The Knoble Dog

Welcome to the Knoble Dog!

Where training is fun and individual needs are met. Household obedience classes and all levels of agility are offered. Scroll down the page for more information on our background, classes offered, an up-to-date schedule, our facility, a photo gallery, and information on how to contact Laura.

The Knoble Dog Story

Welcome to The Knoble Dog, where training is fun and individual needs are met! Knoble Dog is owned and operated by Laura Knoll and offers household obedience and agility classes. I have been training and competing in agility with my Dobermans and border collies for over 10 years and enjoy sharing my knowledge with others, whether they want to compete at top levels of competition or simply enjoy playing with their dogs in a class setting.

The Knoble Dog, LLC officially began in 2004 when I began teaching household obedience classes and later agility classes in Muscatine, Iowa and a couple years later added a location in Davenport, Iowa. Dog training first began for me when my son, David, and I wanted to get a well-bred Doberman puppy that “we might show.” Well, before you knew it, we had 4 young Dobermans and were totally addicted to showing them in conformation, junior handling and my true passion, agility. I currently have 4 Dobermans and 3 Border Collies of varying ages, all of which are in training or retired from agility.

My training program focuses on developing a strong bond with the dog through positive reinforcement methodology, using whatever the dog finds rewarding. Each dog is different so it is important to be able to understand the messages that the dog is sending to us as trainers and find the best way to help the dog understand what we want and how they can earn the rewards that they want. This requires that we carefully observe our dogs and be flexible to their needs during the learning process. I strive to help students better understand the messages their dogs are sending and to problem solve how to overcome whatever challenges they are facing.

For agility classes, I believe in providing dogs with a strong foundation of basic skills that provides the basis for communicating with the dog and teaching higher level skills. Agility requires that the dog have many skills, but success with the sport requires a strong system of communicating with the dog where to go, and very quickly. My foundation program is based on the handling system of Linda Mecklenburg, as I have learned from my instructor and mentor, Dana Pike. This method uses basic principles of movement and position that dogs naturally understand, so it makes sense to them and transitions well to putting it all together to run entire courses.

In 2011 with the purchase of my current home outside Geneseo, Illinois, I was able to fulfill a lifetime dream of owning an acreage and combine that with my new goal of having my own training facility. After a couple of years of renovations and solving an endless series of unexpected challenges with my indoor arena, I am very excited to begin classes in the fall of 2013 at Knollane Farm. Currently, I am holding classes in Davenport and at Knollane Farm.

I bought Knollane Farm in November 2011, and family and friends wondered whether I should be committed. The property had been minimally maintained due to some unfortunate circumstances of the prior owners, so there was a lot to be done with the house, arena and grounds. But, I saw the possibilities and had a vision for the future. While it will be many years before the vision is fully realized, we are well on our way after renovating the house, starting to reclaim the grounds and preparing the arena for agility classes. My thanks extend to John Puentes of Puentes Construction for the home renovations, and to Paul Santschi and his tireless efforts and creative solutions to the seemingly never-ending problems with the arena. Also, many heartfelt thanks to my mom for the many hours helping me with staining and varnishing woodwork, painting, installing vinyl planking, grouting tile, and cleaning many dirty things. Thanks so much, Mom – the price was right! Also to my friend Sue Franck for showing me how to lay tile and helping me get started. A lesson learned – laying 1000 square feet of tile as your first tiling project is just possibly a bit too much!

The following are a few pictures of the arena, which don’t begin to capture all the monotonous hours of work to turn the bare, unimproved pole barn into a suitable training facility.

February Agility Workshops!

In February there will be four workshops! For more information on these available workshops or future upcoming ones and how to get signed up for a workshop; please contact Laura by either email, phone, or leaving a message here on our website below.

Spaces are limited, but currently there's room in each workshop!

Click the link below and then the expansion icon on the top right of the image to view at full zoom.

January Agility Workshops!

For the month of January, there will be FIVE workshops focusing on varying skill levels from Novice & Foundation Work to Intermediate & Advanced Handling Skills! For more information on these available workshops or future upcoming ones and how to get signed up for a workshop; please contact Laura by either email, phone, or leaving a message here on our website below.

Spaces are limited, but currently there's room in each workshop!

Click the link below and then the expansion icon on the top right of the image to view at full zoom.

Knollane Farm - Open House!

With the Knollane Farms training arena finishing the final work, we are getting excited to open our doors to the public next month!

We invite you to join in celebrating the grand opening of Knollane Farm’s Dog Training facility on Saturday, October 19th, 2013! View the new training facility and dog park, and enjoy playing a few agility games. Our doors will be open for the general public from 2-6pm. Refreshments will be served.

We look forward to meeting new guests and seeing old friends soon.

Location

The Knoble Dog is located conveniently off of I80 and I74 near Geneseo, IL. Click the map to get directions.