"It's fun and it helps keep them busy," said Lisa Vaughn, of Palmer, there at the Regine Dog Training Facility for training with her two border collies, Piper and Luna.

Lisa Vaughn, who works for the city of Palmer, relaxes with her border collies, Piper and Luna, after an agility training class at the Better Companion. Photo/Margaret Bauman/AJOC

Sheila Savoie, a special education teacher at Cottonwood Creek Elementary School, with her golden retriever, Bruno, and Carla Hendrix, a Web page designer from Houston, with border collie Samantha, are also busy putting their dogs through the class events.

"It's a good way to spend quality time with them," said Hendrix, who also brought her Springer spaniel, Buddy, along. "Claudia was so booked up I couldn't get Buddy in. We've been coming for a year and a half. It's a good way to get closer to your dog, and it's good exercise."

Good exercise indeed. Sihler's classes actively involve both dog and owner, both of who move quickly from one station to another, the owner cheering each feat with words of encouragement and small treats, within the 40-foot by 60-foot training facility.

Vaughn, Savoie and Hendrix are among the regulars at Sihler's canine training facility, which offers a full schedule, ranging from puppy preschool and foundation classes for dogs of all ages with no previous training to agility training and other skills for dogs that will compete in canine competition. There are also classes for mushing and ski-jouring.

The classes get booked up quickly and, the current economy aside, Sihler said the only difference she has seen in her business is a slight drop in the number of pets showing up for doggy day care.

Asked what they would give up, if they had to, to keep their dogs in class, the women said specialty coffee drinks and, one joked, maybe her husband.

Sihler, who worked as a veterinarian in Germany, built the facility in 2005 with her husband, Frank, a veteran of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Sihler said veterinary training aside, she wanted to be a dog trainer long before she became a veterinarian. In Germany 30 years ago, there were clubs with just volunteers who offered classes in dog training, but these days, Sihler found, it can be a good business.

Fees vary from $80 for a four-week course to $140 for seven-week courses, with discounts for preregistration. Doggy day care fees are $25 for one to four hours.

"We are doing OK," Sihler said, acknowledging that some people are more reluctant to bring their dogs for day care. "They consider it a luxury, but that's not true. The dogs need a purpose, an outlet. I think day care is a wonderful solution. They meet new dogs all the time."

All dog-friendly pooches are welcome for the facility's open play time, Tuesdays and Fridays. There are separate one-hour sessions for toy breeds and small dogs weighing up to 30 pounds, as well as for puppies and adult dogs from 40 pounds to 60 pounds, and adult dogs over 60 pounds.

Dogs who have passed the Canine Good Citizen test within the last three years also get a $5 discount on their open play time punch cards.

Puppy 1 preschool classes for dogs nine weeks to four months of age teach basic manners and commands, and teach owners to stop pets from chewing and jumping on them. The dogs can then graduate to puppy 2 kindergarten, where they learn to walk properly on a leash, stay, and show polite behavior in public.

There's a foundation class for dogs at least 6 months old, with a focus on polite behavior and loose leash walks, where any destructive behavior is also addressed.

There are also doggy elementary school, where pets learn to heel, come, stay and deal with stray dogs, a high school course to prepare the dog for the Canine Good Citizen test, agility classes and a tricks 'n clicks college, where dogs learn clicker signals for retrieving, rolling over and other commands.

Sihler said the best part of her business is when clients come back and tell her she has helped them become a better companion for their dog.

"I want to make the dog a better companion for the owner, but I also want to make the owner a better companion for the dog," she said.

Women comprise the bulk of her clientele, and Sihler said that's probably because women are inclined to nurture their dogs from the get-go.

"They see the dogs as buddies, as companions, and they readily see the need for more training," she said.

The toughest part of her job, she added, is when she occasionally has to tell the owner of a puppy in the preschool class that this might not be the best dog for them, based on the dog's personality characteristics and the situation at home.

"It doesn't happen often though," she said. "I've only had a handful of those cases."

One such case involved an elderly woman who showed up for class with a very exuberant lab-husky mix. She wanted a dog that would sit nicely in front of the fireplace, but Sihler could see this was not going to work because of the dog's energy level.

The woman took Sihler's advice and found another dog, who now sits quietly in front of the fireplace with her, she said.

Information on all programs offered by Sihler at The Better Companion are at www.bettercompanion.com.

Margaret Bauman can be reached at margie.bauman@alaska

journal.com.