Do you really need to a dog trainer? You can do a lot of dog training at home yourself. Most puppies learn quickly if you are consistent about what you teach them. You can usually teach them housetraining and some basic manners in a few weeks Dog trainer near me.
Many breeders and other experts recommend taking new puppies to puppy preschool and puppy kindergarten classes. These classes are just for puppies and they are often offered by pet stores, dog training centers, kennel clubs and even shelters. They give your puppy a good opportunity for socialization. Meeting other puppies and people in a friendly atmosphere helps your puppy get over any fears he may have of strange people or things. Classes like these help build a puppy’s confidence and help him grow into a happy, confident adult dog. The trainer teaching these classes will also teach you and your puppy some basic obedience commands such as Sit and Come.
Here are a four resources to check when trying to find a dog trainer:
- Ask at pet supply stores and check their bulletin boards.
- Talk to people with your local kennel club. Very often dog trainers may be members. Kennel clubs hold obedience shows and they may have members who are very experienced in teaching obedience.
- Check your phone book and Internet to see if there are any local dog training centers near you. There may be professional dog trainers. See if they teach basic obedience classes. Remember that you’re not looking for a someone that teaches protection dog training!
- Ask people at your local shelter if they have anyone who teaches obedience classes. Some shelters do offer obedience classes since trained dogs have a better chance of working out in their new homes.
If possible, try to find out about the trainer and classes before attending to make sure this is someone you want to learn from. This isn’t always possible. Sometimes you hear about a class and it starts the same evening.
Here are four questions you should ask yourself when you and your dog are participating in your first class:
- Do you like this trainer?
- What is their training philosophy?
- Do they believe in punishing the dog?
- Is this someone that you would want your dog spending time with?
If you don’t like the trainer then you really shouldn’t keep going to the classes. You will be spending several weeks in class with this person and it’s probably not worth the aggravation of going to class and listening to someone you don’t like. There are other trainers and you can probably find someone you like better.
It’s very important to know what the trainer’s approach is. If you don’t believe in punishing dogs and your trainer believes in giving corrections that are akin to punishment then you should not take a class from this particular trainer.
If you believe in positive reinforcement or clicker training and your trainer is a Dog Whisperer and believes in being the Alpha leader, you are probably not going to be very happy in the class. Change classes.
Deciding whether or not this is a good class and dog trainer for you basically comes down to asking yourself if this is a person that you would trust your dog with. If the answer is no, then you shouldn’t take the class from them.
Training your dog is a great idea. It helps puppies and dogs become more confident. It can overcome behavior problems and help keep dogs in their homes. And it’s a wonderful way for you to spend time with your dog. When you find the right trainer there won’t be any limit to what you and your dog can learn.