Welcome to Dog Scouts of America – Troop 217. Dog Scouts of America (DSA) was established in 1995. It is a non-profit organization of people who are dedicated to enriching their lives and the lives of others with dogs. If you believe that dogs really enjoy learning new things and spending time with their owners, you’re our kind of dog person. Dogs were not meant to be “furniture.” Working dogs want to work. Without having an acceptable activity in which to use up all of that energy that comes “built-in” with a dog, our canine companions often get into trouble. By better understanding how your dog thinks, how he learns, and what drives his behavior, and by participating in a variety of dog sports and activities, you will become a more responsible dog owner. We hope to prevent misunderstandings, communication failures and behavioral problems which often lead to dogs being given up as a “lost cause.”

By teaching people to be responsible parents for their animals, these people (and their dogs) become a valuable resource in their home communities. By demonstrating to others how dogs can easily be trained with kindness, fairness and patience rather than domination, force and intimidation, more people will become responsible owners and will not give up their dog to the pound at the first sign of a behavior problem. More than 10,000,000 dogs are killed each year in pounds and shelters after being surrendered due to some behavioral problem. One in every four dogs in this country will end up in some kind of shelter at least once. Unfortunately, most of them never get to leave the shelter. By creating owners who will commit to a lifelong responsibility of raising their dog the proper way, sharing their lives with them (instead of tying them out back), and meeting the challenges of the normal dog behaviors which are to be expected, DSA hopes to reduce the numbers of stray and unwanted dogs substantially