I was put on the waiting list for a local puppy training school and they told me I would have to wait about 4 weeks so I decided it would be too long to wait so I found another school. We went for the first time last week and Rolo did really well. The first puppy training school has got back to me now and they can fit Rolo in. The first school is on a Thursday and the 2nd on a Wednesday night. The first school has great reviews, they told me to feed him his breakfast and lunch but not his tea and bring along sausage, cheese and ham (Rolo has only ever had kibble) they do clicker training. There is lots of pups there apparently. Ok pros and cons First puppy school: Pro's Clicker training Great reviews Lots of other pups Cons Change to diet Don't have a clue about clicker training The lady is a bit strange. Second puppy school Pros First week did well One to one training (no other pups) Cons No other pups no clicker training really annoyed with comment re choc labs being dim Really unsure which want to go for. On this forum so much positive talk about clicker training. Any advice gratefully recieved. Kris
Re: Opinon please Is trying one of the first classes an option too so you can see first hand how it differs?
Re: Opinon please Tricky. I would go for the first one if only for the socialisation, but I like to sit on the fence, so would keep my options open with option 2.
Re: Opinon please Go to the first one and have tiny bits of cheese/ sausage and kibble as well. Mix it up a bit. Its really good to train with distractions
Re: Opinon please I'd go the first one too. If only to see just how strange the lady can get! I like the fact pups are there. It's always good to learn from older dogs but the socialisation and being at the same level as age related peers would sway me.
Re: Opinon please I have never used cheese or ham etc, I use pieces of kibble. Do no need to change diet, just use pieces of dried food as treats.
Re: Opinon please I did 2 different training sessions for a little while until I figured out what was best for me/Kenzi, so if budget allows you could try that, some will let you turn up just to see if the environment is for you and your dog which one of mine did. I think the suggestion to bring sausage/cheese/ham is probably geared towards your dog possibly being more distracted, so higher value treats will likely be better to get/keep their attention. If your dog will do anything for kibble then it's probably not needed but I've always had to use roast chicken at training due to the other dogs being a massive distraction. If I introduce a treat I just give it to her and then see if there's any adverse reaction within 24hrs, if not, it's usually safe to say she'll be ok with it in training.
Re: Opinon please Hi, I guess ultimately the best place to go is the one where you and your dog feel the most comfortable. It is surprising how the different approaches adopted by trainers varies. I go to a large dog training club and have gone to different sessions with several trainers who use slightly different approaches- some of which I've found have worked for me and some of which haven't. The trainer I go to with whom we've done our obedience sessions is excellent. We've been going since Molly was 12 weeks old and have worked our way through the kennel club good citizen award scheme right from puppy through to gold. She always advocates using high value treats so as to get your pups attention and get them working for you. There are a lot of distractions in a training session which you need to compete with - smells, other dogs, toys etc!! Some dogs will work for kibble and I certainly use this at home but personally I've found it just doesn't cut it when you want them to concentrate in a training session! Hope you have fun with your puppy! Vikki and Molly
Re: Opinon please Maybe a good idea to try both? We are all adults in our house so we go to puppy school for training and socialisation , there are children there, lady in a wheel chair scooter , so good for socialisation, of different peopl and different dogs,
Re: Opinon please Try both, and ditch the one you like the least There is a lot to be said for socialisation and clicker training so I myself really like the sound of the first one.
Re: Opinon please I agree, try both, and THEN decide which is best for you and your puppy. The fact there was a waiting list for the first class and none for the second MAY be an indicator that the first class is better. Not necessarily though!
