Cookie Needs To Be Trained. What Kind Of?

[ka89]

He is now 17 weeks old. We are planning to send him to a professional training centre near us.

Reasons why we want him to be trained:

He will be a strong and huge dog eventually. Although he is gentle and friendly, we still worried about his power of the body might hurt other people especially kids.

I am confused about those different names of training such as junior puppy training, advance puppy training, group training, adult residential training, adult residential behavioural training.

Do you recommend train dogs by a trainer?

Is it really works? I heard people said professional trainers can train dogs no doubt. however, the dog might only listen to the trainer, once they return the dog to me, the dog might not want to do the commends from me?

thanks in advance.

ka

[Salukifan]

Why don't you train him yourself? There are plenty of good obedience instructors/school about.

[Animal House]

Sounds like you'd be better off going to a weekly dog obedience class, has he attended puppy school yet?

I'm not a fan of sending dogs away to be trained, you can be be doing sme short lessons with him daily as well as a weekly class. If you name what area you are in, someone should be able to recommend a decent club nearby.

[Pjrt]

If you decide to send Cookie to a training centre, for whatever reasons that you decide, please make sure you visit the facility and inspect it, and I would ask to be able to speak with other clients of the facility.

These types of training centers may train your dog but it is worth little unless they offer comprehensive instruction to you as well, about how to implement and continue the training in your home setting.

It would certainly be worth looking at what clubs and trainers are in your local area so that you could train your dog yourself as well.

[kelpiecuddles]

Much of the reason people take their dogs to weekly training and train them themselves is that training is also about developing the relationship between you and your dog and training sessions are learning for YOU as much as they are for him.

[bertie]

Maybe if you say what area you are from, people here can recommend a good obedience class for you to start with?

[persephone]

Cookie is a golden retriever?

hoe shouldn't be huge- and they are a fairly gentle and caring dog ...

if you are confused by teh names - think of a human child ... kindy/preschool /primary school/secondary school/college/uni BOARDING SCHOOL

The residential training -

there is no way I would suggest anyone who has a normal puppy use something like this.

Why?

because it is OWNERS who need to learn how to communicate with their puppy , so they can help puppy fit into their lifestyle.

how is some trainer in a kennel to do that?

you will have already taught Cookie LOTS of things - but you didn't drill him /work hard at it, did you?

I bet there are bad habits, and good habits he has learned from you in all this time :)

see? you CAN do it- you just don't know how :D

Find a local obedience class ...and take cookie there each week - practice every day at home . it will be MUCH cheaper , and far more interesting for you - plkus Cookie won't have to leave you & stay with strange people in a kennel - totally removed from what YOUR homelife is like.

have a read of these :) they may help you , and encourage you & Cookie to study at home ;)

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE

CLICK HERE

[Yonjuro]

Try Kerry, she is lovely and can visit your home, we have used her since Ronin was around 17 weeks. She also has classes but they are a bit far from my home,

http://kerrysdogtraining.com

[persephone]

yonjuro - that seems a good plan :)

[Yonjuro]

Thanks Perse

I really look forward to our sessions with Kerry, as my wife and I learn so much and we also get to have a cathartic moan about this things that frustrate us :laugh:

Ronin absolutely LOVES Kerry, he just gets so excited to see her. Another good thing about her as she doesn't get caught up with the dominance or alpha crap that gets spouted on too many TV shows.

I concur with the comments above that send away and train places are not going to give the owner the lessons needed. I would say that 90% of training is for and needed by the owners :)

[Tapua]

Guided by a good obedience club or private group training organisation your Goldie will thrive. The quality of your dogs compliance is dependant, IMO, on the quality of the relationship you have with your own dog which is why you need to learn how to train your own dog. I know life is busy but it is all worth the effort.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Tapua

[Tassie]

Depending where you are in WA, there are some great trainers and dog clubs over there, training in a way that as people have said, will help you build a lovely relationship with your pup, and help make Cookie a wonderful pet and family member. :D

[hankdog]

All the training out there is quite confusing and there are a lot of different methods. Junior puppy training would be the first classes you take your boy to, they are very simple and mostly aimed at getting your dog used to being around others and starting the basics of learning to take a command. Advanced puppy classes would be aimed at puppies who have completed basics but don't have the focus to be in a regular obedience class yet. They can be run by a bored vet nurse or a very competent trainer. If you say where you are people here can recommend a good place.

Regular obedience classes are graded into different levels and normally run weekly. You go with your dog and progress through different levels. Again quality varies and you need to find one that is reputable and where you feel comfortable.

In house training is where you send your dog to a boarding establishment normally for a week or two and trainers train your dog. There are some horror stories and if you are considering doing it you may want to ask here if the establishment is reputable.

Training your dog forms and is dependent on a bond between dog and trainer. So it's true that the dog will perform better for whoever trains it. There is also a limited amount of training that can be done in a short time and so dropping off a dog and fetching him two weeks later might have begun a training process but you will need to continue to achieve or maintain results.

You can hire a trainer to come to your home or you can go to a few private sessions if that suits you better. Normally in house training is expensive and to address problems happening at home.

Two years ago I adopted a norty dog so I have a fair bit of experience with dodgy trainers. I have been with my present trainers for a year, I go weekly to private classes and he has been twice for board/ training sessions. It's very much a combined effort with my trainers and a lot of our private sessions are aimed at teaching me what to do.

If your dog is just a normal youngster and you're feeling a bit overwhelmed maybe you could look for a training center that offers good facilities with a combination of private classes and weekly group classes. Maybe have a private to set your expectations and get you started and allow them to map out a path for you and your dog.

There's lots of experienced trainers here and people can recommend if you say where you are.

[Leah82]

Ka89, I think I rememeber you saying in a previous topic that you were in the northern suburbs.

If that's the case this will probably be your closest obedience club... http://www.northernsuburbsdogclub.org/

I imagine you could head down and watch some classes without cookie to decide if you think it's worth signing up

[Tay.]

For a Golden Retriever, an obedience club would definitely be much more suitable than sending him away to a trainer. To be honest, Goldens are not huge or overly strong compared to other breeds. They are intelligent and usually very food driven - they like to please and are very trainable. Obedience/training clubs are also a great way to socialize your dog with lots of different dogs and people.

Training your own dog will also strengthen your relationship and will be enjoyable for both of you. (And will also be cheaper than sending him away to a training centre. Good luck!