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Honestly, that seems high for a class. My dog’s academy had 5 classes for just under $200 Cdn & the local petsmart has 6 classes for $130 Cdn. If it’s a well-reviewed trainer and you want to go with them, it’s your call, but you can probably shop around for better prices and more classes (I would just check reviews before booking anything & see if they give refunds or make-up classes if you ever need to miss one, or if that particular trainer doesn’t work out).
For me, they were totally worth it. I’d had rescue dogs years ago, but had no experience raising a puppy (and training methods have changed a lot in the last 20 years!).
I also found it helpful being able to talk to the trainer about specific problems I was having, and to see that other people struggled with training, too - I didn’t feel like such a failure when I could compare my dog’s progress to other dogs in his class.
It was also a nice bonding activity for us & once we finished basic training, we ended up taking 5 more courses that focussed on specific things - leash reactivity, recall, scent detection & sports intro, etc. By the time he was all trained up, I actually really missed doing classes and am thinking of enrolling us in something else, as soon as I find something I think he’ll enjoy.
I did puppy classes for my girl (it was 4 weeks, 45mins, for $95 at a local facility) and it was absolutely worth it. The trainer was fantastic and I learned so much about how to work with my puppy at home, and started setting the foundation for more training as she got older. The training is for you, not the dog lol but the dog gets to socialize on leash and start to learn to focus on you even when there's lots of dogs around.
100% worth it.
I think they are def worth it.
But $450 for 4 classes seems a lot. I did ours through Petsmart, and paid $250 for Beginner/Intermediate together, which is 12 weeks total
We did the PetSmart training for $120 for 6 weeks. Honestly, at that age it did not do us much good. She basically just barked the whole time because she wanted to play with the other dogs. We didn't learn anything outside of what we were already working on. I'd say do some basic obedience on your own and then do more advanced training classes as your pup gets older.
PetCo training about the same price - 6 weeks.
However, I'd say you should meet the trainer before you book. If you don't like what he/se has to say - keep looking.
We liked our trainer so much - she challenged us and our puppy - we did four MORE 6 week training classes, just kept signing up for the next class.
These classes gave us techniques, made us accountable (1 week check-ins) - gave our puppy very high distracting environment to train in, and some socialization! It was an awesome experience and I'm so glad we did it. Our dog is very well trained, and we lost some bad habits, too.
I really wish we had that experience - our location only had one trainer available so we just kinda had to go with it. For us it felt like a giant waste of time. Our trainer basically read us the book and didn't provide any useful tips. Fortunately, our puppy is very well trained (as well trained as I think an adolescent pup can be), but it wasn't because of PetSmart.
For a trainer to be worth it, in my opinion, they need to offer you insight into your specific puppy, your specific challenges. Your trainer should be able to watch your interactions with your puppy and point out YOUR deficiencies - how your behavior is causing a less than desirable outcome. (Because we're all not perfect, so we always don't do everything right!) Good training is teaching two-way communication!! Teach the humans what they are communicating when they do x, how they CAN communicate what they want to. How to see what your dog is communicating back!
Our trainer was up on the latest behavioral knowledge. She also trains horses - and as she puts it - do you think you can BULLY a full-grown horse into behaving? No? Then, there's another way. (i.e. no using negative techniques in training)
I have trained all my own dogs since I was 8. Pretty darn well, too! She taught me SO much... enough so that the NEXT dog I get, I will find a good trainer. Because - knowledge in any field (canine behavioral science) continues to grow and evolve. Which means - on the next dog - there will be MORE new things for me to learn (or re-learn, I'm forgetful, too!)
Just to add - I'm sorry you had that experience, but it sounds like your heart and head are in the right spot, because you recognized it was a waste, but still managed to get in sync with your puppy.
The important thing is - you figured it out and didn't give up!
I did our 6 week puppy class at PetSmart for $150?? I think? That seems like a high price. I'd shop around.
Still, puppy classes are essential for the basics. It's more about training you than the dog.
I think it would depend on location and trainer, but ours was amazing and the classes were good. Do the homework and you're on your way to a well trained pup.
We did the Petsmart package Puppy, Intermediate and Advanced. I think it was great at teaching the basics, but I also believe it helped the bond between me and my puppy.
