Building Better Bonds and Skills With ‘Man’s Best Friend’ Through Local Club

more than just a training place. We’re all friends too,” said Becky Babicz, Training Director at Imperial Polk Obedience Club (IPOC).

IPOC, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) dog training club licensed by the American Kennel Club (AKC),  has been a part of the Lakeland community since 1964 and was founded by a group of people who wanted to create a welcoming space for dog owners and their pets. Classes at the club’s warehouse at 3611 Century Blvd. are taught by experienced club members who volunteer their time to teach others how to train, care for and build relationships with their dogs.

Babicz joined IPOC in 1981 after she learned about the club while teaching summer school classes for visually impaired kids at Oscar Pope Elementary. Babicz fondly remembers when a volunteer came with a Border Collie and demonstrated how to train a dog.

“When the instructor came in I went, ‘Oh, that’s what I want,”’ Babicz said.

Growing up, Babicz often cared for stray dogs, but never had she raised a puppy.

“If a dog showed up at our house and it didn’t have an owner, I started feeding it and it was my dog for a while until it ran off somewhere else,” Babicz said.

Inspired by the IPOC demonstration, she told her husband it was time to get a puppy. A few months later, Babicz brought home an eight-week-old Border Collie puppy and took it to IPOC to get trained.

As she trained her puppy, Babicz fell in love with the canine-loving community, where she has now volunteered as a trainer for 43 years. She currently teaches the Competitive Novice class on Wednesday nights which prepares dogs and their owners for obedience trials.

A popular offering at IPOC is the Agility class, where owners learn to direct their dogs through obstacle courses with ramps, pole jumps, and a dog walk. The Agility class promotes exercise and stimulates dogs’ natural hunting instincts.

“The Agility class is a bonding sport between you and your dog,” said Colleen Conley, a club member since 2020, “It’s just me and him.”

Conley also enjoys the Scent Work class, where dogs will sniff different odors and locate them throughout the building.

Conley, who joined the club with her favorite breed, the Vizlas—a breed known for hunting— discovered her passion for dogs when she was 12 years old and convinced her mom to go look at puppies.

“It was a huge mistake,” Conley said, “You never just go look at puppies.”

After their visit, Conley was “super fueled,” and studied dog encyclopedias to memorize as many breeds as possible until she found Vizlas.

Conley graduated as a pilot from the Naval Academy and now is a pilot for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Lakeland.

“One of the big things that drew me to Lakeland was proximity to work and the fact that there was a dog training club,” Conley said, noting she learned about IPOC through researching dog clubs in the area. “It allowed me to pursue hobbies outside of work.”

Conley has formed friendships with fellow dog lovers through the club and has attended competitions where their dog’s showcase their abilities.

“There are some wonderful club members and people I’ve met people that I otherwise would not have if I didn’t join IPOC,” Conley said, “The club also gives my dogs something else to live for and enjoy. They love to be challenged, to learn, and not be in the house all day.”

For dogs who love more of a challenge and can bring joy and assistance to their owners, IPOC also offers free training for service dogs. For the last 17 years, Etta Robinson has been the Service Dog Trainer at IPOC.

“There are some wonderful club members and people I’ve met people that I otherwise would not have if I didn’t join IPOC. The club also gives my dogs something else to live for and enjoy. They love to be challenged, to learn, and not be in the house all day.”

– Member Colleen Conley

Robinson discovered the club through her involvement as a dog trainer for 4-H—America’s largest youth development organization—and she eventually became a trainer for the IPOC after a lady in a wheelchair came to one of her 4-H classes to train her puppy as a service dog. With the help of Robinson and the kids from 4-H, they trained the puppy.

“Eventually the kids grew out of 4-H, but then I had more people coming in wanting to train their dogs. So that’s how the class started and from there, it’s taken off,” Robinson said.

Currently, mobility training is the only service dog training offered at IPOC, and it is individualized to the handlers’ needs. Robinson teaches dogs to do vital tasks like flip light switches, retrieve items for their handlers, and assist them in getting up from a chair. The class also includes public access training, where the dog and handler are accompanied by a trainer to places the handler visits regularly. This helps the dog become familiar and comfortable with the area.

“I think a service dog is more part of a person than just a normal pet because they depend on each other,” said Robinson, “The service dog also just makes the life of the disabled person so much easier. It gives them more independence.”

Robinson announced earlier this year that after 17 years training with IPOC, she will be retiring this fall. As this chapter ends, she said she is grateful for the people she’s met and the dogs she’s been able to teach.

“I think about some of the dogs and I get choked up. I think about a lot of the people and I get choked up,” Robinson said, “Just being able to see what these dogs can do for their handlers all these years was just absolutely amazing.”

Although Robinson is retiring, her service dog class will be continued by one of Robinson’s students, Edna, who has been attending classes with her service dog since 2013. “I’ve been with her ever since,” Edna said, “Etta is amazing.”

Inspired by Robinson and Robinson’s husband, Dennis, who would also teach classes, Edna became licensed as an instructor and evaluator, and also became CGC (Canine Good Citizen) certified.

“All of this is because of the Robinsons, especially Etta. She opened her heart, her soul, her mind, and her knowledge to me and that’s what I plan to pass on to my students,” Edna said, “I’m going to open my heart to them. I’m going to be patient with them and I’m gonna share all my knowledge with them so that they can have a better dog.”

From Edna to Etta to Colleen to Becky, IPOC has been “more than just a training place.” At IPOC, people and pets discover their community and sometimes, even their purpose.