Petsmart Training Classes - YorkieTalk.com Forums

lovemy3babies · 07-05-2010, 11:10 AM

I was wondering if anyone has had experience with Petsmart Training Classes, and if they are good classes. My Tinkerbelle is a biter and they said they could teach her not to bite, so I enrolled her.

It's $109 for an eight-week course. Do you think it is worth the money?

Thank you!

MlssOcean · 07-05-2010, 11:50 AM

I just signed Dharma up for the Puppy class at Petsmart! It starts Saturday. We will see how it goes! I hope it's worth the money!! I couldn't find any other trainers in the area that have classes now because so many people go on vaca in the summer. So hopefully this class will be worth the money!

I am thinking at the least, it will be good for Dharma to socialize!

CruiserCody · 07-05-2010, 12:25 PM

Cody just "graduated" from the Petco puppy class and I was very pleased. I do think it depends on the trainer but we had a good experience. He will sit, down (lie down), stay, heal (sometimes). He's working on off (jumping on us and others), no bite (he's getting much better) and barking (still a problem sometimes).

MlssOcean · 07-05-2010, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CruiserCody

Cody just "graduated" from the Petco puppy class and I was very pleased. I do think it depends on the trainer but we had a good experience. He will sit, down (lie down), stay, heal (sometimes). He's working on off (jumping on us and others), no bite (he's getting much better) and barking (still a problem sometimes).

Oh that's good to hear! We are looking forward to it!

KashasMom · 07-05-2010, 06:46 PM

Kasha graduated 2 weeks ago from Petsmart Puppy Training! Woo!

I had a pretty good experience with them, great trainer, but I hear it depends on your trainer.

I did a little bit of training before hand (sit & down) so some classes were just a chance to practice. But I think overall it's for sure worth every penny. We didn't go over biting so much because nobody in the class had an issue with that. But it is covered in week 1 or 2.

People are pretty impressed with how she knows her name & will come when I call her no matter what ( along with a few other tricks) Clicker training is AWESOME & has helped so much.

Hope it goes well for you!

cbhunny · 07-05-2010, 08:58 PM

Jasper graduated from the puppy class there. I agree that it depends on the trainer. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot of good tricks. I'd actually like to continue him on to the next class when I have the money.

2Morkies · 07-05-2010, 11:10 PM

Kashasmom is right...It does depend on the trainer AND how much you practice with your dog. I do the petsmart training and I love it! $109 is a great deal compred to the $180 at my local Humane Society.

Rhetts_mama · 07-06-2010, 03:19 AM

We graduate next week. Go observe a couple of classes ahead of time so you can get a "feel" for the instructors & find one you like. The classes are all about positive reinforcement and working in frequent, short (5 minute) intervals. We are also working on introducing your dog to others as well as walking past other dogs without going wild.

Some of the discussion areas are a little redundant, especially after being around this board. But overall the class is well worth the price. I plan on taking the next level in the Fall.

MlssOcean · 07-06-2010, 06:02 AM

This is getting me excited to start Saturday!!! I was nervous about her being in a class with different sized dogs but I guess it will be okay!!

BellaNean · 07-09-2010, 08:32 AM

Hannah finished the first class at petsmart. I love her trainer! She doesnt quite understand that we have three dogs at home and that hannah is the tinest and she needs to jump to even get noticed but everything else went well!

She starts her next class on sunday, i am excited to get her in again, not excited about the $10.00 increase in price though

Jenny Conine · 07-09-2010, 08:38 AM

[QUOTE=lovemy3babies;3187251]I was wondering if anyone has had experience with Petsmart Training Classes, and if they are good classes. My Tinkerbelle is a biter and they said they could teach her not to bite, so I enrolled her.

I enrolled Sambo over a month ago in the Petsmart class, he is still biting just as much. They did help with teaching him to sit, stay, come and lay down. I found the class to be to stimulating with the other dogs. I just paid the instructor $209. to start private lessons. I'm hoping this will work since Sambo had a hard time paying attention in class with others. Until then I have to watch him like a hawk to keep him from biting my baby. Keep me updated on how it goes.

