Answers to Everyday Questions : Did you take your dog to obedience school?

Did you take your dog to obedience school?

8 Responses to “Did you take your dog to obedience school?”

1. Ember said :
   October 12th, 2010 at 3:43 pm

   Obedience school is okay as far as learning things. I found that the “experts”, didn’t really give me the info that I needed. Plus my pup already knew most of the commands before we went into the class. However, I will say that I did learn a few new things that I didn’t know before. The really good part about it though is the socialization aspect. Your dog will have to perform commands with loads of other dogs and people around so that part is really good. They learn to do commands with distractions.
2. said :
   October 12th, 2010 at 3:55 pm

   Socialization perhaps.

   No I did not take my dogs to obedience school. They learned everything they know with home training.
3. OOKI said :
   October 12th, 2010 at 4:19 pm

   i never took my dog to obedience school, thats a waste of money when you can do it yourself. (if you have the patience and time and willingness to do it) i successfully trained my dog extrememly well. i potty trained him, taught him many triccs, trained him not to walk out the yard, train him everything he knows and he knows alot, he’s a good behaved dog. and im only 16. he knows im the pacc leader he doesnt try to bite when eating and he has his own natural instincts to protect me and my family, i taught him how to attacc on command in case of an emergency had no help from my mom or any1 else. and im not lying to ya
4. austin said :
   October 12th, 2010 at 5:10 pm

   i never took my dog to obedience school because i know how to discipline my dog myself. its a waste of money if you know how to do it yourself. Obedience school teaches your dog what its called, OBEDIENCE! mostly it teaches your dog who its master is and it must follow your rules and listen to you. it also teaches you how to train your dog to listen to you and how to communicate with your dog.
5. dogtrainer7 said :
   October 12th, 2010 at 5:38 pm

   OK first let me say that OOKI and Austin may have been able to teach their dogs.
   The problem is though that socialization to both humans and other dogs is huge when it comes to training.
   And how do you proof and solidify exercises taught at home?
   Sure your dog will do wonderful in it`s own surroundings but what happens when you take your dog else where like a park or just walking it down a sidewalk in a down town area do you think it will obey you then?
   I teach classes and privately, both regular and competition obedience.
   Sure I start my students off with learning the basics of exercises first in just the class or private setting but all exercises need to be proofed meaning that you slowly start training your dog in public places and with distractions.
   For example if you were at a park with your dog and you put it in a Sit stay, would it? Or if you did the same and their were other dogs around or some kids playing with a ball would your dog come to you if you called it?
   Sure you can teach your dog many things by just cracking a book or reading up on line but will your dog really listen to you given the most difficult of situations? I think not.
   Obedience instructors are just not in it for the money as OOKI say`s, we are here to help you connect to your dog and form a bond between the 2 of you that is rock solid.
   The only thing that we ask of any student is that in the week leading to your next class you train your dog daily in what was taught to you the previous class. I can always tell when some one has not trained their dog the week leading to that class.
   It`s your loss and your money and will only cause disruption in the class if you fall behind.
   Do you know what positive reinforcement is? The difference between Come and Here? Can you put your dog in a Sit or Down Stay in a busy place and have it reliably stay there? The proper position for heeling and how to correct for a dog that either forges ahead of you or lags behind you while Heeling?, etc.
   Their are so many things that you just can`t teach your dog to do trying to do it by yourself. You need interaction with other people and dogs while training.
   Myself I have trained many dogs of my own and other people to train their dogs to championships.
   Have taught many to have loving obedient dogs that they can trust to listen to them in any situation
   Volunteer teaching 4-H kids to compete in their county and state level competitions.
   Give freely of my time to help people having problems with their dogs.
   Obedience instructors are a wonderful lot that want nothing more than to share their wealth of knowledge to ensure that everyone has a happy obedient dog that will be a pleasure to have in any surroundings.
   Find a good class for you and your dog is what I say and remember that obedience instructors teach you to teach your dog.
   Training dogs and people to train their dogs for over 30 years
   Good Luck and God Bless
6. Novarobin said :
   October 12th, 2010 at 6:31 pm

   My lab was the only dog I got as a puppy. My oldest is a Police dog washout and the youngest is a working dog.

   I did not take my lab, although I tried. There aren’t a whole lot around here. I kept contacted one, they told me they would let me know when the next class started and never did, twice.
   I managed to do a pretty good job on my own. I did read ALOT of books in the process though.
   I still think about taking him anyway. I would like to see how it works, maybe learn some ideas (what to do OR what not to do). I think I would learn from other peoples mistakes dealing with their dog as well.
   I think the biggest thing with school is socialization to other dogs.
   Some people also really don’t know the first thing about training and it is extremely beneficial. Other people don’t need to go. They can manage to train and socialize in other ways.

   ETA- I should add I am particulary interested in training so for me it would be a learning experience anyway.
   ——————
   ADD- I must have missed the line about teaching the dog to attack in OOK’s post. That is an extremely dangerous thing to teach a dog, especially with little experience. Police dogs are carefully trained and continuously proofed. There is so much more to teaching “attack” than simply the attack. The making sure he doens’t attch is the hard part. You are creating a ticking time bomb.
7. GOODD said :
   October 12th, 2010 at 6:33 pm

   How to behave and listen to you in a strange environment with unfamiliar people and dogs. Working with a trainer will also show you new techniques of how to do things or improve the skills you already have.

   We are very disciplined in my house and we still took both our dogs through obedience class. our seven month old puppy got his AKC star at 5 months, something you can’t get at home. He’s going to start a Canine Good Citizen class in a couple weeks. That’s something else you can’t get from working at home.

   ADD: OOKI, when your dog attacks someone because you improperly trained him let me know how the lawsuit turns out. Training a pet dog to attack is a very, very bad thing. It’s even worse when you do it at home. If you wanted a weapon you should have gotten a gun.
8. Karen L said :
   October 12th, 2010 at 7:24 pm

   It depends who’s doing the home training and how much knowledge they have. I think obedience class is not so much about training the dog as about training the owner. One big advantage is that you get to see a variety of training problems that you might not have encountered yet with your own dog. A class also gives your dog a chance to learn that it must do what you say in spite of distractions, like all the other dogs and people in the class. With an experienced trainer running the class, you can also get tips on dealing with the sort of dog you have since they’re all different. I think I know enough now, after owning 6 dogs in the past 30 years, to train a dog by myself without a class, but next time I get a dog I’ll probably go anyway, because you can always learn more.