-solving and focus under light distractions

• Starting task work for future support dog goals

🐶 Great For:

• Service dog handlers working on retrieval tasks

• Dogs who love to carry and work with their mouth.

• Pet parents who want their dog to fetch more purposefully.

Bring your dog's favorite toy or object to practice with—plus a treat pouch full of rewards! By the end of this class, your dog will be ready to retrieve with skill and enthusiasm.

Location: Wells State Park
  159 Walker Pond Road
  Sturbridge, MA

🕐 Duration: 3 sessions (1 hour each)

💰 Investment: $150 for 3 sessions