I don't want it to seem like I'm coming off as cheap or anything, but are puppy classes really necessary?

We've already managed to teach Kingsley several tricks, we're still working on "stay" and "drop it", but he lays down on the floor while we're eating, doesn't jump on the couch or bed, and knows the "no bite" and/or "nice" command.

Our vet hiiiiighly recommends puppy classes for "basic obedience training" and socialization. I COMPLETELY understand the importance of puppy socialization. I have several friends with dogs of all ages that have already asked for puppy play dates once Kingsley is fully vaccinated.

Have any of you skipped the puppy classes? Have you found yourself wishing you had done it? Are they a necessary expense or can my pup do without?

xo

Nothing is necessary.

We did all our training in house and the girls are better behaved and trained then most dogs we meet. I'm not saying they are perfect, but they are obedient and respectful.

If you have the time, knowledge, and commitment to do it right you can get away with training yourself.


The big draw to puppy obedience classes is the socialization. Before you get around to getting all the shots it isn't the easiest to socialize them. Puppy classes tend to allow you to do that in a more secure and safe matter.

You can also get a decent trainer who can show you different ways to approach problems you may have or noticed that you never thought of.

If this isn't your first pup and you know what you are doing, or are willing to do the research needed to learn how to be an effective trainer or handler they aren't a necessity.

~Chris~

I never took any of my dog's to puppy classes, until we got our first Husky. I already knew how to train a puppy, so I was just using the class for socialization. It helped out a lot, because Hayden was a shy pup and it really brought him out of his shell. I didn't take Nicky to puppy classes, but the school did offer a free puppy party meet every Saturday that we attended with her.

I never took Saber to puppy classes. He grew up with my parents dog who is roughly a year older than him. He was my first dog when I was 19 and I taught him everything he knows. Heck, he still learns new things almost 14 years later!

Anyway, I don't regret not taking him and I certainly don't think he's suffered for it. Just my !

As long as the other dogs are vaccinated, Kingsley can meet them. Cheyenne was always with other dogs when she was young, waiting until 4 months old is a big gap to wait.

I have done 2 structured obedience classes in my life with the dogs. First was Mickeys CGC class and then Ewe and his obedience classes. Personally I think they're great- they help you teach the dog to learn and behave appropriately in a different setting with the distractions of other dogs, other people giving treats, and playing with their dogs. A good training facility is worth a lot in the long run.

I took both of mine to the obedience classes and I am glad that I did. I was a first time dog owner so I had no clue on how to train a dog. I found them very helpful the first time around. It was also great for socialization. However if you already know how to train and are able to socialize them I don’t think they are absolutely necessary.

I had planned on taking Saphire to puppy training classes. I even put down a deposit. But about a week before our class they changed trainers and the new trainer thought husky's were untrainable. I demanded my deposit back and by the time I found a new class to take, I had already trianed Saphire to do what we would learn in the class and she had been well socialized. I don't regret it one bit. I have met several dogs who have taken training classes and Saphire is far more well behaved than they are. Also if your concerned about training with distractions, just go to the park or other high traffic area to practice (after full vaccination of course).

As for waiting until your pup is fully vaccinated to do puppy play dates with your friends pups, I don't think this is necessary. If your friends dogs are healthy and fully vaccinated themselves and your pup is current in their vaccination schedule they should be fine to meet. I was a little paranoid with Saphire so I made my friends bring their dogs to our yard (lots of things can pass through feces and urine) until Saphire was fully vaccinated.

I did all Kale's training myself.

I grew up with little dogs so I understand how to train them to do tricks, Kevin on the other hand was a cat person growing up. Going into getting Loki I want to have a well trained dog that I could control (for the most part has long as there is no squirrels). Nothing is fun about a full grown husky running at full speed dragging you behind them. Puppy class and obediance class have helped out a lot with socialization and just basic training. Our trainers pick up on things Kevin and I may be struggling a bit with or help adjust our techinque so Loki responds better. They will work with us separately on things we struggle with or give us "homework" . They give us a lot of attention because they know "He's a husky puppy" . Loki's loose leash walking has improved radically and I do credit the advice from the trainers. We are working toward Loki CGC. Personally has a first time Husky owner, I'm glad I went this route.

I never took any of my dogs to training. Granted, by the time I got Rogue, I was already a trainer myself. Both my dogs have their CGC and one is a service animal, the other a therapy dog, so I'd say I did okay.