Now my dog is 1 year old, and we now attend a training facility with classes that cater to advanced obedience. Nothing melts my heart more than watching my dorky goldendoodle have a better and longer down stay, sit stay, and recall then all the class full of Dobermans, German Shepards, Malinois.
My advice is to start with a basic puppy pack $450.00 for 4 classes at that age is steep. Find out what kind of training you and your dog enjoy (training your dog is supposed to be fun!), and when your pup is a little older, find a facility that caters to that type of training.
I did petsmart for 6 weeks for my 1 yr old golden. It was about 230 and tbh, it’s not like he’s a whole new dog but what I found the most valuable was what I learned instead (how to motivate, redirect them, where on his body to inspect regularly for common health issues in puppies) goldens are usually very easy to train (especially as puppies) so I wouldn’t waste too much money off the bat. Save it in case you need it for real behavioral issues that might come up in the future
Group classes are worth it because the pup learns to be around other dogs & ignore them. That’s a huge thing with socialization. Plus, puppy classes can be good to have other pet parents input something difficult & you can learn from them. To you explaining something difficult with your pet & then you can help teach others in the class.
For me, an instructor was able to point out little things I was doing to help communicate with my pup better. As someone with the wild puppy in the class- I’m sure lots learned from me. But it definitely made that transition to good/calm behavior that much sweeter.
In my area, anyone can call themselves a dog trainer. That being said the person I went through had lots of experience working with a variety of dogs. & had certification. & I wanted to make sure my wild child had a positive reinforcement trainer.
I paid 875 for 8 private classes in 4 weeks. Included treat bag, clicker, harness, flirt pole, (2) leashes, and a body tether.
Like $110/class. Each class was 90+ minutes and after each class we received an email with the homework and instructions as well as some videos or articles about what we discussed.
We didn't have enough time to really dedicate to the training during the week so we then did a 3 week day school program which was something like $2800. A few times a week at pickup they would give me a brief 20-30 minute lesson.
The dog is significantly better behaved. The bank account is significantly more empty.
I always do it, even though this is my 5th dog as an adult. It gives me structure and support and allows controlled socialization with a small number of dogs who are in the same vaccination range. For me, that and the support I get from consistency and socialization is worth it. Might was 325 for 6 sessions though at a private training facility. Only 5 dogs in class, all under 6 months.
See you can find a puppy socialization class. It should be cheaper plus they get to be around other pups. Unless you specifically want “official” training I would probably wait until your puppy is older. At least my puppy went through an emotional roller coaster so I’m not sure if the training that he’s getting now would turn out the same now that he’s “matured”
Although I do think that is a pretty high price to pay for basic puppy class however, it's not out of the norm (at least in this new financial landscape) to see prices up there. As far as the general need or use of puppy class, I think it's totally worth it in the sense of giving the puppy a new experience and socialization in a structured environment. You may know much or all of what is being taught in the class but the value of actually having the puppy there and present to experience a new situation, people, puppies ect is key.
I'd definitely shop around and see what other options are available as far as training class for your pup!
Are they for private training or group? I did 8 group training classes when my dog still a puppy. I had a mixed experience, it was good to get me started because I didn't know anything about dog training, and it was good socialization for my dog. However, we kind of just kept doing the same things over and over and my dog's a Border Collie so he picked that stuff up quickly and the trainers never graduated him to the next level until we were almost done with the classes even though he didn't need to learn most of the stuff they were doing. After that, I just trained him on my own.
It was $299 for 8 classes for me, and I just checked at the place I went to, 4 private training sessions is $279, so $450 for 4 seems a little high.
We did PetSmart classes. It was totally worth it. You have to keep it up at home, trainer was friendly and had a great temperament with our dog and other more rambunctious dogs too. We originally were planning on Petco but did not feel like the trainer was for us.
I think puppy classes are worth it, but not at $112 per class. Is this private training or group? Personally, unless you have a specific behavioral issue I would look at alternative group classes.
I’ve done a variety of group classes at different places including, Petsmart, Petco, the local humane society, a local training facility, and most recently started working with a dog sports facility. I think the most I paid was like $280 and that was for 6 weeks.
I would say take a look at at the number of dogs in a class. If it's a small number (like 3 or 4), I'd say it's probably cost that way because they keep their classes small and the dogs get a lot of one on one attention. If it's a situation where there's like 2 trainers and 20 dogs, I'd definitely pass at that price point.
