Not everyone walking down the aisle does so on two feet.

An increasing number of brides and bridegrooms are including their dogs in their wedding ceremonies, whether as ring bearers, flower girls or attendants.

Getting Rover to hit all his marks during the nuptials is the job of trainers such as Nancy Kieffer, director of training of the Butler Dog Training Association, 1017 Evans City Road, Connoquenessing Township, and Joe Orsino Jr., owner of Mr. O’s Dog Training Place in Lower Burrell.

Longtime trainer Kieffer said, “We’ve had several people come through our classes because they wanted a dog in the wedding.”

The first couple who brought their dog to Kieffer for training, she said, wasn’t a bride or bridegroom.

“It was the parents of the groom. They wanted their Scottie to be part of the wedding.”

Orsino, who has been training dogs for 40 years, said he’s trained dogs of all breeds from the age of 12 weeks to 12 years.

“Training a dog for a wedding depends on the dog and what they want the dog to do in the wedding,” said Orsino.

“Most people at least want the dogs in the wedding photos. They are such an important part of the family,” said Kieffer.

Making sure the ceremony goes off without a hitch takes a lot of time and effort from both the animals and their owners, both trainers said.

“The main part of our training is our comprehensive three-hour class, and that way the dog is able to listen. Communications is important in dog training,” Orsino said.

“We have an eight-week class that meets one night a week,” said Kieffer. “We teach them patience, repetition and positive reinforcement.”

“The three-hour starter class, that’s the beginning. A lot of it has to do with owners having an understanding of how to work with the dogs,” Orsino said.

The bride and/or bridegroom, Kieffer said, “will have to work with the dog on their own. It’s a lifetime commitment, the same as a child. It’s the same as imparting knowledge to a child.”

Training also depends on what role the dog is expected to play.

“I interview the bride and groom and find out what they want the dog to to do. I’ll go to the church to see if we can do the training at the church,” Orsino said.

“The in-laws and the parents, they are going to be big part of the wedding ceremony as well. I have to see how the wedding party is going to fit with the program,” Orsino said.

“Even though dog training is a big part of it, there are so many avenues, so many details that come into play,” he said.

“Once they do get the three-hour class, that gets the ball rolling. I like to start the training, depending on the dog, generally about three months before the wedding, so the owners are learning to work with dog and to take care of any behavior issues,” Orsino said.

He added that a month before the wedding he likes to make a dry run with the dogs walking them down the aisle.

“That takes a couple of training sessions and a couple of sessions at the church,” Orsino said.

Including dogs in weddings has caught on.

“Whenever I do wedding shows, people go crazy over the idea. I train maybe 20 dogs during the wedding season,” said Orsino.

“I think it has been going on for 10 to 15 years,” said Kieffer.

“Again, it’s a family thing. The dogs are members of the family.”

Orsino takes a more personal responsibility for the canine ceremonies.

He said, “I guess the wedding dog thing came when I trained dogs to be in my own wedding.”

“I had two dogs — a german Shephard mix and a border collie/shepherd mix. They were the flower girls, walked down the aisle by themselves.”

“It was an outside wedding. They laid down beside where we were having the ceremony,” he said.

Orsino said he or one of his assistants attend every wedding featuring a graduate of his training.

“I can’t really say what makes a good breed for training. I think it’s the personality of the breed,” Orsino said.

“I’ve never lost control of a wedding,” he said,