Coby is our youngest Yorkie. He is the C of ABC.  We adopted him, after a two week trial period, on January 3, 2015. At that time he was about 4 months old. Three days later, he and I attended our first night of puppy training class at Michigan Dog Training (MDT) in Plymouth, MI.

We signed up for Puppy Manners 1 and 2, which met on Tuesday nights for 8 weeks. The objectives for the class included learning to sit, come when called, lie down, walk on a loose leash, pay attention, greet people politely, and socialize with other dogs. At the end of the Puppy Manners 2 class, dogs are given an evaluation to qualify for the American Kennel Club Puppy S.T.A.R Award. The evaluation includes 20 questions regarding specific owner behaviors, puppy behaviors, and pre-canine good citizen behaviors. Dogs who pass all 20 items of the test qualify for the award, which recognizes dogs and their owners for completing a basic puppy training class. AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy training is a natural lead in to the AKC® Canine Good Citizen® Program. To learn more visit AKC.org. 

I just received Coby’s AKC S.T.A.R puppy program registration form in the mail from MDT along with a nice letter from our trainer named Erica. Now I need to mail the application along with $10 to the American Kennel Club. As a result, Coby will receive the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Medal and he will be listed in the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy records. In addition, we will receive an AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy package that includes:

• A beautiful, frameable certificate designating Coby is in the AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy records at AKC
• AKC Puppy Handbook, a valuable resource
• Discount to enroll in AKC Reunite, a 24-hour recovery service
• Ongoing Monthly Email Newsletter: Your AKC. This includes training tips and up-to-date information every dog owner needs to know. 

My future goal for Coby is for him to become a therapy dog. If that happens, we will visit people in rehab facilities, nursing homes, and hospitals. To become a therapy dog, Coby and I need to continue practicing the behaiors we learned in our classes plus a few others. At one year of age, Coby can be tested by a certified evaluator. To find out more about this evaluation, please visit http://www.tdi-dog.org/.

Below is a copy of the letter I received from our trainer at MDT and a copy of the S.T.A.R Puppy Test.