Comments on: What age should a puppy begin obedience training classes?

By: axelpup

axelpup — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 22:28:59 +0000

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.
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been there, done that.

By: Dr25

Dr25 — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:19:59 +0000

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.
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By: jenmar

jenmar — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 21:08:59 +0000

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.
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By: Jocelyn7777

Jocelyn7777 — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:33:59 +0000

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.
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By: 2thedogs

2thedogs — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 20:15:59 +0000

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.
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By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:49:59 +0000

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.
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Obedience Trainer

By: Marcia C

Marcia C — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 19:17:59 +0000

i think you should at least wait to shes 6 months old.
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By: Debbie M

Debbie M — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:31:59 +0000

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.
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By: Angel N

Angel N — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:45:59 +0000

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.= – ]
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Angel N.

By: Tara G

Tara G — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:19:59 +0000

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.
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Go to Petsmart.com and find one in you area they give good and affordable training for puppies.