is it better for your dog to go to classes to be trained or is it better for a professional trainer to come to your house about 1-2 times a week?
is it better for your dog to go to classes to be trained or is it better for a professional trainer to come to your house about 1-2 times a week?
I’ve found it’s all about the individual. How do you learn better, in a group or one on one? Since you are the one being “trained” in the techniques, you must consider how you would best learn them first.
The more confident you are & the more you know, the better you can teach your dog.
Some people feel too stressed & put under spotlight in classes. Although it has the advantage of teaching your dog how to obey even when distracted.
Some people are not comfortable with bringing a stranger into their home for private lessons. Although it has the advantage of a more personal relationship with the trainer, who is more able to answer questions & know you & your dog on a personal level.
Edit: I should also have added that puppies tend to do better in classes because they get the socialization of other dogs & haven’t yet (hopefully) developed any bad habits that need one on one attention. Dogs with behavioral issues tend to do better with a trainer coming into the home. That way their issues can be observed & accessed in the environment where they are happening, & the dog can get more attention to where their needs are.
Most of the time the owner misses the point of “dog” training.
What a trainer at class is doing is training “you” to train your dog, and the only difference with a one-to-one is that they are looking after one person/one dog, but that’s an expensive way around it.
Think dogs also benefit from class purely to make them ignore other dogs sometimes as well as say hello when invited to.
Best of luck and enjoy.
Generally, the absolute best way is to have the dog trained “in kennel”. The dog stays with the trainer for 3 to 8 weeks depending on the level of training. You start to come in and learn how to handle the dog once he’s got a few of the commands down. This way, the dog is trained to it’s highest potential, and you just have to learn how to enforce the commands. Most people cannot “read” dogs. If you are instructed with a method…and the dog changes as soon as you’re in a different environment..or when the trainer leaves, everything you’ve just been told to do is wrong. Group and private lessons do NOT (contrary to popular belief) teach you to train dogs…they teach you a method. Hopefully that method is appropriate for your particular dog.
I would only enroll my dog in classes for socialization and if I needed a trainer I would bring them to my home. One because they get more individual attention and also because they can address certain behaviors that would not be present at a class. So it is also most like “taylor made training” verse a general training which is easy enough to do on your own.
It depends on the individual dog. In general, I prefer going to class. That way the dog is socialized with other dogs and with other people. And I’ve found that most dogs really enjoy little outings like that.
But if a dog is fearful of strangers or aggressive with other dogs, it may be better to have in-home training until the dog is to a point where it can be out in public.
Enroll your dog in a basic obedience class to learn the ‘Heel,’ ‘Sit’ and ‘Stay’ commands. When your dog is learning a command, say ‘Good’ the instant she exhibits proper behavior, and then follow up quickly with a reward of treats and more praise. Begin increasing your expectations very slowly. For example, lengthen by a few seconds the time your dog must sit before you shower praise. Reward even the slightest sign of effort your dog is making to meet your increasing expectations. Move on to other commands once your dog is comfortable with ‘Heel,’ ‘Sit’ and ‘Stay,’ and with training in general. Train throughout the day, when you have free time, in a quiet area free from distractions. Limit each session to 5 to 10 minutes.
Have you thought about doing the training yourself? You may have seen Cesar Millan in the show “Dog Whisperer” (which I’m not a big fan of that name), but he has several books and DVDs on training your dog yourself. There are also a lot of resources online, some of them free. You could potentially save yourself a fair amount of money. Though, you obviously need to consider whether you feel that you have the time to research and learn what you need to teach versus going to a class or having a professional come to your house. Just my two cents.
It depends on you and your dog.
I like group puppy classes for young dogs to help with socialization. In fact, I prefer group classes for most things. But if you have a dog that is aggressive or needs a lot of help, then private lessons (either at the trainer’s or in your house) are the best option.
I took my dog for obedience training and he is a very tamed dog, but you have to make sure you take them at a young age because the more older they get the more they grow out of learning you new things.
It’s better to go to classes to be trained. This way you learn how to train the dog yourself.
classes are overall better with not just training but socializing with other dogs and people
I think trainers should be bought in when all else fails with training
why not train him your self? you will build rapport way better teaching your own dog. that is what i did.