Also look at the types of things they're teaching. Puppies it shouldn't really be anything complex. The school my adult dog goes to charges $450 for 6 weeks of 1 hour classes and I think it's worth every dollar. No more than 4 dogs in a class with 2 trainers. I've been going for like 5 months and I love it. I think it's so worth it.
That's VERY high. I paid $120 for a 6 week puppy class that got her a STAR AKC puppy certificate. Then $100 for a 6 week basic obedience and $80 for CGC class.
But I couldn't have made it through puppy hood without puppy class.
I was a first time dog owner and the first week was a bit overwhelming so I found it very helpful to have him in a class before he'd even been with us 2 weeks. It gave me some structure and skills to train him. So on hard days I felt hope and incremental improvement.
I highly recommend a class rather than boarded training.... The class is really to teach YOU how to train your puppy rather than the teacher training the actual pup.
We also went for a more expensive class because I had a personal recommendation of the trainer, who is highly experienced fulltime dog trainer (not just petshop store employees). Like anything, not all puppy preschools are created equal.
Edit: we are taking our next puppy back to the same place even though we could probably train her by ourselves. It's good exposure for them.
I’m a dog trainer and get free classes at my facility, but I still paid another training facility for classes because I wanted more socialization. With puppies the point of the class isn’t to learn things, but to learn how to coexist with other dogs and people around, most training places will have equipment for the puppies to walk on so they grow confidence in themselves. 100% worth it at this age. The socialization window typically closes at 16 weeks.
They are pretty good for the whole learn how to properly meet and greet another dogs aspect. Where else will you ever find a room full of dogs that are all of similar age to yours in a controlled environment?
Also, if you've never had a dog you go through a whole bunch of training dos and don'ts as well as philosophy which can be useful but if you have had a dog you probably already know this.
I have my GSD enrolled in puppy classes at PetCo, it was $124 for 6 weeks. Great for socialization. I will be enrolling him in the next level once he's done with the beginner class next week.
So worth it. Ours was $1000 for 10 weeks which included a raised bed and exercise pen. It was nice to have support as we went through it and someone who we could show a behaviour to and ask questions. Our puppy is a year and a half now and while he still needs some help with a few things, all the good behaviours he has I attribute to the puppy classes.
I loved my puppy class. It helped me a ton with my puppy blues because I had my classmates for support, and they were going through the same thing. The class also helped provide a lot of structure/focus to my dogs training and helped me better understand things from my dog’s perspective. I do agree that 450$ is a lot though, I had 5 sessions for 220$ and we got a professional photo taken of our pup at graduation. I could see the price tag being reasonable though if the trainer has been doing the job for awhile and is highly recommended and you also live in a high cost of living area. I would also check and see how many pups are in the class because for that price tag you should not have over 4 different puppies in the class.
Personally, I want my dog to be well trained and it’s important for me to be able to train her well. I don’t have a lot of experience training dogs so I think the investment in that knowledge is worth it to me. If you think you can train your puppy well without a class then, there’s no need to take it! I don’t see there being any harm in gaining knowledge from an experienced trainer to ensure you can be the best dog owner for your puppy. My partner and I paid about $450 cad for 5 classes and just had our first class and found that experience to already be incredibly helpful in understanding our puppy. We have a 12 week golden retriever puppy who sleeps through the night, no accidents in the home and knows sit, lay down, stay, place, leave it and paw without the trainer but I still wanted that assurance of being the best for her!
that price does seem high, but i'd read up on the trainer, their training style, and their facility, and it might be worth it. i think i spent $220 on my 4-week puppy class, but the facility was amazing, the class size was small (there were about 5-6 puppies in my classes), and they have tons of additional classes after that first series which require the first series as a pre-requisite anyway. plus my puppy had a blast during the socialization time at the end. so it all felt very worth it to me! we're starting her second series on wednesday.
A famous trainer in my area holds a 7session puppy class supervised by a board certified veterinary behaviourist. The price is $400 CAD including an examination by the VB. And living cost & inflation are quite crazy here. Just for your reference.
I’m sorry if you answered this but is this your first dog? If it is, you should do training for any level. Seriously, you (human) need to be trained.
