Obedience class versus private session

[Sara and Birdie]

Hello Everyone!

My Birdie is 13 weeks old, and I am looking into putting her in a puppy/obedience class.  Because of the small town in where I live, my options are either to have a trainer come to my home and do private sessions, or drive 30 minutes into Petsmart for their puppy classes. 

I would love to put her in a class with other puppies for the socializaiton, but wish I had another option than Petsmart, nor am I keen on driving that far for it.  I am leaning towards the private sessions, but am worried that Birdie will be missing out some way if I go that route.  Is this true, or am I being silly? 

Any thoughts from any of you who have gone through the Petsmart program or private sessions would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[Renu & Theo]

I have the same question too Sara, i have a private trainer come to my home for week 9 , good thing about her is that she is trying to team him without dependency on the the treats. This is great since my Theo have sensitive tummy.Its slow going but he is manageable. He know basic commands like No,sit wait , down, inside crate, out  but he decided if he want to come when called.

I am not sure should i also i should also take him to any other obedience class

[kristine & Auggie]

This is just my opinion but Auggie so enjoyed the puppy class because of the other puppies and the socialization he got.  We also used Pet Smart and we had a wonderful teacher and really nice puppy owners.  We became a network for each other.  The puppies after the first class recognized each other in the store, it was really cute, they bonded.

I think half the fun of the class is watching them socialize with other puppies and adults.

[Star and Goldie]

Is there a specific reason for the aversion to Petsmart trainers? There are several incredible trainers that work in Petsmarts. Sometimes they also have their own training practice and just do Petsmart classes on the side. You can always ask to see their credentials as well.

I think socialization is critical. You can do a mix of both but I would not rule out a puppy class just because it's a Petsmart.

[Sara and Birdie]

@Kristine- Thank you so much for sharing that. I hope my Petsmart will be just as good. This is what I was hoping to hear.

@Star- No, I don't have anything against Petsmart specifically. I think I read a comment somewhere that someone said they wouldn't take their pup to one, and it made me worry. That is what I was wondering, if I should stay away or not.:) Thanks for your input. I think socialization is important too.

[nira rajavasireddy]

We've been doing the sirius puppy training,they're OK. Great for socialization, but I was wondering if having private sessions would be better. But right now, I'd rather not spend the extra money. The problem with the group lessons are that they're noisy and it really depends on the other dogs as well. In our puppy 1, we had a great Dane who was aggressive and a lot of the time was spent in reassuring my puppy who was scared.

[Linda Yingling]

We started Cooper with private lessons before his shots were complete. We are now in a group class and he is doing great. He gets excited to see the other dogs when we arrive but most do, even the ones that went to puppy class. We are click and treat training, which I was against until I saw how quick they learn. We do not treat for every command now and will phase him out as he matures. We buy healthy treats and cut back a little on his meals. Our private lessons were at the trainers studio so it was familiar when we started class. Hope this helps and I suggest you talk with a trIner and maybe visit a class before you decide. Also look for reviews online.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I think one of the biggest pluses to Petsmart is Distractions.  You don't get many more distractions than in a Petsmart.  To graduate from one of their classes Lucy and Sophie had to do sit/wait/leave it/ and come right in front of the large automatic double doors at 7pm when all the people were coming and going!  Do I think that their trainers are the best out there ... maybe not, but they have good basic pet training knowledge.  If you want to train for championships or something like that then I'd look elsewhere.  You get good socialization and distractions along with basic obedience training and that is probably what you need at this point.  And I do agree that some stores trainers are better than others.  The one thing to remember about training is that you get out of it what you put in to it.  If you go once a week and don't train in between you may as well not bother.  They are basically going to train you ... then it is up to you to train the dog at home!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think training and socialization are really two separate things, although with some types of classes you can accomplish both at the same time.  I did a Petco puppy class with my first Doodle.  He did get about five minutes at the end of each class to play with other puppies...hardly enough socialization so I enrolled him in Daycare once a week.  I know that's not always an option, but it worked well for us.  He loved it and got to play with other "tested" dogs in a controlled setting before we got our second Doodle.  The particular trainer we had at Petco was "okay" for teaching basic puppy "command" oriented training like "sit".  Beyond that she didn't have the level of experience necessary to take us further....but for a puppy that wasn't a big deal.  When my guys were about five months I got much more serious with training and that's when we worked with private trainers who came to our house and also worked with us in the community around distractions.  Good luck!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Jane -- Do you think that going to daycare has an impact on how they are with other dogs?  Sophie never went and she went through a phase where she was a little reactive with other dogs, particularly if you tried to hold her back and not let her greet.  If she got to go greet she was usually fine.  I'm just wondering if I should send AnnaBelle to Daycare for a few visits if it would help?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Sorry Sheri....I just saw this.  I really started Daycare with Guinness because I wanted him to have a chance to be with a "pack" and learn "doggie social queues".  Of course he learned some from him mom and pack mates, but I thought it would be good for him to have a chance to be with other dogs in a controlled setting.  I found a Daycare that I really like because the owner is herself a trainer and she's very careful about who she allows to attend and then maintains a great atmosphere when the dogs are there.  I liked it so well that when Murph came to us I continued to send Guinness and started Murph as well.  I know they seem to love going and when I watch them on camera they are running and playing and seem so happy.  I don't think Daycare is necessarily a cure for reactiveness....especially if we look at Murph's history.  I think there are very different contexts between the settings where the dogs are playing with "pack mates" and dogs they encounter in a less controlled setting.  If a dog is insecure (like Murph) then Daycare is okay for him because it is a "safe environment"...no need to react.

[Sara and Birdie]

Thank you for your responses everyone!  I can see the benefits of both, and think I will try to do both eventually.

[Joyce (Casey & Cody's mom)]

PetSmart frequently has very experienced trainers that they hire part time to do their training classes - -  but they sometimes hire people with NO experience at all.  It is just a "luck of the draw" if you will get an experienced trainer or not. Always check with them to see who will be providing their classes and what type of experience they have had.  Our local PetSmart unfortunately, had the inexperienced, new hire that was going to "teach" the classes after reading a training manual. No offense, but I read well, so could do that myself.  My granddaughter, however took her dog to this same PetSmart last summer and they had a wonderful trainer. She just happen to be busy this summer so couldn't do their classes.  We ended up with an experienced trainer at another pet store. Cody & Casey are doing well in the class, but the socialization isn't going that well with this group!  There are 2 - 4 month old huskies, a 10 month old bulldog, an 8 month old Shih Tzu, and an 18 month old husky.  The big boy husky just wants to eat everyone!! and the bulldog wants to fight everyone. Their owners spend their time pulling and trying to keep control of their dogs. The trainer is working hard - but spends a lot of time individually with those dogs and their owners.  Casey and Cody would love to play with the Shih Tzu, but they are so much larger than he is that his owner is scared of my boys. That leaves the sister huskies - and every time Casey or Cody get close to them, they just start screaming!!!  Needless to say, this hasn't been exactly what I had envisioned. We have already had 3 classes out of the 6 scheduled and have only gotten to sit, down, stand and loose leash walking.  They got the sit, down, stand commands on the first night.  Casey really isn't in to the walking - especially since she had us out in the parking lot last week walking - - it was hot and the pavement was hot. Casey said the heck with us and refused to walk any more. Cody just does whatever.