For over five years now, the Needle Nose Crew has promoted greyhound obedience classes. We have encouraged longtime as well as new greyhound owners to share an hour a week and ten to twenty minutes a day exclusively with their greyhound companions. This shared time opens the lines of communication and helps develop a closer bond with our wonderful and loving companions. It adds a dimension to the love we have for our four legged friends that cannot be achieved by just taking walks or playing in the back yard.

Now that spring is just around the corner, new obedience classes will be forming all over the Southland. This year we have received an enormous number of phone calls and e-mails asking advice about such classes. Many of these inquiries have come from greyhound owners living outside the Orange County area. In order to assist people with this increased interest, we contacted some NNC members who live outside our immediate area and asked for trainer recommendations. Many thanks go out to those members who helped us put a list together of trainers who have greyhound experience and reputations for accomplishing both top quality and animal friendly results.

For those of you who live in the San Fernando Valley area and are interested in advanced classes, we recommend Moira Cornell. Moira’s efforts lie within the competitive obedience field. She can be reached by calling 818 999-5962.

Many of you live in the San Gabriel Valley area and can obtain basic beginning group obedience classes by calling Terry Bednarczyk at 626 287-0527 or Mary Fry at 562-923-7807. In addition, those of you who might be looking for advanced, competitive classes can inquire into Mary Fry’s schedule, as she offers both programs.

Shifting over to the western area of Los Angeles, we recommend contacting Vickie Chaney. Although Vickie’s classes are conducted through the El Segundo City Recreational Department, you can contact her at 714 893-0246 to discuss details. In order to schedule a class, you may contact the City of El Segundo directly by calling 310 524-2700. Vickie’s classes are basic beginning obedience, which follow an AKC format that will assist in future advanced classes if you decide to continue your grey’s education.

Now to move south into the Orange County area, the Needle Nose Crew has always recommended Mike Gallas’ Dog Logic classes. Please refer to the following article on Manners and Socialization. You may reach Mike at 949 689-0483 for further details about his upcoming sessions. In addition, we would like to also recommend the wonderful team of Peter Gonzales & Lynn Pearson of Human-Canine Connection. Peter and Lynn not only give basic obedience class instruction in the local area but also have an in home service to assist with rescue dog adjustments. Each of us who adopts an ex-racing greyhound can contact their original adoption group and/or the Needle Nose Crew for assistance in settling a newly adopted grey. However, there are times when a dedicated home visit will ease the initial problems that some of our canine friends can encounter. Peter and Lynn have extensive experience in this field and offer families of rescued canines substantial discounts both for the home visits and subsequent classes. You may reach the Human-Canine Connection at 949 857-5471.