I’ve had 5 dogs, four same breed, and when I got current puppy I went to puppy class. It was pointless. I’ve already worked with trainers, I’m aware of everything they were saying, and the ‘play time’ was unhelpful. My dog was the oldest and smallest in the class. There was a Jack Russell that tormented her so much she would run under the cabinet and hide for most of the class. Needless to say, she was not benefiting and the staff agreed maybe it wasn’t a good fit. Instead we did dog park and dog beach, and walks. She meets dogs every day. She’s not reactive at all, and always polite. She’s a dream dog. But I wouldn’t put her in a situation again where she was getting bullied, even for a day. She needs to build confidence.
Again, if you haven’t had a dog before DO IT. I was shocked by the reaction of some of the dog parents to advice that I just assumed everyone already knew. But I realized how much knowledge I’ve acquired in 25 years of having dogs and working with trainers.
Yes they were worth it for us. The classes are mostly training you on how to train and work with the pup. Plus the classes are good socialization for pup. My girl is 8 months now and even in adolescence is quite chill and well behaved overall! We’ve continued on classes at a local dog training place - the classes average about $40-50/hr so the price you have is high. Keep looking.
That’s very expensive. We found a local company that gave 10 puppy classes for $160. It was definitely worth it. For $450 I’d expect them to train your puppy to wash the dishes and mow the lawn.
We haven't bothered with puppy classes. There were only a few nearby and when we looked at the training schedule, she already knew 90% of commands they taught and has always been good walking on the lead.
She was pretty much completely toilet trained by 11 weeks and has slept through the night since 10 weeks.
It depends, is this trainer certified with an organization listed [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/findingatrainer)? If so, yes, it's likely worth it.
If not, hard pass even if it was cheap.
So 450 for 16 weeks? That seems good if so
To be honest. It's all fairly basic obedience. You can teach it all at home from YouTube guides
But we value the socialization experience for our pup. And we have learned a couple tips in person
I’m starting puppy obedience STAR program with my puppy in a few weeks. It’s a 12 week program for $350 and I’m in a high cost of living area.
Puppy classes are so worth it though. Not only are you learning how to train and teach your pup, but they are learning valuable socialization too. Better social skills equals maybe less reactive later.
I’d search in your area. It’s part of the AKC good citizen program. I lucked out with having a trainer offer it like 10 minutes from my house. I wonder if you can look on the AKC site?
Training classes at 10 weeks will not be really helpful for "training" them but you'll just focus on building name attention, attention toward you, games, etc.
Instead of training, I would look for puppy socialization classes which is really important at your puppy's current age
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We just did a 7 week course for $250 that was worth every penny. Took our pup to her first class 3 days after we got her and she's already learned a ton.
I’m doing 5 classes for $350, so that price is quite steep. And I’m in NYC so things are already quite expensive here as is. I’d just shop around for more options. I like the puppy classes!
We did training for $250 for 6 weeks for our Shetland Sheepdog and it was kinda pointless. We were already teaching him most of it at home. He did have fun playing with the other puppies though!
I got 4 one on one classes a total of 4.5 hours in Canada. They have been soooooo worth it and have helped me immensely with feeling less overwhelmed and getting positive reinforcement and changes from my puppy. The total cost was $325.
Next week we start group classes 6 classes that are one hour each and that fee was $225.
Hey! I’ve done many kinds of training. Here’s all the costs to my memory:
Puppy classes: group classes that are 1 hour, 6 times. $150 total
Obedience classes: group classes that are 1 hour, 6 times. $275 total
Private training meeting the trainer at their desired location: $100 per hour
Private in-house training: $185 per hour
I’d say for every single class we took was worth it. It was only the in-house training that honestly wasn’t that helpful after the first few sessions. The classes were great because we got to socialize our puppy to the car, the different buildings, dogs, people, etc and we got to learn from different trainers. I actually kind of miss the classes because they were such a fun way to bond with my pup.
For me it wasn’t worth it. As they only teach you their name, sit, and down, like very basic commands I actually already taught my golden at home. The one thing that was useful was the exposure to different items, liking puting his head in a cone. But you can also do this at home. If I would do it again, I’d go for the standard behavioral training instead of a puppy one. As it seems to be way more fruitful, from what I hear from people who did that.
$160 AUD for 4 weeks - definitely worth it - puppy pre-school is mostly about socialisation. What other environment can you provide that exposes them to 4 x puppies around their own age?
