Dog Training Schools - Some Things to Consider

If your dog displays reckless behavior, is overly aggressive, or is in need of a little obedience training, you may want to seek professional help from a dog training school.

You Love Your Dog, But Do You Love His Behavior?

You probably love your dog dearly, and may even consider him a member of your family, but you don't necessarily love his behavior.   If your dog has a hard time obeying your commands, if he acts recklessly or aggressively, you may want to get your dog professionally trained at a dog training school.

How to Find a Dog Training School

To find a local dog training school, look in yellow pages of your phone book, in the classified section of your daily newspaper, or do an internet search, using your zip code and keyword phrase "dog training school." You may also want to ask your veterinarian, or perhaps a relative or friend who has had their dog professionally trained for a school recommendation.

You will likely find a number of schools in your area that offer dog training, but don't just pick out the first one on the list.  Check the schools out, do some research to determine if the type of training that they do is going to be in line with what you're trying to accomplish.  There are different methods to train dogs, and you're probably going to find some you like better than others. 

Talk to the school owners, managers, and/or trainers, and read their printed material, pamphlets and fliers to get a feel for how they do things.   It's good to look for these things in advance so that you can choose the right school from the start. 

Here are a few things to consider before you choose a school:

1. Does the school offer group training, private training, or a combination of both?

Group training classes contain up to 10 dogs and their owners.   While group rates are more affordable than private sessions, your dog is one of several other dogs in the class, and will not get the individual attention he may need at first.

Private sessions on the other hand, while costing more than group sessions, have the distinct advantage of giving your dog personal one-to-one training.

Most schools allow you to switch to private training if the group sessions aren't working out for your dog, but verify that they allow this before you enroll your dog in the school.

2.  What kind of training does the school offer?

There are three basic types of dog training provided by most schools:

1. Puppy training

2. Dog Obedience training

3. Advanced dog training

Make sure the school you select offers the kind of training your dog needs to receive. For instance, if your dog is a young puppy, you will of course want to put him in a puppy training course, not a regular dog training course.

If you have a grown dog, who won't obey or who is exhibiting behavior issues, you will enroll him in the dog obedience training class.

If your dog is already obedient and generally well-behaved, but you would like to further refine and improve his obedience, you should consider the advanced dog training courses.

3. Consider the Cost

You can consider the cost in two ways.   First consider how much money it will cost you to send your dog to training school.  Whatever amount you pay for training should be considered an investment that will yield long-term benefits for both you and your dog.

Secondly, consider the cost of not sending your dog to school for training.   While you will save some money on the front end by not having your dog professionally trained at school, without the proper training your dog will likely continue to give you problems.  In some cases an untrained and unmanageable dog can even become a danger to you and to others.

4. Can you train the dog yourself? 

Most people like the thought of sending their dog away for a week or two and getting them back both obedient and trained.  What might surprise you about many of these dog training schools however is that they typically work with the dog for only a couple of hours a day at the very most. In reality, that is all that is really necessary to train a dog and to teach them basic obedience within a two-week period.

You may find that it is more to your benefit to spend an hour or two every day training the dog yourself rather than sending them away to one of these dog training schools and letting them do it for you.