I always second guess every decision I make. I have asked questions on here before about dog behavior problems and most people are mean. However they recommended training. So I looked into different ones. I finally picked one because I needed a lot of help with my dog. It is odd because my area does not offer training and I never see anyone walking there dogs and training is a little taboo here or not known about. My vet could not even provide me with a trainer reference. So this is all new to me.
OK there are two schools that caught my eye. I went with the one farther away and most expensive lol...
I met the people and had a great feeling about them. However I have never taken a dog to training before.
The trainer had experience 15 years and starts with treats then takes them away. He said he uses confidence building with toys and games. The owner and the trainer met me at the door which I thought was impressive and answered a lot of questions I had. I stayed for about an hour or more talking with them. The facility was nice and I feel I am paying for it though. My dog's room even has a TV. I got a tour of the facility and it has a spa, cafe, swimming pool and agility course. The owner personally owns many dogs the same breed as mine. I got to see the dogs in action somewhat. The trainer took my dog and worked with him while talking to us. He told me he would learn about five commands along with basic behavior. They said he needed at least two weeks there but a month was the best. It will cost over $2000 for the month. He gets at least one hour training each day and I payed for fetch and play 30 minutes and he will go outside 4 times a day to use the restroom. I took my other dog with me that doesn't have many behavior problems and they said they could do a lot with him in a week. (He is older and has trouble on the leash). They said they both could stay in the same room for 24 dollars more a day but that doesn't include the training.
The other facility is where I actually bought the dog from. The price is cheaper and they learn 11 commands but the off leash commands are not guaranteed and I understand that. The commands are basically the same as the main five he is learning but a little more detailed such as a sit stay and a down stay. Plus they learn some hand signals. The use positive behavior method without treats. They said that is what they were taught in school to do since the dog isn't always hungry. They also use a choke collar. However the other trainer also showed me one that he may use to train him with. It had triangle like metal things on it. So I guess they are about the same with that part. But the one I bought him at is not a nice facility. I have seen it and I am sure it would be good enough for a dog though. However they sold me my dog when he was 5 weeks old and I understand that it wasn't a good thing to do now. This facility provides training of more commands for a much cheaper price. They even offer protection classes and also train police dogs. The facility he is in does not do that for insurance reasons they said.
So I am wondering if I should go with the one he is in and if he should stay for just two weeks and let my dog join him next week. Or let him stay the month and pray it is worth it and let my dog join him later. ...Or go and get him sooner and take him to the other place for private training or to stay there. I have no dog trainers in my area so they said it would be good to leave him there instead of driving an hour and half each week for lessons. I have a pretty open schedule though.
My dog has been there 4 days.
I am just confused and don't want to get ripped off and I don't want my dog to be unhappy and I don't want to be unhappy.
Any advice?
Here are the links.
http://www.uptownhounds.com/
http://www.chaparralk-9.com/
Achieving Dog Training Success With The 18 "Don'ts" Rules
Recommended Answer:wow ... that's a lot.
OK
first thing: find a trainer who will work WITH you.
your first option sounds more like a doggy daycare.
I'd be very surprised if they actually train your dog anything...I can almost guarantee: when you get your dog back nothing will have changed except that he'll have extreme seperation anxiety, thanks to the TV &may forget how to behave in a home environment, since he'll have his own "room"...I'm sorry, 30minutes a day for play time is NOT enough. They need constant attention. They're pack animals, not cats. BTW, treat training is useless.
>>how old is your dog now?
I have no clue where you live, but I wouldn't trust any of these "trainers".
**personally ... the guadi website isn't impressing me at all! (uptown hounds)
FYI: the triangle metal choker is called a "Prong Collar"
&like the guy said before me "AKC White German Shepherds" = non-existence. Yes there are white german shepherds...but it's a disqualification in the AKC. neither one sounds good.
**i have the feeling the pool in your first option is just for show. In the photo gallery, there are only 3 dogs shown in the pool. It'd be more believable if they had more dogs.
Dog Training - The Right and Wrong Way
- The bottom line is you NEVER send your dog to anyone for any kind of training. Obedience training, or any kind of training, is something you do with your dog. The instructor teaches you how to teach your dog and that's all they do. You don't build any kind of relationship with your dog by sending him away, nor will your dog listen to you when he comes back.
You're making a huge mistake if you send your dog away.
- Quite frankly, I see severe problems with both those places.
It's not that I'm opposed to sending your dog for training. Dogs with sever behavioral issues often benefit from it, but neither of these places are places I'd take my dogs. Both are doing things that send up red flags to me. Big ones.
Keep searching.
- You don't say what YOUR training goals are. If you want police training, then the second one says they do that, but I have my doubts. The first one looks like a nice doggie hotel or day-care. No mention of a training program, though.
Keep your money. Never consider sending your dog off "for training" without you. The trainers probably can do what they claim, but you will not be able to duplicate the results. Dogs are not computers that just need the right software load. Learn how to train your dog yourself and you will have a great relationship and you will have the ability to teach your dog about anything.
Check with your local dog clubs, sport dogs, AKC competitive training clubs, etc. Call the agility clubs. Even if you don't want to do these sports, these are the people who can hook you up with some really reliable advice.
Also, the second one breeds "AKC White German shepherds" and wolf hybrids which are illegal in Ohio. Don't go back to them.