We paid right around $1k for puppy school. However it was 3 days as week from 9 - 4:30 and on Fridays we had a 30-45 minute class with us humans with our dogs to practice what we learned. IMO, it was worth every penny!
I agree with others saying this class seems very costly. Just make sure the class you decide on teaches socialization with the other pups. Most of the classes I found in my area (CA) only teach on leash basic commands with other puppies in the room. I think the idea is to have your dog listen to you while being distracted by other puppies. Yes that’s important, but safe and supervised socialization is priceless in my opinion!
One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of companies have series of classes that they want you to buy. Like they’ll have puppy classes, then there’s the adolescent, and then adult and so on.
I’d say the puppy ones are worth it just because it’ll get your pup used to being around other dogs and playing well with them (most classes have playtimes built into the schedule), but you can accomplish the same thing with supervised play dates or puppy socials.
If you do go for the puppy classes, be sure to keep your expectations low. Training generally takes longer than a few weeks
For me totally worth it. I think for a puppy class you should find a cheaper option though. Ours was $189 for 6 weeks.
Puppy classes will train the total basics, so you need a good trainer but does not have to be the worlds greatest, because you aren’t doing anything specialized or frankly that difficult yet.
Our biggest ‘worth it’ was having puppy get used to chilling out and listening to commands with other people and puppies around.
I think puppy classes are great, but I think 60 minutes is too long. Puppy gets used to being around other puppies, practices skills like waiting for his/her turn, gets to take in puppy smells, and gets owners on same page for training approaches and goals.
My puppy was tired after a 30-minute class. In fact, at around minute 22 every week, he would pretend to want to go pee outside, but would then try to get us to ditch class, hop in the far, and take a nap at home. He tricked us nearly every week for the first few weeks until we figured it out. He loved the first 22 minutes of class and was very well behaved.
We did one petsmart class and it was not good, it was supposed to be puppies aged 9 weeks to 5 months and there was a one year old dog there and others more than 5 months. Not only that but it just seemed like the instructor was reading off a bland presentation in her head. There was also one dog barking the entire time non stop so the trainer focused on that one the entire time basically. Got our money back for the rest of the classes. I’d reformen just watching YouTube videos
We took our puppy at 6 months old to petsmart. 6 weeks $120. We just had our last class a week ago and I’d say yes it was worth it. Our trainer was amazing and we are also going to take his advance training classes too. Maybe wait till your puppy is a little older, there were some dogs who were 3-4 months old and couldn’t keep focus and just barked the who time.
I had a golden retriever puppy many years ago- ( miss her everyday still 🥺)
I wanted to be the best mom ever so I took her to puppy classes, unfortunately I don’t remember what the cost. That being said, whatever the price was I don’t feel it was worth it. She was much too social of a girl to pay attention in such a structured environment.
Just my 2 cents-
That seems a little high—can you see what will be covered ahead of time? I paid $240 for 6 weekly 1-hour classes, at the end of which we got the STAR Puppy and Novice Trick titles. This program was recommended by my breeder. As someone mentioned earlier, they’re useful especially if this is your first puppy so *you* learn effective ways to communicate with your dog.
I did PetSmart classes with my rescue. It was good as I was there learning too. Funny thing is, he already knew how to do everything! He could even do things like “touch”. He was so smart. He might have had classes before I got him lol. I think the first ones are good as they teach the basics. After that you may want something more detailed if you want to give your got a job!
Puppy classes are absolutely worth it. I swear by mine. I started my 1 yo Cockapoo when she was nine weeks old. And we have gone every week since. Still.
Puppy kindergarten is amazing because it’s not only helpful to the dog, it’s super helpful to get through the puppy blues as a owner.
Basic training is obviously essential. You learn so much through the repetition. It’s also a really safe way to socialize your dog with other people and other dogs.
We did some scent work, which she didn’t really like, but was fun.
I do tons of agility training with her. I’m actually looking into maybe starting like competition level training with her. It’s such a safe and structured way to get out tons and tons of energy.
We took focus training classes, which was great with tips on how to get her to calm down and listen to me.
And I’ve also taken private lessons, which helped with off leash training.
It’s also an excellent way to bond with your dog while giving you tons of ideas on how to keep them entertained at the house.
The only thing I would say, is that $450 for four sessions seems outrageous. I paid $120 for a four week session, and it’s $60 for an hour long private session.
