How To Choose The Best Dog Obedience Schools

by: LeeDobbins
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Is your new dog having trouble adapting to your home? If you look through local newspapers and shopping guides, you will see numerous advertisements for dog obedience schools. Are you able to pick the best one out of this group for you and your dog?

The methods for training your dog are almost too numerous to count, and they range from physical punishment-based methods to methods based on gentle reminders and positive reinforcement.

There still remain many schools of thought when it comes to dog training, and a great many veteran trainers will use a specific system that suits them as well as their customers. The current trend is a move towards more of a rewards based method.

Another factor is your dog, and it's background. Is it a puppy, or a rescue dog with their inherent concerns? What is your desired outcome from training--basic obedience, as a pet for the family, show, tracking, or any other dog activities?

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!

It is a great a idea to sign your puppy up for a play group to ensure it has proper socialization. However, if you have a rescue dog with aggression issues you may need more than just a regular trainer. In this case, you may need a certified animal behaviorist. Be extra cautious with aggressive animals!

In some cases training collars may be appropriate for some dogs. Training instruments like pinch collars may work with a few dogs, but a "Gentle Leader" head collar is far more likely to be productive with most.

If your dog isn't required for his first training session, don't be shocked -- it's a good thing! Clicker training (or any positive training) needs a training session for owners so you learn to properly use the tools and to communicate effectively with your dog.

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

1. The school, as a whole, will have a positive tone.

2. Training is based on rewards for a desired behavior, as opposed to punishment for unwanted behavior.

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. Instead of focusing on an undesired behavior, they are are replaced with a desired behaviors like giving the command "heel" so the dog stops and sits right beside you.

5. Patience is a key element in any training session.

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!

About the Author

Learn how to eliminate bad behaviors in your dog and turn him into a pet that is as good as gold with the dog training techniques at http://www.positivedogtrainingtechniques.com/.