What age should a puppy begin obedience training classes?
Question by desta: What age should a puppy begin obedience training classes?
My Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Sophie, is almost 12 weeks old. Are the classes sponsered by PetSmart and Petco worthwhile, or should I look for other pet training specialists, like Man’s Best Friend?
Best answer:
Answer by Goofy5381
Anytime after they have all their vaccinations.
What do you think? Answer below!
September 14th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
I think they should go by 6 months but I am not sure when the earliest time is.
September 14th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
you should just train your dog your self its better because then s/he will listen to u! better butif you still insist on classes go to the ones were you are learning how to teach i think dogs should be taught by the person who is in control if there being taught by some one else then there not gonna look at you like there owner
September 14th, 2011 at 4:38 pm
I started at home when she was 6 weeks, and when she had all shots then about 16 weeks she started classes.
September 14th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
I understand there is puppy kindergarden for socialization as early as 12 weeks – provided they have their shots. I waited until 6 months for my pups for formal obedience school and they did fine. Much younger and I doubt their attention span could have handled the hour long class. Good luck and I definitely recommend school.
September 14th, 2011 at 6:15 pm
As soon as he gets all of his shots. Petsmart/ Petco are fine, but the classes may be a bit big and may not be as efficient as other smaller classes.
September 14th, 2011 at 7:06 pm
At about 6 months of age. No later because that is when they start to make there own decisions and want to wonder away from there owner. If you don’t start now they will have an alpha dog state of mind and it will be hard to teach them any thing after that.
September 14th, 2011 at 7:07 pm
It just depends is it a little dog well if it is i would wait for a while and ask help from a specialists. so u can get help for Sophie.= – ]
September 14th, 2011 at 7:33 pm
you should start from the time you get them. No don’t feed them treats and stuff at 6 weeks, but begin to use the standard terms like sit ,stay and even heel if you walk him. It’s more of conditioning him/her to the same words every time a particular act is done. It also trains YOU the pet owner.
They have proved this with babies also. If you start saying words correctly instead of “wubba wubba goo go gaga” lo then kids learn language faster.
September 14th, 2011 at 7:48 pm
i think you should at least wait to shes 6 months old.
September 14th, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Technically a puppy can start learning at any age. Most training facilities howerver do not take puppies until at least 6 months, mostly due to potty training an vaccinations or safety. My advice wwould be to stray away from Petco/Pet smart training. And even Mans best friend. I had a friend who trained for pet co. When she applied and interviewed for the job, no one asked if she had any training experience or even asked what her techniques were. Though mans best friend is a training facility , i’ve heard that they really are not very good. Look locally and research, find a trainer. who is not affiliated with a franchise. When training turns into franchises, the quality goes down. If you hire a personal trainer, usually you can do group classes or privates or even in homes. Personal trainers are more willing to work to your needs instead of what they were only taught to do. They also tend to value their clients more Look around, you may be able to find a trainer who also has puppy classes, design specifically for puppies under 6 months. good luck!
EDIT: also, for now, you really want to work mostly on potty training and manners. basic obedience can be learned at ANY point in a dogs life. dont expect too much of her, after al, you dont expect a toddler to be perfect either.
September 14th, 2011 at 9:26 pm
I think if you go to a group class like that you have to wait until after they have all their shots. But it’s never too early to start working on training your dog at home!
The classes are Petco and Petsmart are mostly lecture, not a lot of hands on experience. We went to one that was about 30 minutes of the woman talking and 10 minutes of actually practicing with your dog. I then found a local trainer that I loved! 45 minutes of working with your dog in a small group.
Ask your vet, they probably have great recommendations for a trainer in your area.
September 14th, 2011 at 9:26 pm
At 12 weeks, I’d look for a puppy socialization class… One where they play and meet other dogs. Then around 5 1/2- 6 months old, I’d look for a good obedience class. I personally don’t recommend the ones at PetSmart/Petco. I’d look around online for obedience trainers in your area, and ask friends/neighbors.
I did lots of research before I chose my trainer… I could not find one bad comment about him anywhere online, so I chose him. There were lots of positives, but no negatives… Shows that people who use him respect him and that he does a good job. That is why there were no complaints.
Good luck.
September 14th, 2011 at 9:52 pm
hi , what kind of classes are you looking for, at that age training short be short and fun, incorporate it in her play, with small treats.
September 14th, 2011 at 10:51 pm
After he is fully vaccinated he can begine classes. I did the PetSmart classes and really enjoyed them. They taught us how to teach our dog about 15 or so basic commands, and prepared them for intermediate training, if thats something you are interested in. My dog just finished their Puppy Education a couple weeks ago, and he will start Intermediate next week.
September 14th, 2011 at 11:22 pm
Just like with your hairdresser, where they work has little to do with skill level. So no matter where you go you may run into a very skilled trainer or a person that can’t even tie their own shoes.
I have little to no interest in a puppy that did not start training at three days of age.
http://www.breedingbetterdogs.com/achiever.html
From that point on it isn’t a question of should there be training, it’s a question of what kind of training.
@ 12 weeks “fear memory” has developed so the window for some things has already closed. At this point everything in the puppy’s development needs to be kept on a fun basis only because it will not have the cognitive skills to properly understand a correction. Take advantage of the puppy’s natural food motivation at this stage. At approximately 6 months of age the pup will suddenly start to demonstrate a new found feeling of independence and self awareness. (very noticeable change of behavior) At this point “formal” training can begin because this behavior change indicates that food motivation is being replaced by other motivations, and that the pup does have the cognitive development to properly understand training.
September 15th, 2011 at 12:11 am
We took ours at 12 weeks to puppy kindergarten. they had a play time for all of the puppies and then just basic training. At the end of 8 weeks our 5month old could sit, down, stay, and come. They discussed puppy issues and problems. It was a great class. The cool thing was watching the puppies change over 8 weeks. There was a spaniel in the class at the start that would just cower during playtime. After 8 weeks it was right in there playing with other dogs. There was also a pit bull that was very aggressive and they explained how to correct the behavior and set the dog up every week to learn.
We did not go to petco/petsmart classes. Talk to your local shelter and see what they have. That is were we did our and the instructor was a professional military dog trainer.
September 15th, 2011 at 12:21 am
Hi there,
We like our campers to start training anywhere from 6 months on. While we don’t believe you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, it’s usually better for the human’s sanity if dogs get trained on the younger side.
Marianne
The Ruff House
http://www.theruffhouses.com