Choosing The Best Dog Obedience Schools For Your Pet

Anyone with a new dog knows that sometimes they need a little bit of guidance before he can be the perfect pet. But where do you look to find dog obedience schools that are a perfect fit for your pets personality? One place to start is local newspapers and shopping guides where you will probably find a variety of choices.

You will find that there are several different approaches for dog training from using punishment techniques to a more positive, rewards based approach.

Most trainers will have chosen their own method to fit themselves and their clients. Positive approaches are becoming more and more common and this is probably what you will run into when looking for obedience schools.

Also, you need to think about your individual dog. What is his life history? Have you had him as a puppy or just recently acquired him as an adult? Also consider your training goals. Do you want him to be more family-friendly, a good hunting or show dog? Beyond basic obedience, consider what you’re hoping to get out of training.

Once you have established your training goals and you have your dog’s personality in mind, make a list of all the local dog obedience schools information that you can find. Then check out their web pages. You can check with other dog owners to see if they have a good dog trainer. Also contact your local veterinarian or kennel for suggestions.

Schools that train using positive reinforcement are going to yield the best results. Ask friends who they’d recommend. Some trainers will offer to come to make house visits to train your dog, but then he’ll be missing out on socialization opportunities with other canines. Locate the times of the beginner class and see if you can sit in just to watch; if you don’t like what you see, find someone else you do like!

For socialization, it is important that puppies be put into kindergarten or playgroup program, at the earliest age possible. Although, if you have a rescue dog that is aggressive, it may be necessary to go to an animal behaviorist instead of a trainer. Aggression in dogs isn’t something to ignore!

Some trainers use tools like collars for training. “Gentle Leader” head collars are just about the most-effective collar available; contrary to the belief of many, pinch collars only work on a limited number of dogs.

It is not unusual for you to attend your first session without your dog accompanying you. This is a good indication that the trainer is a pro. Clicker training, a form of non punishment type training, necessitates a ‘train the trainer’ session so that you can learn the tools you will need to work with your dog successfully, without the distraction of your pet’s attendance.

These are some ways to tell if the program is a positive training class:

1. The all-around atmosphere of the of the whole school will be upbeat and positive.

2. Training is based on offering your dog rewards during training is the key to reaching your desired goals, which along with praise, may include his favorite toy and doggie treats.

3. A slight whisper or shush noise is the only thing necessary to distract the dog and get the message across that his behavior is unacceptable. There isn’t much punishment, and unwanted actions will be stopped.

4. An inappropriate behavior is usually halted by requiring a different behavior that causes the animal to alter his actions, for example, ‘lay down’ will prevent the dog from jumping on someone.

5. Training is based on patience so that the dog has sufficient opportunity to obey or display the required response.

In addition to dog obedience schools, you will find many good books and websites demonstrating how to properly train your dog. One of the most effective animal training methods used is the “clicker training”. The non-human Hollywood stars learn their tricks this way and so can your pet!