puppy training classes!

[ashley]

Hello, i just wanted to see if anyone had put thier babies in the puppy headstart program at petsmart? I signed roxie up for it yesterday on my lunch, and i read some of the feedback from other "graduates" and they all said the class was alot of fun, and the trainer was great.
They teach the basic commands, problem solving(ie biting digging,potty training) and then they graduate from the class.

just wondering if anyone had used this before, and if so, what was the outcome?

[kraekerr715]

I was thinking about signing Rylee up for it this weekend. It's a fairly inexpensive course, most are 3x the price. Let me know how it goes.

[ashley]

yeah it was 100.00 for a 8 week class, although the 1st class you cant bring the dog,its more of an orientation,but i will let you guys know how it goes!!

[Sunnyd]

I'm getting a puppy in late July and was thinking about something like this. How often are the classes?

[kraekerr715]

My cousin lives with us, and she has a chihuahua (sp?). We were offered a discount if we brought both. $180 for both is a great deal! I think it's once a week.

[ashley]

the classes are 8 weeks, and meet once a week for an hour, the cost at petsmart is 99.00. The 1st class is a orientation, and you're not allowed to bring the pup.

PetCo, also has the same class, but it is a 6 week class, for 89.00, and its once a week for an hour also, so for 10 more dollars you can get one more class, besides, petsmart is like 10 minutes away, and petCo is about 20 minutes, so i figure im saving alot on gas also, which is terrible!

[Lucy's mom]

I signed Lucy up for that class and we just had the 4th of 8 classes last night. I think it is worth the money just for the socializing aspect alone. Last night the instructor tried something new, it was called "pass the puppy". We had to pass our puppy to the people on our right and introduce them. Then you take the person's puppy on your left and praise them/treat them if they were calm or happy to see you-a stranger. We just continued passing each other's dogs until your puppy returned to you. It was fun and interesting to see how each dog reacted to strangers. Lucy was great and not scared at all! I was happy about that. It's also nice to see them socialize with other dogs when we release them off their leashes and tell them to go play, it's cute.
I say go for it and sign your little one up for the class!

[Passionfruition]

We seriously considered it.

And then my husband guilt-tripped me on how much we spent on the Puppy + Kennel + Food + Treats + Toys....the list goes on.

I taught him all SORTS of tricks all by myself. If you're willing to try, it's possible!

But I totally recommend SOME sort of discipline. It will make a better, safer, happier dog AND you!

[Mystify79]

I enrolled Tuffy when he was about 5 months old and it was horrible.. at least at the one here in Lubbock. The trainer wasn't very good and one day showed up in class saying some of her dogs had parvo and not to let our dogs touch her.. after she had let Tuffy climb all over her! At least Tuffy had all of his shots at the time but my sister had a little puppy who hadn't and I was worried about him picking it up from Tuffy being exposed to it. Needless to say that was one of many problems we had. The only thing Tuffy learned in that class was how to bark. He already had mastered most of the basic stuff at home with me and he actually was worse than we started the class. Another problem was that all the other dogs in the class were HUGE! A doberman and a boxer! The boxer took a swipe at Tuffy and totally knocked him over.. Tuffy spent the rest of the classes hiding behind me whenever those dogs would get near him. I would suggest going and watching a class and seeing if it fits with how you want to train your dog. Also ask them what the usual ratio of small to big dogs they have. I've heard good and bad things and I think it's all about how they do it in your area. Good luck!

[ashley]

what about the basic commands, sit,stay,come,laydown...do you guys go over that alot? mostly why i put her in this class was bc she bites ALOT, and her potty training isnt going very well. I talked to the trainer yesterday, and she seemed really nice, and said they go over alot of the basic commands, problem solving, behavior, things like that. She said there have been many yorkies in her class and all have done very well!

[ashley]

there are 3 dogs to a class, and so far roxie is enrolled, and a lab/beagle mix is in there, and probably we will be the only ones in the class, she has on a board people who write feed back on these note cards, and the only one out of probably 50, had a negative feedback and that was there were alot of distractions, otherwise everyone else did well and learned alot!

[kraekerr715]

I think it'd be great for socializing. Sometimes these little furballs are so small that it's hard to know where to start with training them. It's especially good because there ARE distractions. It's really good for their safety. Knowing to listen regardless of the surroundings. I'd highly recommend you give it a shot!

[ashley]

I am going to call the trainer now, and find out if i can sit in on a class, hopefully it will be something she can benefit from, because im not sure if the money is refundable?!

[TeddyBear]

I signed Starsky up for a class at Petsmart that starts May 1st. My sister took her Austrialian Shepherd there when he was a pup and he learned a lot!! The whole family is going to get involved so we all know what we are supposed to do. It should be fun!! From what I hear there is a good ratio of big and small dogs and that should be great for socializing. I took Starsky to my husband's lacrosse game last Sunday and there were 2 huge yellow labs. Starsky was all over them!! I need him to get over this "little dog syndrome"!