I didn't take Bella to training because of my schedule, the area around me has a TON of dog owners so socialization wasn't a big loss and I've had dogs and been around them my whole life so training hasn't been a big issue. If I have a problem I haven't experienced before I look it up and see my options. One of my neighbors happens to be a trainer so I have a mentor if needed. It would be nice to do a class to see the trainer's take on things but it isn't necessary if you've owned dogs before.
The other nice thing about joining one of those is socialization for you too. You might meet some people that know about cool little places to bring your pup or good out of the way pet stores and let you know what places to shy away from. If you have a bunch of friends that own pets though I wouldn't worry about it.

I thought the same thing as you.. But i started classes and i love them.. The ones i go to are fun and i learned a few things.. I also like that im training him in the presence of other dogs.. He gets distracted sometimes but those are the good times to train him

I didn't do puppy training - but I took my puppy to Handling class for conformation. I'm glad I did though.

Just a piece of info, a vaccinated 6.5 month Aussie puppy was just diagnosed with Parvo after a show in my area. This was not a new strain of parvo and the dog had all its vaccinations. I know I am going to be careful from now on with puppy training and stick to dogs I know.

We did 2 different classes with our (almost) 1 year old, Luna, when she was between 5 and 9 months old. Honestly, I don't think we could have the dog we have today without the classes. Luna is extremely smart and stubborn, and the classes taught us how to train her more than anything else. She even knows "this side" when we are walking her on the leash and don't want her to get wrapped around a pole, tree, etc... she automatically switches to whichever side we are on. She also knows "sidewalk" for when a car is coming, plus tons of other tricks and necessary commands. It's up to you really... if you have the patience and skills to do it yourself, go for it. If you have some extra funds that can go towards obedience training, I highly recommend it. Good luck! Happy training :-)

Even though I have owned dogs before, and I trained Kennedy pretty darn well , I wish I would have taken Sheba to a class. Now, she isn't some crazy, unruly husky who gets away with whatever she wants to. It isn't anything like that. I just feel like she would have highly benefited from a class. She was attacked by an off leash dog when she was a baby (around the time she would have been in a training class) and while I'm making progress with her, it would have been nice to a professional helping me along the way. She has loose leash skills, she knows some basic commands. Still though, I am hoping to put her into a class very soon. The hard thing is that because where I live, the closest trainer is over an hour away, that's what kept me away from puppy classes.

I would also like to throw out there that I wouldn't take my dogs to a PetSmart or Petco trainer. I had put my Lhasa Apso through a Petco class..biggest waste of money EVER. The trainer was only focusing on how "cute" Kloe was, she just stuffed her with treats. While some people have had success with those training classes, I would rather have a REAL trainer. Pet store trainers (last I heard, this could be outdated) only have to pass the stores requirements to obtain a training certificate. I would rather put up the money to have a real trainer do the job and do it right the first time.

I agree that Petco/Petsmart puppy classes are a waste of money and not to bother. A real training program with a competent trainer often costs less as well. I found that puppy classes were beneficial to the social enrichment of the pups over almost anything else, just my own personal experience.

Sheba&Kennedy wrote:

I would also like to throw out there that I wouldn't take my dogs to a PetSmart or Petco trainer. I had put my Lhasa Apso through a Petco class..biggest waste of money EVER. The trainer was only focusing on how "cute" Kloe was, she just stuffed her with treats. While some people have had success with those training classes, I would rather have a REAL trainer. Pet store trainers (last I heard, this could be outdated) only have to pass the stores requirements to obtain a training certificate. I would rather put up the money to have a real trainer do the job and do it right the first time.

I totally agree with this. If I were to ever get another dog that I was going to take to training, I'd take them to a professional, most-likely Joel Monroe at Big Valley Dog Training in Delhi, close to where I live. He trains Schutzhund,, basic obedience, advanced, (I think CGC as well), and is fairly well-know in Cali. A lot of Police Dogs get trained by him. He imports all his German Shepherds from Germany and does trials with his dogs there as well. He also brings his dogs in where I work; such a nice guy.

I only had time to skim..

If you are a first time dog owner with zero experience, a new puppy, and very low reading comprehension/instruction following capabilities, you should probably consider puppy classes to make sure you get firsthand assistance.

