Answers to Everyday Questions : What is the cost of dog training/obedience?

What is the cost of dog training/obedience?

3 Responses to “What is the cost of dog training/obedience?”

1. marci knows best said :
   October 18th, 2010 at 10:09 pm

   Prices vary widely. For good basic obedience, many local shelters offer classes, usually for under $100. If your dogs have any training issues, or you want more intensive training, I would expect to pay in the $150 – 200 range for a 6 – 8 week series. Some places will give a multiple dog discount if you want to bring all the dogs.

   German Shepherds are super smart, so obedience class should be great fun!. Just remember training is on-going and lasts a dog’s whole life.
2. master_man737 said :
   October 18th, 2010 at 11:07 pm

   Hi,
   IMHO i don’t like training “classes.” I admit I’m being bias because i like guard dogs and and reading up on advanced dog training. If your dog is trained by other people other than yourself this can sometimes make the dog think that he can trust anyone. I know this isn’t true in all circumstances.

   By training you dog yourself you can save money and create a stronger bond with your dog(s). They enjoy spending time with their owners and they enjoy pleasing their owners. so if you do train the dog yourself make sure to let the dog know your impressed and happy when he does something right. they can sense if your happy or not.

   http://torenithe.hopfeed.com/feed/?u=Mjk4CVlFSzlCQzlWUVkJMgl0b3Jlbml0aGUJZG9ndHV0b3IJCQ%3D%3D

   ummm don’t know why the link looks like that… I keep copy and pasting and it keeps changing to this whenever i paste it… :S it should take you to the dog training tutor website. Its and e-book. I got it for $47 US. Used it amongst other books and it had most of the the tips that all the other books had plus a few extras. I think it also comes with a 60day money back guarantee.
   But I recommend you check it out its been quite helpful.

   Even old dogs can learn new tricks 😛
3. John said :
   October 18th, 2010 at 11:10 pm

   Hi there, hope your doing ok!

   Here are your options for various kinds of dog training programs:

   There are group dog training sessions that usually cost around $40 – $130 and that last four to eight weeks, 1 hour per session.

   There are also private dog training sessions, where the trainer himself will visit your house or work place to give your dog a professional training for around two – four weeks. This type costs around $1000 – $2,500 and training session usually last longer compared to group training sessions.

   Yes it is quite expensive, but you can rest assured that you will get what you pay for. Most dog trainers focus on different areas of your dog’s attitude and obedience and after that training program, you will begin to appreciate the difference it did for your dog and for you. Standard training classes usually focus on addressing your dog’s chewing, barking, biting and digging behavior.

   Here are a few tricks that are free though

   Start Using Sign Language to Communicate with Your Dog

   Believe it or not, your dog never did learn to obey your voice commands. Sure, it may have appeared to obey “sit, stay, and come” or whatever else you have taught it but really your dog learned to follow some other signal. Your dog learned that when you move a certain way you want to it do the trick.

   If you watch yourself, you will start seeing that maybe you pat your leg when you want it to come or raise your hand when you want it to sit. Do the sign without the words and your dog will still do the trick. In fact, teach tricks without the sign and your dog will learn faster.

   Start Using Body Language

   This goes right along with sign language. Many times, people wonder why my dogs don’t rush the door when the doorbell rings. It is because I have taught them not to do this. I tell people I can teach their dogs not to rush the door in less than five minutes as well. (No one ever believes me.)

   I have a volunteer ring the doorbell. When the dogs rush the door, I get between the dogs and the door and loom over the dogs. The dogs back away. I back the dogs up until the dogs get to a predefined point. Then, I go towards the door. If the dogs start towards the door, I turn and loom towards the dogs again until they back up past the point. It takes a few minutes but they get the point. (Sometimes I add the word “back” if they have been trained, but not always.)

   This method takes a few doorbell rings for the dogs to learn that they are not to go past the predefined point. Then, I have the owners try the doorbell challenge. The owners are always shocked at how fast the dogs learn not to rush the door. It only took a little body language to learn.

   Stop Yelling at the Dogs

   This is actually a common mistake. The dogs start barking and people start yelling to be quiet. This is really reinforcing the behavior. In essence, you are telling the dogs there is something to bark about and you are joining in by sounding the alarm.

   While this may sound odd, this is an effective maneuver. If your dogs are barking at something outside, call them inside. Even if they only stay inside for a few minutes, you interrupted the pattern and stopped the barking. If they are barking inside, send them out. The message sent is barking equals they must leave the activity and quiet means they get to stay. Never pet a barking dog.

   Hope this was helpful