Sambo & Jenny in Midland,TX

AddieandMiaMom · 07-09-2010, 09:55 AM

Addie and I went through Petsmart training (puppy). As others have said, it depends on the trainer. Addie learned the commands quickly (clicker training was the best thing I learned about in the class). However, our trainer pretty much just told us the basics (sit, down, leave it). She wasn't really good with questions about other things (e.g., feeding times, potty training, what to do to socialize the extremely shy dog in our class); if it wasn't in the manual we received, she wasn't going to go over it. Also, she called Addie a monster at one point. Addie gets excited when she sees people she knows, and when Addie was trying to get the trainer to pay attention to her, she bent down, picked Addie up and called her a monster. Now I know through research that the trainer should never have even approached Addie until she was calm. I wasn't the only one in that particular class that was unhappy with the trainer either.

See if they'll let you in on a class so you can get a feel for the trainer, or stop in and talk to the trainer beforehand. I spoke with a trainer at another Petsmart just before I signed up for the class and now wish I had signed up with her instead even though she was farther away.

MlssOcean · 07-10-2010, 08:23 AM

We had our first class this morning! Dharma did great! Everyone ooohed and ahhhed over how adorable she is

We pulled away from the house and I made my fiance turn around because I forgot to put the bow in her hair

We learned how to teach her to look at us and for her to know her name. She did awesome with that and we will be keeping up with it.

The good thing was that there is only one other puppy (a beagle) in the class. The other family is a little strange though...The mother was breast feeding her 2 year old (he had to be at least 2!) DURING THE CLASS!!! He was singing and talking and IMO he was way too old to be breast fed. But she is the mother and if she wants to breast feed him that's her call....I just felt it was a little inappropriate to do right in the middle of the circle during the training class....

Besides that...we had a blast and Dharma got a new toy! Jon and I got new toys also...treat bags to wear on our hip lol.

Rhetts_mama · 07-10-2010, 08:41 AM

Watch out. My husband knows to look for the petsmart bag every time we come home from class because I'm always finding some new toy we need to have

MlssOcean · 07-10-2010, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rhetts_mama

Watch out. My husband knows to look for the petsmart bag every time we come home from class because I'm always finding some new toy we need to have

I know..hahaha..and my fiance is just as bad!!! We "needed" a tug toy to practice during the week though!!

07-05-2010, 11:10 AM	#1
lovemy3babies YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Oklahoma City, OK Posts: 799	Petsmart Training Classes I was wondering if anyone has had experience with Petsmart Training Classes, and if they are good classes. My Tinkerbelle is a biter and they said they could teach her not to bite, so I enrolled her. It's $109 for an eight-week course. Do you think it is worth the money? Thank you! __________________ Hi from Oklahoma City from me and the girls: Holly, Lacey & Tinker Belle

07-05-2010, 11:50 AM	#2
MlssOcean Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2010 Location: New Jersey Posts: 241	I just signed Dharma up for the Puppy class at Petsmart! It starts Saturday. We will see how it goes! I hope it's worth the money!! I couldn't find any other trainers in the area that have classes now because so many people go on vaca in the summer. So hopefully this class will be worth the money! I am thinking at the least, it will be good for Dharma to socialize! __________________ Angela Dharma's Mommy

07-05-2010, 06:46 PM	#5
KashasMom YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: West Palm Beach, Fl, USA Posts: 292	Kasha graduated 2 weeks ago from Petsmart Puppy Training! Woo! I had a pretty good experience with them, great trainer, but I hear it depends on your trainer. I did a little bit of training before hand (sit & down) so some classes were just a chance to practice. But I think overall it's for sure worth every penny. We didn't go over biting so much because nobody in the class had an issue with that. But it is covered in week 1 or 2. People are pretty impressed with how she knows her name & will come when I call her no matter what ( along with a few other tricks) Clicker training is AWESOME & has helped so much. Hope it goes well for you! __________________ Lauren & Kasha There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. -- Ben Williams

07-05-2010, 08:58 PM	#6
cbhunny Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Oregon Posts: 147	Jasper graduated from the puppy class there. I agree that it depends on the trainer. We had a lot of fun and learned a lot of good tricks. I'd actually like to continue him on to the next class when I have the money. __________________ *Christine & Jasper*

07-05-2010, 11:10 PM	#7
2Morkies YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: USA Posts: 798	Kashasmom is right...It does depend on the trainer AND how much you practice with your dog. I do the petsmart training and I love it! $109 is a great deal compred to the $180 at my local Humane Society. __________________ MuffinBoomer

07-05-2010, 12:25 PM	#3
CruiserCody Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Florida Posts: 163	Cody just "graduated" from the Petco puppy class and I was very pleased. I do think it depends on the trainer but we had a good experience. He will sit, down (lie down), stay, heal (sometimes). He's working on off (jumping on us and others), no bite (he's getting much better) and barking (still a problem sometimes).

