Good dogs!

SANDY CREEK — Casey, a Chesapeake Bay retriever, had had enough of the commands.

He lightly stepped a few dozen yards and sat at the gate that would allow him back into his kennel, indicating to the humans it was time to quit.

But more than a latched gate was foiling Casey's easy way out. Certified dog trainer Neil W. Matthews gently prodded him back to the center of the fenced training area and told the dog again to lie down.

"He's finally realizing, 'OK, he's not going away,'" Mr. Matthews said. "I have to end up the winner here. If I end up walking away thinking, 'He won,' it will take forever for him to hold this command."

Nearby, Dublin, a retriever-chow mix, was having better luck with her trainer, Rachel M. Whitaker. After several tries, Dublin stayed at the down command. Sheeven didn't come when called, but she eventually got the idea, wagging her tail and walking into the outstretched hands and warm greetings of Mrs. Whitaker.

A few minutes later, Dublin, from the down command, watched as Casey remained in his down command as Mr. Matthews walked away. Casey got up and walked to Mr. Matthews only when told to.

It was another lesson learned at Certified Canine Services, where dogs from near and far — as far as South Carolina and Wisconsin — go when their owners become frustrated with their behavior or disobedience.

Certified Canine Services is located about 4 miles from the Oswego County village of Sandy Creek, off Route 62 in the town of Richland. Mr. Matthews began the business in 2001, working at it part time out of his garage while employed as a manager at Stickley Furniture Co. in Manlius. The next year, he quit Stickley and turned to dog training full time.

He has no lack of customers; his waiting list to get dogs into his programs is six weeks. He does little advertising, relying on word of mouth, creating little "cells" in the areas where the dogs return to, impressing all with their newfound skills.

"Each year for the past four or five years, I've seen a 20 percent increase in the overall program," Mr. Matthews said. "Business continues to grow."

He said that at the beginning of this year, he wondered if that would still be the case.

"January was slow as always," he said. "But February came, and like clockwork, the phone started ringing."

The business usually trains 10 dogs at a time, five for each trainer.

"Each dog is trained for 20 to 30 minutes on rotation," Mr. Matthews said. "They need two hours to regroup after a session."

K-9 LEARNING CENTER GRADS

Mr. Matthews grew up in Michigan and later relocated to Central New York. He moved to Oswego County in 1998.

"My family used to come up here camping," he said. "We love the outdoors and we have some friends here."

He became interested in training dogs at age 12 after seeing a television program on the topic. He tried out the techniques on his family's dog.

He graduated from National K-9 Learning Center inColumbus, Ohio, in 1997 as a master trainer.

Mrs. Whitaker, a native of the Sandy Creek area, is the other full-time trainer. She graduated from the center's master trainer course in 2007.

The business is rounded out by Mr. Matthews's wife, Rebecca, who performs record-keeping and secretarial chores, along with two part-time kennel helpers.

"People say we make it look so easy," Mr. Matthews said. "But the thing we push a lot is that people need to understand their dog."

Mr. Matthews attributes the success of the business to dog owners who are strapped for time.

"People are so busy in today's society that a lot of people don't have the time or patience," he said. "But they love their dogs and want the best for them."

He said he also gets a lot of references from veterinarians, who may have a client who wants a dog euthanized because of unruly tendencies — usually aggression.

But an aggressive dog can be helped, Mr. Matthews said.

"Most dogs that are tagged as being aggressive are not," he said. "Humans read it wrong. Dogs are physical in nature."

Mr. Matthews said one of his success stories involved two dogs in the same house who often fought. "Now they're home and living together fine," he said. "(They) just needed to be taught what was appropriate and have an owner who understands that."

'TRAINING THE OWNERS'

There are strict rules for dogs at Certified Canine Services. Actions not allowed include excessive barking, jumping on other dogs and bunching, where more than one dog crowds around another.

"The hardest part is training the owners," said Mrs. Whitaker. "To get owners to change their behavior patterns is harder than the dogs."

Dogs, Mr. Matthews said, require strong leaders.

"I don't have a magic wand," Mr. Matthews said. "We start the process and it's up to the owners to continue the process."

When clients pick up their dogs, they are shown a DVD of the dog obeying commands. The difference is shocking to some owners.

"They say, 'That can't be my dog,'" Mr. Matthews said.

"Some people cry," Mrs. Whitaker said.

"To me, obedience training is not to sit, down, heel and come," Mr. Matthews said. "It's working with their personalities. Sit, down and heel are aresultof good obedience training. We try to get the owners to understand the mechanics of their dogs."

GROWL OF APPROVAL

Classes at Certified Canine Services include a canine socialization class for a $35 evaluation fee and then $5 per class; a two-week obedience camp for $650; a three-week camp for $850; and a four-week camp for $1,250.

During a social-skills session in the fenced area, more than a dozen dogs ran around unleashed, with Mr. Matthews and Mrs. Whitaker determining what was acceptable behavior and what was not.

The activity is key to building social skills and battling issues like shyness and aggression. It's not like a dog park, which Mr. Matthews described as "uncontrollable chaos."

The smallest of the bunch, a gray scruffy female dog named Daisy, was constantly being picked on by the others and often rolled on her back in a submissive posture to the larger dogs. Finally, she got tired of one dog, a male chocolate Labrador puppy who was constantly in her face, and gave the Lab a little growl.

"The other dog is saying, 'Get out of my space — I don't like it,'" Mr. Matthews said. "She's telling the aggressor to back off. He'd never get the chance to learn that without this environment."