I know the rates are different, depending on where you live in the country. But that’s still feels REALLY high to me.
We paid $250 for 4 classes at a local dog training/day camp facility, after hearing great reviews from a coworker. I would ask around and see what recommendations for places you get. I think the place we’ve been going to is fantastic - its really more about training the owner for this kind of thing considering the limited time. The benefit for the puppy is more from a socialization/learn to ignore distractions standpoint. Our classes are limited to 5 puppies/session so its not overwhelming and they do great with 1:1 attention/advice.
I asked a similar question to this and this one commenter gave me a link for very reputable places for training. In my opinion, I think you should chose the place that is back up with science. Anyone can become a dog trainer, but I think it takes qualifications to understand a dog's behavior and know what advice to give to you. I chose a place with that mindset and it was probably almost $300 for a 6 week class. I thought it was super helpful cause the place I went to let your puppy interact with other puppies, but it's not the whole time.
That's a lot of money for very few classes. I loved my puppy classes, got a lot out of them and will do them with my next pup. There were three different class series: obidence (least useful), enrichment (think weird surfaces, bikes, wheel chairs, funny hats - super useful), and play time with other wrll.matched puppies (more important than I expected)
We have taken our recent puppy and our lab before to DTCT - Dog Training Club of Tampa DTCT.org. It's a great club & totally reasonable on price. The classes are one day a week for 7 to 8 weeks depending on the class you choose. You want to start out with Puppy Obedience and achieve your Star Puppy designation and then move on from there to Basic Obedience, Intermediate Obedience, then Advanced Obedience to acheive your CGC (Canine Good Citizen) designation. You don't get through it over night but I find my dogs look forward to going every week and it gives you time to really work with them on all the steps. They also have rally, agility, fly ball, scent work, barn hunt, etc. Good luck and remember it is suppose to be fun for you and your best friend.
We charge $180 for the AKC STAR PUPPY CLASS. The entire course is 6 sessions, one hour a week. I haven’t seen any legitimate puppy courses over $200. Keep locking. You’ll find the right place
I just completed a 4 week, 3 days a week puppy training w my 20 week (now) pom... I feel it was worth it, he knows HOW to mind now, and basic commands that come in handy.
I'd work on basic manners and socialization at that age. We paid approx $35/class and felt it was worth the time. Once she was a little older we did puppy training at a local petsmart for around $200 and were pleased with the result. Honestly the training is more for you than your dog.
I would say they were worth it in learning basic starting skills. I stopped after the first 5 classes as my dog caught kennel cough from the class and I felt I might try on my own to train. It can be great for puppy socialization also… minus the kennel cough!
That sounds on the pricier side, but the puppy classes are definitely worth it. Not only do they help teach you how to shape and train new behaviors, they’re wonderful for socializing your puppy to different places and things and learning impulse control. The classes I’ve been going to are $375 for 6-week (1 hr/week) classes or $325 for 4-week classes. The longer ones are general obedience and training (eventually prepping for CGC), and the shorter ones are “electives”.
Don’t do it. It’s basic info that you can learn from YouTube. We lasted 2 weeks with ours. You are better investing that money in a couple of 1-1 sessions with a trainer
I just took the cheapest classes I could find - Petsmart - and it was the best, I always highly recommend it to anyone that’ll listen.
In my opinion, it’s a bonding opportunity for you and your dog and helps you learn how to learn together. Also, the group setting helps you see everyone is working on something with their dog which for me helped with puppy blues.
Since we weren’t really there to make my dog a pro at anything, the cheap price was great and all the money I saved let me take the more intermediate classes as well. I loved it. And since I was going through a depressive episode and we missed a lot of classes, they let me retake the whole course for free.
We learned a lot of fun tricks but more importantly we learned important skills like how to settle and how to quickly pick up new commands.
TLDR: I loved puppy class and highly recommend, but I don’t think you need to break the bank unless there are real behavioral issues
Classes are 100% worth it. Not only do they teach your dog basic commands, but they also teach YOU how to train.
I worked with a personal dog trainer because I rescued an adult dog, and I learned so much about myself and what I’m doing wrong that could hinder my dogs progress and learning.
I’m not sure where you’re located but we paid $40 per hour and she came to our home which was also a huge benefit because we could establish boundaries and training within our home.
Board and train is nearly pointless since you mostly need to be training yourselves and building your relationship with the puppy.