07-06-2010, 03:19 AM	#8
Rhetts_mama Donating YT 4000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Georgia Posts: 5,959 Blog Entries: 1	We graduate next week. Go observe a couple of classes ahead of time so you can get a "feel" for the instructors & find one you like. The classes are all about positive reinforcement and working in frequent, short (5 minute) intervals. We are also working on introducing your dog to others as well as walking past other dogs without going wild. Some of the discussion areas are a little redundant, especially after being around this board. But overall the class is well worth the price. I plan on taking the next level in the Fall. __________________ Don't get your knickers in a knot. Nothing is solved and it just makes you walk funny.

07-06-2010, 06:02 AM	#9
MlssOcean Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2010 Location: New Jersey Posts: 241	This is getting me excited to start Saturday!!! I was nervous about her being in a class with different sized dogs but I guess it will be okay!! __________________ Angela Dharma's Mommy

07-09-2010, 08:32 AM	#10
BellaNean Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 29	Hannah finished the first class at petsmart. I love her trainer! She doesnt quite understand that we have three dogs at home and that hannah is the tinest and she needs to jump to even get noticed but everything else went well! She starts her next class on sunday, i am excited to get her in again, not excited about the $10.00 increase in price though

07-09-2010, 08:38 AM	#11
Jenny Conine Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Midland,TX,USA Posts: 25	[QUOTE=lovemy3babies;3187251]I was wondering if anyone has had experience with Petsmart Training Classes, and if they are good classes. My Tinkerbelle is a biter and they said they could teach her not to bite, so I enrolled her. I enrolled Sambo over a month ago in the Petsmart class, he is still biting just as much. They did help with teaching him to sit, stay, come and lay down. I found the class to be to stimulating with the other dogs. I just paid the instructor $209. to start private lessons. I'm hoping this will work since Sambo had a hard time paying attention in class with others. Until then I have to watch him like a hawk to keep him from biting my baby. Keep me updated on how it goes. Sambo & Jenny in Midland,TX

07-09-2010, 09:55 AM	#12
AddieandMiaMom YT Addict Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 303	Addie and I went through Petsmart training (puppy). As others have said, it depends on the trainer. Addie learned the commands quickly (clicker training was the best thing I learned about in the class). However, our trainer pretty much just told us the basics (sit, down, leave it). She wasn't really good with questions about other things (e.g., feeding times, potty training, what to do to socialize the extremely shy dog in our class); if it wasn't in the manual we received, she wasn't going to go over it. Also, she called Addie a monster at one point. Addie gets excited when she sees people she knows, and when Addie was trying to get the trainer to pay attention to her, she bent down, picked Addie up and called her a monster. Now I know through research that the trainer should never have even approached Addie until she was calm. I wasn't the only one in that particular class that was unhappy with the trainer either. See if they'll let you in on a class so you can get a feel for the trainer, or stop in and talk to the trainer beforehand. I spoke with a trainer at another Petsmart just before I signed up for the class and now wish I had signed up with her instead even though she was farther away. __________________ Mommy to Addie, Dany, Mia, and Pickles R.I.P Miss Mis (Missy) 06.25.08 - Heaven just wouldn't be Heaven if you weren't there to greet me.

07-10-2010, 08:23 AM	#13
MlssOcean Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2010 Location: New Jersey Posts: 241	We had our first class this morning! Dharma did great! Everyone ooohed and ahhhed over how adorable she is We pulled away from the house and I made my fiance turn around because I forgot to put the bow in her hair We learned how to teach her to look at us and for her to know her name. She did awesome with that and we will be keeping up with it. The good thing was that there is only one other puppy (a beagle) in the class. The other family is a little strange though...The mother was breast feeding her 2 year old (he had to be at least 2!) DURING THE CLASS!!! He was singing and talking and IMO he was way too old to be breast fed. But she is the mother and if she wants to breast feed him that's her call....I just felt it was a little inappropriate to do right in the middle of the circle during the training class.... Besides that...we had a blast and Dharma got a new toy! Jon and I got new toys also...treat bags to wear on our hip lol. __________________ Angela Dharma's Mommy

07-10-2010, 08:41 AM	#14
Rhetts_mama Donating YT 4000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Georgia Posts: 5,959 Blog Entries: 1	Watch out. My husband knows to look for the petsmart bag every time we come home from class because I'm always finding some new toy we need to have __________________ Don't get your knickers in a knot. Nothing is solved and it just makes you walk funny.