If you have no time to ensure proper socialization to people and dogs on your own, and need help because you're extremely busy, or have a pack of dogs, young children, etc etc, puppy classes can really be useful to keep the dogs from developing any bad behavior.

PetCo/PetSmart classes are a joke. I refused to continue interviewing with them when they started explaining their training process.

Most responsible people, who are willing to do the bookwork, and find advice forums etc, do not need puppy classes

While I had no dog ownership experience when I got Nikko at 9 weeks of age, I hardly have a low reading comprehension, and I found that our local PetSmart classes were very helpful. I would have to disagree that all PetSmart training classes are a joke, perhaps the ones in your area may be, but that is not the case with every trainer at PetSmart.

I went ahead and took my second puppy to a local trainer not affiliated with a chain store, and I felt that I was not as helpful as the PetSmart classes.

I just think that not all PetSmart trainers or stores are created equal, and what works for one person does not necessarily work for another. In my personal experience it did work for me.

PetSmart and PetCo are chains. National chains. Their training program is uniformly the same throughout the nation, I'm sure. They have PetSmart and PetCo corporate created training guides, and classes that you take to become PetSmart or PetCo certified to train dogs the PetSmart and PetCo way. If your trainer was especially useful, that would be the fluke incident, in my opinion.

I'm saying this having AT LEAST 3 PetSmarts, and 3 PetCos within 20 miles of me. The PetSmart in Woodinville actually banned the kennel I worked for from brining dogs on outings to their store because we were inadvertently taking training clients from them. Oops.

The trainers that work at the PetSmart in this area are certified by the AKC, and they are not trained by anyone affiliated by PetSmart. The company provides the space for the classes, and the trainers have to adhere by the “positive reinforcement” but our PetSmart does not create the training guides for the classes here.

I’m just saying that not all stores and trainers are the same, maybe it is something about the region that your in, perhaps all PetSmart stores have their own training policy. I have talked with many people that have taken the PetSmart classes at my local store, and every one of them had a positive experience.

The training program at PetCo on the other hand, is a joke here. They don’t even have a regular trainer and they recycle trainers every 6 weeks.

K9_Eric wrote:

PetSmart and PetCo are chains. National chains. Their training program is uniformly the same throughout the nation, I'm sure. They have PetSmart and PetCo corporate created training guides, and classes that you take to become PetSmart or PetCo certified to train dogs the PetSmart and PetCo way. If your trainer was especially useful, that would be the fluke incident, in my opinion.

I'd have to agree having had experiences with Petsmarts in AZ, WA, and MT. All of them were not only a joke of a training program but a rip off! I ended up finding a wonderful local dog training club that was a much better training experience as well as less than half what Petsmart was charging-

jschrader wrote:

The trainers that work at the PetSmart in this area are certified by the AKC.

FYI to become a recognized AKC trainer (CGC evaluator) is actually really simple- it's an online test providing you meet the requirements to take the test you too can be a certified AKC trainer.

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/evaluators.cfm

HuskyMom09 wrote:

jschrader wrote:

The trainers that work at the PetSmart in this area are certified by the AKC.

FYI to become a recognized AKC trainer (CGC evaluator) is actually really simple- it's an online test providing you meet the requirements to take the test you too can be a certified AKC trainer.

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/evaluators.cfm

My point was that the PetSmart trainers in my area are not certified by just PetSmart. I am just saying that I had a good experience at the PetSmart here, in fact when I used a local trainer for my second pup I was disappointed with the training and ended up going back to PetSmart for the intermediate classes (which they also let Nikko repeat for free).

Back to the original question - In my personal experience it is not a necessity to take puppy classes, but I found them very helpful.

I think it's really unfair to issue blanket statements about a company on training. Not all Petsmart or Petco locations have lousy trainers, and not all trainers outside of those stores are good. Yes, you have had less than stellar experiences with them, but plenty of people on here have had awesome experiences. Just as Jason had good luck, we had two incredible trainers at our Petsmart in podunk FL and I would absolutely go back to a Petsmart and at least evaluate their training program to train another dog. Our trainers were both sent to a months long training program before they were allowed to work in the store, and we had nothing but success with them. Honestly the worst problem I had was the private trainer that we had to bring in for CGC and therapy testing, she was a huge flake. It's fine to share negative experiences, I honestly think it's necessary so that people have enough information to make a decision, but to say "all ______ training programs are worthless" is a little out of line.