Trainer Question
I've contacted two trainers, so far, that are in my area to inquire about classes and the cost of training. I am, to say the least, very discouraged. Perhaps I was wrong from the start, but I was thinking that a class would cost somewhere in the $100-200 range for about six sessions, with a higher price on the more advanced obedience and specialty courses (like agility or herding.) Instead, I've been told that they "don't do puppy classes" as they are too distracting for the puppy to learn anything. Worst of all, the lowest starting price (beginner obedience) between the two is $350 for just four sessions.
Is it normal to have to pay nearly $100 per session with a trainer in a group setting? I admit it's been a number of years since I last attended a dog obedience class, but have the prices really gone up that much?
There is only one other trainer in my area and I'm waiting on a call back for pricing, but I am not holding my breath. For those who have used Petsmart, how was your experience with their training classes? They are the only other option within a half-hour drive for me. Once Ellie is older it won't be as much of a problem. There's a trainer about an hour from here that I plan on using for herding or agility. I'd just rather not have to drive that far for a puppy socialization class...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Sounds very steep. I pay $120 for 8 one-hour agility sessions and the group is very small. I paid $100 for 6 CGC classes and she needed to get space (the agility is at the instructors home).
As far as puppy classes, there are good ones and horrible ones.
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Permalink Reply by Nicola Porter on
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WOW, I spent about 1500 for Rexx. He came to my home for about 8 sessions I think.
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Permalink Reply by Danielle and Sophia on
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Sophia and I just completed puppy classes through AKC in our area. It was $85.00 for 6weeks. Sophia def. benefited from these classes. I can copy all the lesson plans and mail them to you.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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I find the price outrageous and a four session class makes no sense either. I would advise reading some books and buying a video or two. I especially like Ian Dunbar's http://www.amazon.com/Sirius-Puppy-Training-Dr-Dunbar/dp/B000NQRWMK
and I would work on socialization by taking the pup everywhere you can. Puppy classes are great, but by no means the only way to get a well behaved, well socialized puppy.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I agree with Anna...Wynn had no formal training but everywhere with us and is almost as well trained as Sage my therapy dog:)
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Jack never saw a class til he did CGC/TDI when he was almost two. He is fabulous, he is everyone's friend, and he's bombproof with dogs and kids and most other things. We took him to the park by our house every day and every weekend we put him in the car and took him somewhere. We did short obedience sessions at home a couple times a day for the first 18 months or so.
When we started agility, he had more solid groundwork than most of the dogs who had come up through three or four sessions of puppy through beginner obedience. Better stay, better wait, etc and would work off of either the right or left side.
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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on
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Well the obedience isn't a concern. I trained Yuki on my own and he's very well mannered (except outside, where he barks like crazy at people and dogs because he wasn't well socialized. We're working on that, though!) I just want to make sure she is very well socialized and learns good greeting manners.
My goal, if she's up to the task, is to train her as a therapy dog when she's over the crazy puppy stage. So I feel that the sooner I start training in a more formal setting, where she's further socialized, the better we'll both be when it comes to the CGC and TDI work. We will, of course, still be taking her with us to parks and schools and everywhere else we go.
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Jen, they home-school children and many end up doing better in College than kids coming from regular schools.... don't get too hung up on the process. What you do need to know however is that, if you do it on your own, you need to take the pup places WITHOUT Yuki, so she can explore situations with you on her own. This is especially true if Yuki is not well socialized and barks at everybody. As a matter of fact, come to think of it, getting Yuki over HIS problem would be a better investment towards training the puppy, who is likely to get her cues from older brother.... You have great plans, don't feel you need to give in to Highway robbery to achieve your goals. Maybe someday YOU will be offering puppy training in your area at a price people can afford... sounds like they could make good use of it. We all started by learning on our own dogs :-D
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Oh, I'd love to be a dog trainer. My big wish as a kid was to be an exotic animal trainer, and as an adult (though I'd still love to train animals for a zoo!) I've thought about becoming a dog trainer a few times. Then again, I also want to be a biologist, geologist and mathematician. ;)
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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on
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Whoa! Our training classes are $50 for 6 weeks with really good, experienced professional trainers.We also have weekly "drop-in" training for $5 a week, classes ranging from about 8 dogs to up to 20, but with 2-3 trainers per session.
I've taken my older corgi mix to training at Petco. It was fine, a good start. I didn't take Sidney there because I thought they were too afraid of offending a dog owner and not being firm enough in training. Sidney's trainer is tough and the results are incredible. Not mean or abusive at all, but very effective.
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Yeah, there's a place south of where I live that has a similar setup (but more expensive) that sounds great. It's even where she can take her CGC and TDI tests later! The problem is that it's over an hour away. If my children were older and we had a second vehicle then it wouldn't be a problem. I could just take her there during the day. For now, though, we're limited to the four facilities (including Petsmart) that are within a half hour from here.
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Permalink Reply by steve smith on
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I have used Petsmart and the trainer was Zak George from Animal Planet. He was very good but would not go back unless he was there. Coco and Dino were there but the training was primary to train me. I think it was eight weeks and less than one hundred bucks for both of them. It was several years ago and it worked great. If I had to do again I would go the pesonal training route. More expensive but they will spent that time with you and you alone. Looks like you have an Eskie as well. Coco and Dino have one called Snowball. They love him.
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