Welcome to The Burlington Obedience Training Club!
The Burlington Obedience Training Club was organized in 1972 and soon became - and remains - Vermont’s only AKC-licensed obedience club. Originally strictly an obedience club, BOTC has evolved over the years and now offers training sessions, seminars and AKC licensed competitive events in four AKC companion event areas: Obedience, Rally, Agility and Tracking. The Club offers training sessions and educational seminars for its members plus annual AKC performance trials and tests attended by competitors from throughout the Northeast United States and Canada. The BOTC is a 501(c)3 charitable organization.
Training Philosophy
The Burlington Obedience Training Club recognizes that there are as many training styles as there are people and dogs. Through the Club’s affiliation with the AKC, we follow the AKC’s guidelines on the care and treatment of dogs at all functions that the Club sponsors. Above and beyond these guidelines, the Club has chosen to support positive training techniques and practices. Constant corrections or harsh corrections are not tolerated at any BOTC function.
Education, Training and Competition
A fundamental purpose of any AKC licensed club is public education. The AKC allows individual clubs to design and deliver their educational offerings. BOTC believes that a well-trained dog is a happy dog, a welcomed member of the family and a good neighbor. Therefore, the Club's educational focus is to offer the public opportunities to see well-trained dogs in action at communiuty events and to participate in training activities with their own dogs. BOTC sponsors competitive canine performance trials several times each year in four of the venues AKC offers: obedience, rally, agility and tracking. Competitors come from all over the Northeast United States and Canada. Admission is free and the public is welcome to come and observe.
The Club offers it's members on-going scheduled practices and training sessions in each of these four venues. BOTC hosts seminars and workshops with well-respected and nationally-known outside trainers, giving both their members and other interested people the opportunity to learn new training techniques in obedience, tracking, rally and/or agility. These seminars bring new ideas into our community and provide both individual dog owners and the various local professional dog trainers the opportunity to gain on-going training and garner new training ideas. Members of the club participate at community demonstrations of dog training and performance. At these events, members working their own dogs demonstrate AKC competitive sports that the Club supports, and speak about their dogs, training opportunities and Club events. BOTC events have a reputation throughout New England for being enjoyable, well-run events with excellent judges and facilities. As a small club, we rely on the efforts of our members to host these trials each year