When I adopted Ace last year, I debated whether or not to take him to formal obedience classes. I am always trying to save money, so one question I asked myself was “Why pay for training when I know how to train him myself?” My boyfriend, Josh, said, “Does he even need it?” This made me want to prove I could train Ace myself even more. But we were not looking at the situation the best way. Any dog can benefit from more obedience training, and his owner might learn something too.
1. If you don’t know how to train your dog, the trainer will show you.
I learned the most about dog training when I was 14 and took our family golden retriever to obedience classes, beginning with puppy kindergarten. It was rewarding for me to have a well-trained dog, one that I had raised from puppyhood through her life. Because of that decision to take our dog to obedience classes, I now have the confidence and knowledge to train a dog on my own. However, because I enjoy bringing my dogs to classes so much, I will probably take every dog I ever own through some sort of professional obedience training.
2. It will give you a reason to practice.
Like piano lessons, if you meet with an instructor every week, you are more likely to practice every day, or at least a lot on the day of your lesson! It works the same with dog training. You won’t want to be the one in the class with the dog who won’t sit or walk on a leash because you haven’t practiced. If you’re like me, you’ll secretly be competitive with everyone else to have the best-behaved dog.
3. It’s good socialization for the dogs.
Even if your dog is close to perfect when it comes to commands such as sit and heel, it is still good to practice these with distractions like having other dogs around. Plus, your dog will probably love to meet and hang out with the other dogs every week.
4. Your dog will have a great time.
A lot of dogs really enjoy obedience classes, the challenges they are given, meeting new people and dogs and spending a whole hour with their owners. Your significant other might actually enjoy some peace and quiet while you and your dog are out of the house for the evening!
5. Discuss problems with a professional.
If you are working with an experienced trainer, he or she has probably dealt with at least one dog with the same “issues” or problems as yours. They will have suggestions and will work with you on specific problems you and your dog are having at home or during class such as food aggression, nervous crying, fixations on toys, etc.
6. You will be able to catch problems before they become bigger problems.
A professional might recognize something about your dog that you don’t. For example, if your shepherd is fixated on the little dogs in the class, maybe he has more of a prey instinct than you realized or would’ve noticed before it was too late. In one of the classes Ace and I took, the instructor pointed out how Ace was too attached to me. In other words, he wouldn’t let me out of his sight and he lacked self confidence unless I was near. This could’ve become more of a problem had I not noticed it. Instead I trained Ace to do agility so he would work through obstacles without my help, giving him plenty of confidence.
7. It will lead you to other interesting classes.
The school I take Ace to offers agility, scent training, therapy dog training and others. It didn’t cross my mind to enter Ace into agility until I first took him to obedience classes and wanted more of a challenge after that. The more types of training you and your dog do, the more options open up for what you and your dog can do.
8. It’s a way for your dog to release energy.
After obedience or agility, Ace always comes home and sleeps for at least an hour if he has the chance. The mental challenges he is offered are what tire him out. It is good physical exercise, too.
9. You will have a better behaved dog.
Most people do not take the time to train their dogs, not even a little. So just taking your dog to a few classes will put him ahead of most other dogs. You will notice a big difference, and other people will too. They will be jealous that your dog is better behaved than theirs.
10. New perspective.
Even if you have been through formal dog training before with another dog, or maybe you have read books on training, it never hurts to get a new perspective. Every trainer is different, and you might get some new ideas you haven’t thought about before.
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March 13th, 2008 at 11:17 am
I groom and train dogs for a living and still take mine to formal obedience classes for just the reasons you have listed here. Great article!!
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March 13th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
You know i’ve never considered dog training (i don’t know why!!) but you bring up some great reasons why i should. Do you have any recommendations as to what style or type of obedience training has worked well for you?
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March 15th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Beautiful Dog. I just adopted one also.
I lost my 7 year old Benny, my sweet black lab. We adopted a 3 year old black lab female, shorty,
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September 10th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Great article I agree 100%… How expensive are these programs?
September 10th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Oh these programs are usually pretty cheap in my opinion. Usually around $50 for a 6-8 week class.