hey all!
I've been thinking a lot lately about having Finley trained by a professional (because I have no clue what i'm doing) and I wanted to get some opinions. I found a really awesome trainer near me who has great reviews and has pretty reasonable prices for what you get. There's multiple "packages" and I'm not sure what to pick. Im deciding between a 6-week program where I would take her once a week for a private session for a little over an hour. Then, there's a board and train program. This would be 3-weeks and she would be left there with him to be trained. I know board and trains have their quips but to someone like me being a busy working student, the idea is very appealing. Does anyone have experience with a board and train? For the program I'm looking at the trainer does spend time with you after the 3 weeks to teach you how to practice all the commands and such.

Also, she's only about 5 months old so I don't even know when the best age would be for me to do all of this. I'm still doing my research and haven't come close to a decision so if anyone can help me on this I'd be so happy!

Board and trains are best suited to dogs with strange problems like severe dog aggression obsessive qualities that need constant attention to get over. What are you hoping for her to learn at this training? A basic obedience course at any age will go a long way in giving you the tools you need and since you don't have a real direction on how to train yourself you will get more time learning with a standard group class than you will with a board and train, even with the little run through at the end. The problem for me with the board and trains for normal training is that they hand you a 'perfect' dog that is done, but then you have to try to not undo all that expensive training before you can basically catch up with training yourself. One on one is a nice way to learn how to do things yourself if you are really uncertain about what you are doing. You do get that one on one step by step guide tailored to you and your knowledge. I think the nice thing about the group classes though is that they do double duty. Your dog gets lots of stimulation to help better solidify the commands you are teaching and you also get to meet people who are more on your level with understanding how to train so you become a sort of support group. Group training is much cheaper too. A group class might run you $200 for several weeks of training whereas when I was doing one on one training it was $40 a class, which is cheap in some places, and it added up really fast.

Oh you're so right about not undoing everything after the training is over, that would be horrible! I just want her to learn better manners pretty much. Obviously the stubborn husky isn't the easiest to train so it's been hard to teach her not to jump on tables and to leave us alone during meals and basic stuff like that. I'd just love for her to behave in front of others so I'm not apologizing all the time because jumping on people is cute when she's a 25 pound puppy but not so much when she'll be older. I'd love a group class it's just so hard to find people who will understand how huskies work, you know? I've heard so many bad stories about trainers being rude/unpleasant toward husky owners because of how stubborn and independent they can be and I would hate for that to happen!

Look for a trainer who has husky experience and just ask him how he usually trains. You want a positive reinforcement trainer, but after talking to the trainer for a while you should be able to get an idea of his attitude. If you want her to behave around people then a class that puts her around people will probably do her some good. If I was you I would start with a basic group obedience class. They should address things like jumping, barking, and teaching stay. Stay is how I would work on her to leave me alone during dinner. Put her in a sit stay while you eat and make her hold it. If you can go through a CGC (canine good citizen) certification program they will give you the tools to help her be a calm and gentle dog. CGC is the course most, if not all now, dogs who do hospital and school visits go though. Those dogs have to be calm and gentle and tolerant. The class teaches that and when you're done you get paperwork that lets you take your dog many places you wouldn't normally get to take them.

that sounds awesome! I'll have to look into that for sure. i'm going to keep researching and see what I can find!