Obedience Training Classes

Why are training classes important?

Never underestimate the importance of taking your dog to obedience training classes, even if you are not that worried about getting your dog to sit on command or the perfect recall they can still be beneficial.   Dogs need physical exercise (we all know that), but what most people don’t realise is that they also need mental exercise.  A dog that doesn’t get enough mental exercise can get bored, hyperactive or depressed.   Maybe your dog never seems to settle to sleep or paces round the house, maybe he sits in the corner chewing his tail or his feet for hours or maybe he has taken to chewing the furniture or the remote control to the telly.  Obedience training could help.  It won’t solve any of these problems directly but may provide the stimulation that he is crying out for.  It doesn’t stop there, this kind of training can help increase a dogs confidence and make him more sociable, it can help get your dog better socialised with other dogs and people that he meets at the class, it will give you both something to do together and therefore increase the bond you share, you will get to meet other like minded people and best of all its fun.  You can take the whole family – kids as well, and even if your dog never learns anything look at what he has gained instead and if he does well at it then that’s a bonus.

But, before you rush down to your nearest or cheapest training club, hold on, as with everything in life there are good ones and bad ones, don’t forget you get what you pay for.  My advice is do your research – ask your friends for a recommendation or ask the vet.  If you are still none the wiser get in touch with a few and ask if you can sit in on a class, a good club will be very happy for you to do this.  Don’t worry about what the dogs are doing and how good they are, I would be more interested in what training methods are used and how the instructor interacts with the people and dogs.  Avoid any club that encourages any form of punishment (this is a cruel way to train and is ineffective anyway) - reward based methods like treats and clickers are best, and when the class is over ask some of the people that are there what they really think of the class.  Also consider the amount of people and dogs that are at the class, if there is more than 8 and only one instructor, you will not get as much one-on-one help.  At the end of the day if you are comfortable with the class after all of this, you have probably found a good one – get your name down quick and look forward to spending some rewarding time with your dog.  Good luck.  

I am available for private basic obedience training, however, this is not always the best option for the dog or your wallet.  Obedience classes are always the preferred option.  If you are still interested in private training then please click here.