Dog Health Questions: Where do I begin searching for a dog trainer? What do I need to know when I'm looking for a trainer?

I have a pug puppy I wanted to train. He yanked the leash out of my hands today and ran into the road... he's ok. But I definitely think it's time to find a trainer to prevent this from happening again. Do you know what I need to look for when I'm looking for a trainer? Where can I look them up? I know Petsmart offers dog training sessions...are they any good? Also, I live in Charlotte NC...so if anyone has recommendations please let me know. Thanks guys!

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Some time back I observed a few Petsmart training classes and it appeared the trainer was confusing both the dogs and the owners. Don't mean to knock them, but I just wasn't overly impressed. Its very possible it may be different in your area and maybe they've revised their training practices.

You can always ask your vet for recommendations, even Pug breed clubs in your area. Search on the web, as well. Obviously you want someone that has experience. When you come across a few, ask if you can sit in on one of the lessons (without bringing your dog, of course) and see what kind of feel you get from it. There should be no harsh or overboard corrections with any dog. Dogs and owners should be all having a good time while learning and class should end on a positive note. Pups usually need a little break during the class because you're not going to get a big attention span out of them. Usually they'll shut down after a while otherwise. A good trainer is also going to go over diet, grooming and some basic health issues, too. And you need to be mindful there a a lot of "wannabies" out there that claim to be trainers and have minimal experience and are just looking to make a buck. They do more harm than good. Usually they do a lot of harm! Go with your gut feeling from what you observe in a class.

Hope this helped a bit and good luck!

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• If your pug is a youngster you do not need a trainer but what you need is go to Obedience or puppy pre school and they will train you and the dog.St obedience which is NOT expensive they will show you how to put on a check chain which gives you full control of your dog and you can go until you feel secure and safe with the dog.in the meantime if you can get a Gentle leader although am not sure if they are for pugs given their Fiat faces.


• Visit the AKC and UKC website's to find a local obedience training club near you.
  http://www.akc.org
  http://www.ukcdogs.com
  
  You have a puppy, so no choke chains or prong collars. If any trainer suggest that, then run. Puppies should only be trained on a buckle collar.
  
  Also, look for a "Puppy" training class. Also the dogs will be pups, and the class will be geared towards young dogs, who have the attention span of a tse tse fly. They will use lots of food and games to help you train your dog.
  
  Look for an instructor who is open to using different methods. If a trainer only uses on method on all dogs, then run. If a trainer only uses the old correction based training, run. A good trainer usually has a lot of idea's up their sleeve.
  
  Generally, AKC/UKC obedience clubs are non-for-profit. They are taught by the members, who must have earned high level in competition obedience to train classes. Many of these people have trained many dogs to high levels of competitive obedience and have raised many puppies.
  
  The club I belong to runs 8 week beginner classes for $160, which is a pretty good price for my area (NYC area)