Did you take your dog to obedience classes?
By katsmeow1213
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
United States
April 29, 2013 12:41pm CST
I was just looking up some price info about obedience classes for our dog. Looks like about $125 for 6 weeks worth of classes, slightly cheaper at PetSmart. I have no experience with this.. so I wanted to see what other dog owners felt about obedience classes.
I'm fairly certain that we can teach the dog basic commands ourselves. He's doing good with sit and shake.. hubby is working on that. But of course it will take us longer to teach him.. and with his little biting problem we could sure use some help sooner rather than later (it's a playful bite, not meant to harm.. but it sure hurts, he got me good yesterday and I have a bruise on my arm!).
Did you take your dog to obedience classes? If so, did you find it worthwhile?
2 people like this
9 responses
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
30 Apr 13
Yeah, Turbo's behavior can be atrocious too.. but he's good at learning commands. He knows sit, shake, and lie down. Not mastered of course, but he knows them.
@Shellyann36 (11385)
• United States
29 Apr 13
We have not taken our dog to obedience class but I would like to. We live in the country so we don't have to take the dog to dog parks or anything like that for her to get exercise but I would love to have her better trained at coming when called even if she is after something(such as a squirrel or bird). She is mixed with a retriever so she is really into chasing wild life. I would think that classes would be wortyof the cash. Being able to socialize Turbo with other dogs would be very helpful.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
29 Apr 13
Yeah, especially since hubby wants to get another dog sometime in the future.. but it will be at least a year from now.
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
29 Apr 13
When my dogs were puppies they went to training classes. It was great for them to meet other puppies and learn how to do as they were told. With biting a trainer can greatly help I think. I believe the obedience classes will be very worth while for your dog. Good luck.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
29 Apr 13
Thanks.. I'll definitely look into it after his vet visit to make sure he's not sick :(
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
30 Apr 13
I know some things that work but maybe not for everything. But refusing to give attention when he does behaviors you don't want him to do and rewarding behaviors you want. When he play bites the kids, teach them to remove his mouth and turn away. You don't even have to say no because that is till attention. If he tries jumping on you, turn your back on him. He gets no attention for bad behavior. That worked with our dog.
@katsmeow1213 (28717)
• United States
30 Apr 13
That is pretty much what we are trying. I can't tell if it's working or not, but we're going to keep at it. Redirection is something else we plan to try.. making sure he has a toy he can chew on so he knows what is okay to chew and what isn't.
Normally all he does though is sort of snap at us. Rarely does he actually get his mouth on us.. he just snaps. We do immediately stop when he does this. If we were petting him and he snaps we stop and walk away or ignore him. I can't tell if he gets it yet because usually something else gets his attention.
@sencis (25)
• Latvia
30 Apr 13
I have two dogs and did not took none of them to obedience classes.
One of them had bitting problems, but somehow he grew out of it or just learned that he can not keep bitting. I somehow feel that dogs which had not gone to obedience classes are a bit nicer than the ones that gone through this class.
For example, my cousin took his dog to one of these classes, and after it, the dog was more agressive, for a while he listened only his owner (my cousin) and nobody else.
@imphavok (320)
• Canada
29 Apr 13
I have taken one dog to obedience classes (at Petsmart) and trained all our other dogs myself. The only reason I took the one dog was because he needed the socialization (He was a rescue dog that had fear problems). The training we did in class was the same I would of done at home, but the socialization in such a controlled environment was priceless. I think dog obedience classes are very important for some breeds/people and not necessary with others. i think you need to ask yourself do you have the time and experience to work with the dog daily to train him properly and are you able to socialize the dog? Obedience classes can be a huge help in raising a well behaved dog.
@tinayu (214)
• China
30 Apr 13
i have not taken my dog to such classes. i think it is not necessary .it costs too much and not worthwhile.we teach our dog some simple actions by ourselves.it can stand up and sit down,shake hands with us and relieve itself in the washroom.these are enough.we don't want to take it to obedience classes.
@CuteMandy (162)
• China
30 Apr 13
We don't send our dogs to any obedience classes, we teach it to stay in its place.