- I also prefer to train my dogs myself, at classes. My sister is in Fla, and she did send her dog away for training. They were having a lot of problems and were not successful in correcting them, even with classes. It did a lot of good and the dog is easier to handle. If they had kept up with practice, the dog would be really well trained. My sister however is intimidated by the dog, so some of the training was lost. I do agree with positive training, and do not use any type of prong or correction collars. That is really the biggest thing I didn't care for at these places. They don't have a lot of information about their trainers to look at. Both places look pretty nice. If you are having big problems, this may be ideal for you. I would say as long as you can make the trip to visit with your dog and see the progress, then that is good. If you go and see the dog and are not seeing much improvement, then think about taking the dog elsewhere. Good luck
- Ok, in my experience, obedience school is done with the owner there. I don' know if its because of where I live, but we take our dog to a class once a week and they show us how to train our dog. The best person to train your dog, is you. I would not feel comfortable sending my dog away to be exposed to god knows what especially if your on the fence. Its just me. If I were you, I would save your money, pick up books. Stanley Coren is excellent and do it all yourself. Not only will you strengthen the bond between you and your dog, your dog will respect and listen to you. Also, your dog would probably feel most comfortable with you. If I left my dog to someone else, she wouldn't of learned anything being too sad and missing me. Not to mention the confusion of lifestyles and who to listen to! Good Luck
- Interesting. I have never considered sending my dog off to have someone else train it. I have always taken my dog to classes or trained my dog here at home. The deluxe spas certainly sounds nice. I think that treat training is the way to go. If the training is done in a friendly method. i would be a little afraid of a school that taught aggression training.
- I agree with the first answer, I would not want my dog trained when I was not also there at the same time. I would want to see everything they were doing with my dog and watch the training methods so I could get a good understanding of how/what to do.
Also, I would worry about someone having my dog, someone that I do not know. Does not matter that they call themselves dog trainers, you still are not watching over your dog.
If I had to choose, I would choose the place where I could go for hourly lessons once or twice a week and then practice what they showed me all week till the next lesson.
And as for the training, your dog may learn lots of good lessons and behavior but if you do not follow through with the same techniques, consistently and with assertive energy, your dog will go back to his old ways immediately. He will not forget how he was with you and in your home(pack) before training. He will want to revert back when he is back in familiar surroundings.
Also, the price of $2000. seems so high.
Have you considered buying your own dog training videos. There are many out there.
Dogs are really quite basic in their thinking, not involved and complicated like humans. Behavior problems develop when dog owners do not understand basic dog psychology.
Dogs know two ways to be...either they are the leader of their pack or one of the followers.
Most dog owners unintentionally allow their dog or one of their dogs to assume the leader position. Then the problems develop.
Well good luck with whatever you choose.
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- I wouldn't use either place. And here's why:
1st Place)
You should NEVER send your dog away to be trained - the dog will bond with the person training him/her and will listen to the one they work with. It does not guarantee that the dog will listen to YOU.
Also, the dog is working in an unfamiliar area. Any behavior problems MAY NOT SHOW UP for that reason. The dog needs to be working in your home, where they feel the most comfortable.
More often than not a dog will do excellent in a facility but will revert to the bad behaviors at home, even if you try to continue the training and games.
Confidence boosting and all that fun stuff sounds good, but what good is it to get the dog to trust YOU if you are not there from day one? You don't know the commands, you don't know the body language that warns you of an impending "incident", you don't know how to handle the dog or any incidents that may pop up....
It basically sounds like you're paying someone else to do YOUR job as an owner - IE taking the easy way out.
2nd Place)
They gave you a puppy at five weeks. Now that's acceptable in some situations (IE mom dog is dead) but they did not tell you how to properly care for or train the puppy (since it missed out on a lot of learning experiences it would have gotten from mom.)If i had to choose one over the other it would be the one that insists on YOU being there with the dog. Not the one that says "I'll take 100% care of your dog for a month for a fee, then hopefully it'll listen to you later one!"
PS - Choke collars are pretty out dated and can cause injury if not used properly - i don't see them being used for years to come.
However a LOT of trainers are using Prong collars for dogs who need them as an extra boost to listen to the handler - they are correct that not ALL dogs will work for food rewards and SOME dogs will ignore them altogether if they are in aroused states (aggression, territorial, etc.)
It's up to you but i warn you - letting someone else do the hard work will more than likely create problems for YOU in the future.
- I have heard of people sending their dogs "away to school" which is not something I can relate to. About 2 years ago we got a 2 year old dog from someone. She had no manners, no training, no nothing. She didn't even know how to walk on a leash. We had been to obedience training with our other dog so, I had a pretty good idea as to what needed to be done. I spent 15-20 minutes training our new dog every night for a few months. We also took her for 1 round of obedience training (1 hour per week) where we had taken our other dog. It took time & patience but, she's now a very good dog and one we're very happy we have. I would be very unhappy and I'm sure my dog would be as well it I left her with strangers to care for her and teach her. These are things that a responsible dog owner should be doing herself.
- Go with the 1st school. From your description - the second school uses choke chains and pinch collars -- very old school and harsh.
To me - your main focus must be to continue the training when your dog returns home. Lots of people think that the school has trained the dog and it will behave perfectly from that point on. NOT TRUE!! Your dog is a dog - it will always push the envelope and try to see what you will allow it to do /get away with. You must continuing the training, continue the newly learned good habits for the lifetime of the dog. If you don't - do not blame the school -- only yourself.
GOOD LUCK!
- Personally, I wouldn't want my dog to do any training that I couldn't be a part of. That way, we are both learning together and would only build your leadership role as well as build the bond between you.
