Welcome to Pup Scouts!

Build Skills and Earn Badges

Home Schooled Hound is now offering a fun and engaging program for pups!

Earn merit badges for your dog’s Pup Scout bandanna and proudly show off how smart your dog is!

Enjoy fun monthly meetups with fellow scouts and practice your dog’s skills through competitive training games in a supportive and friendly atmosphere. Cheer each other on while socializing your pup and enjoying a community of dog lovers!

Have a fearful or reactive dog? They can join the program too! You can schedule private “skill demonstration” sessions so your pup can still earn their badges in a safe and low distraction environment.

Join Pup Scouts

FAQs About Pup Scouts

How do I earn badges?

There are two ways to earn badges:

Classes or private sessions: Join classes and workshops to learn the skills required to earn badges, or acquire the skills through private sessions if your dog learns better in a quieter setting
Skill demonstration: If you and your dog are independent learners, you can train your dog on your own and then demonstrate your dog’s skills at the free meetups or in private “skill demonstration” sessions with a Home Schooled Hound trainer to earn patches.

How much does it cost?

It costs $25 to enroll at each level (Pup Scout and Beagle Scout levels).

With enrollment, each pup will receive:

Scout bandanna
Free access to monthly meetups where you can demonstrate skills required to earn badges
Digital Pup Scouts handbook
Opportunity to win monthly prizes through games at meetups
And more!

Patches are free for current clients who are enrolled in private training sessions or who earn patches through classes and workshops at Home Schooled Hound. Those who wish to demonstrate their dog’s skills at meet ups can purchase their patches for $5 each patch.

What if I’m not a client? Can I still participate?

Absolutely! If you’re not a current client or enrolled in any classes, you can still earn patches. There’s two ways to do so: you can demonstrate skills at the free meet-ups. If you can’t make the meet-up or if you and your dog prefer a quieter setting, you can also demonstrate skills through a private skill demonstration session. The cost is $25 per private 15 minute session, and includes personalized tips from your Home Schooled Hound behavior consultant to help your dog succeed and earn their patches.

How many patches can I earn?

There’s always something new to learn! This program is designed to grow with your dog. Each dog will start at the Pup Scout level and earn the necessary patches before graduating to the Beagle Scout level. Stay tuned for more information!

How do I sign up?

Meetups will begin in February and further information will be announced as the program rolls out officially. If you would like your dog to be a founding scout member, join today!

Meet The Certified Professional Dog Trainer

Sarah Rodriguez

Sarah Rodriguez graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in Psychology and is a certified professional dog trainer (CPDT), Certified Dog Behavior Consultant (CDBC), and Fear Free Professional. She has 20 years of experience working with shelter and rescue animals. Her primary interest is canine behavior and is actively learning about the latest research and scientifically proven methods of dog training.

Sarah attends and speaks for canine behavior and training conferences and reads dog training literature, communicates with other dog training professionals, and learns through experience by working with a variety of dogs. She currently shares her home with a dog, a parrot, and a cat, and volunteers with a local shelter. She has been an animal lover since childhood and passionately advocates animal rescue.