Comments on: How much do obedience classes cost for dogs, where can i search online for local obedience classes?

By: dogtrainer7

dogtrainer7 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:45:34 +0000

It sounds to me as an obedience trainer that you more or less need a behaviorist.
As long as your dogs listen to you on command and do well in public and on leash.
Not knowing exactly what the problems are or if they only occur when you are not around.
Good Luck

By: Rexydoberman

Rexydoberman — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:45:34 +0000

Check online or by word of mouth. You can join a breed specific group online in your area and see if they recommend a trainer. My trainer cost 199.00$ but that included 3 months of lessons and free lessons for the life of the dog. Even after 6 months, i felt like my dog and I needed refresher classes and we were able to go back. Plus after basic obedience, you can try many different classes such as agility, schuntzund, flyball, etc.

By: Misa M

Misa M — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:45:34 +0000

Good for you for being proactive and taking steps to solve your problem. Here’s a good place to start:
http://www.ccpdt.org/
This is a dog training certification group. The trainers they recommend are positive "clicker" trainers.
Classes *generally* run from 6-8 weeks with a week off here and there. Here’s a sample page from a positive trainer:
http://compliantdog.com/faq.html
Look carefully at the info they give you. There should be no mention of "balanced" training (this means that they’re going to use physical force and compulsion to make your dog obey). A true positive trainer uses methods that are based on science, and does not use harsh, bullying punishment. Good luck!

By: libertydogtraining

libertydogtraining — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:45:34 +0000

I charge $100 for 6 basic obedience sessions.
A behavior modification session in my city is $50.
A behavior modification session in surrounding sessions I charge $100. (gas and travel time)

Sessions are 1-2 hours for Behavior modification.

By: Shadow's Melon

Shadow's Melon — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:45:34 +0000

First of all, don’t waste your money on training at places like Petco and PetSmart, they’re not worth what they charge and their trainers are not usually very experienced.

Here is how I found a trainer: I contacted the local dog training club in my area (this can be an agility club, obedience club, etc…) and asked for trainer referrals. The gave me a list of 3 or 4 in the area. The person I went with for training has 25+ yrs of experience in training and breeding dogs. She is also constantly striving ot learn new things and open to trying new techniques. I also only pay $50 for 7 weeks of classes, which is pretty darn good for the experience she has to back her up.

The reason going thru a dog training club is beneficial is because these people that are members take their training very seriously. They will refer you to people they know, have used and trust to be good at it. If you pull someone out of the yellow pages, you are getting a crap shoot. Anyone can say they train, but they don’t really know what they are doing. You’re likely to pay more too if they have a large facility that requires them to charge more to cover overhead costs.