First day of puppy class/Review of Petco
 

I took Ruger to his first class at Petco today. I have a feeling whether the training is any good or not is up to the individual trainer, but I felt right from the start Ruger and I were in very capable hands and I learned a lot. It was just a gut feeling when I met the guy a couple of weeks ago, and I was right.

We worked on Sit, Stay, Off, Look, his name and walking on a leash. Ruger was a star, but I obviously have a lot of work in front of me to make sure this behavior continues. The trainer seemed to know exactly why Ruger was doing the things he does, and had a good handle on different breeds, behavior problems and how to resolve them using postive reinforcement.

The only problem we had was Ruger got so many treats in class he puked all over the car on the way home. DON'T feed your dog before a puppy class. :eek: 1. He won't be receptive to the treats. 2. He may puke on the way home.

All in all I'm very pleased with Petco's puppy classes and look forward to going back next week. I even came home with a sheet covering what we did today, and a good book covering each class, and a great review with tips on what to do if your dog won't cooperate. A very good compliment to the class.

:good job:Way to go Ruger!


Regarding the throwing up on the way home, poor guy, were the treats something you give at home, or were they a variety new to him?

Thanks for the good question. I never thought about it. I brought some treats with me that I usually give him, but the trainer was beating me to it with treats I've never given him.

Those treats have to be at your fingertips at all times when training -- I bought a treat bag. Seems you only have a few seconds to reward or the dog hasn't a clue why you are giving him treats. Happy, but clueless. ;)

I am glad I caught this thread. Roxie starts her training classes tomorrow. She has a delicate digestive system to begin with, so I am very nervous about the training treats.

Based on what I observed, the treat can be anything the dog likes. Maybe if you don't feed your dog that morning you can just give her normal kibble, or talk to the trainer or your vet.

I should add that the trainer did break up the treats into very small portions. It doesn't take much, it just has to be tasty. That said, it still adds up over an hour.

Also, you can go in someone else's car. Ruger is fine, but my girlfriend's car took the hit. LOL :D

Good advice, I was feeding Joey before we went to a tricks training class, and I had to keep on upping the tastiness of the treats to tempt him. I now train Joey with his regular kibble, and he seems quite interesting in training. Hope Ruger does well in the class, I think the socialization is great for them!

i didnt know petco had training classes, i knew petsmart did but there is not a petsmart in my area, how much were the classes?

LOL! Tip of the week!

Try the Authority Liver Treats. They are what our trainer recommends and uses. Not only do the dogs love them but they are soft and you can just pinch off small amounts so your dog doesn't get full so quickly. I bought mine at Petsmart but Petco may have them too.

Good luck on your classes....

I think the classes were $100 for six one hour classes. They seem to have them whenever you want -- private or with other dogs.

As I said before, I highly recommend talking to the instructor before signing up. It's not the store. It's the instructor.

:thumbup::thumbup:

Great advice! By the way, Petsmart had the same prices.

Informative thread, just what I needed. I hate to admit this but when i got to the part of "so many treats during class he puked in the car" I just busted out laughing. I think if I had to clean it up it wouldn't be so funny.
I laugh because it is something that would happen to me.

We just started training class at Petsmart last night (last week's class was cancelled). I enjoyed it and so did Roxie. The instructor is a real no nonsense kind of guy, but I learned a lot already. We only did "charging the clicker" and "Look" as far as training exercises because the rest of the class was a lot of introduction stuff and questions. I am looking forward to the next 7 weeks (it was 8 weeks for $109). :)

Oh, and she did well with the treats in class (no barfing!), though the instructor urged us to buy a treat pouch and our own treats for the rest of the classes. I bought Pet Botanicals pork/lamb training treats. I tried them out on her at home and she seems to like those as well.

We signed up for the puppy training classes yesterday at Petsmart-I think it starts on the 21st. I can't wait for Holiday to socialize with other puppy's. She's so full of energy, and I feel bad she doesn't have an outlet to let it all out. I'm hoping it will help her chewing/biting problem too. The treat thing is good to know, thanks :-)

I agree 100% with you... meet your instructor before you go...it is NOT about the store but the person