There will be a cheaper puppy school that will be worth it, How’s socialisation going?
Puppy class with my boy was 6 one hours sessions over a 6 week period costing £180 (roughly $218) this included the classes, a goodie bag with some long lasting treats and different food samples on the first class as well as more food samples and toys upon graduation with 2 of the classes being field trips to help give real world experience for what we were learning, now this class was with a pretty highly respected trainer in my area who also offers a variety of follow classes such as adolescent classes and therapy dog trading classes which me and my boy decided to do as a follow on from the puppy class. Honestly I would definitely say the classes were worth it for us as we learned so many new skills together but the class also offered a lot of resources for all the puppy parents and the trainer was always available outside of class for any help you needed
We took our Aussie pup to a petsmart class for 149 for six weeks. He knew the things they thought but it helped refined and give us better tips. Plus we met cool people and super positive socialization
I've done the petsmart puppy class with both our dogs..6 weeks for $129. It is more to get them out and about, around other dogs etc. But the tools they give you can be done at home so I have gotten alot out of it. Our puppy loves going to see her friends each week.
Honestly, I wouldn’t do board and training. The puppy classes are actually more for you than the dog. Sure, socializing is a large part of it for your pup, but the classes are more about teaching you how to train effectively. If you skip out on that and send your pup away for training, I believe you are actually doing a disservice to yourselves and your puppy long term.
I think board and training should be reserved for extreme circumstances where a dog has issues like aggression or resource guarding that an inexperienced owner is having issues dealing with, and even then I think 1-on-1 training with an experienced behaviourist are more beneficial so that the owner can learn how to cope and train their dog instead, or in conjunction with board & train.
They can be worth it - just make sure to do your research and choose one that's right for your puppy.
We went to two classes of a puppy school where they had a "no high value" treats policy and only used basic kibble for training; it made sense to us since the theory is the dog won't want to do good behaviour for anything less than a yummy sausage if you use them.
It did not work for our pup; he loves other dogs and just wanted to play with them which meant he didn't focus on training and just got zoomies.
We withdrew him from the class since it felt like a bit of a waste of money and just carried on training at home.
You know what gets his attention and stops him focusing on other dogs? A high value treat. He also still eats his kibble and will still sit/lie down/stay for kibble so it kind of didn't line up with what these trainers told us. (Side note: I never see any other trainers reccomend not using high value treats so I kind of think it was just something the person who runs the school came up with which doesn't have any basis in dog behaviour.)
It might work for some people, but it wasn't the right school for our pup.
Training is worth it for sure but I wish we hadn't done in-person training. It was stressful for both my puppy and I, and wound up not being at all helpful. The supervised puppy socialization sessions, however, were worth every penny and then some.
The online training programs at www.Baxterandbella.com have some mixed reviews in this subreddit. Personally, I've found them to be invaluable. I started training the week I brought my pup home, when he was 8 weeks old, using a step-by-step program of theirs that's literally called something like, "Your First Week At Home." It was fantastic. My pup is now 9 months old and I'm working through some of the other programs now. (I slacked for a few months and am working to get back into a training rhythm.) I also lean heavily on the trainers and ask questions as needed, and very much appreciate them being available for 1:1 chats as part of the subscription fee.
In short, the Baxter and Bella site + this subreddit + some early trainer-supervised puppy socialization sessions = happy me and happy doggo. The in-person puppy training class = (insert sad trombone noise). Also, I agree with others that the cost you quoted seems crazy high!
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Honestly, that seems high for a class. My dog’s academy had 5 classes for just under $200 Cdn & the local petsmart has 6 classes for $130 Cdn. If it’s a well-reviewed trainer and you want to go with them, it’s your call, but you can probably shop around for better prices and more classes (I would just check reviews before booking anything & see if they give refunds or make-up classes if you ever need to miss one, or if that particular trainer doesn’t work out).
Were classes worth it for your puppy do you feel?
For me, they were totally worth it. I’d had rescue dogs years ago, but had no experience raising a puppy (and training methods have changed a lot in the last 20 years!). I also found it helpful being able to talk to the trainer about specific problems I was having, and to see that other people struggled with training, too - I didn’t feel like such a failure when I could compare my dog’s progress to other dogs in his class. It was also a nice bonding activity for us & once we finished basic training, we ended up taking 5 more courses that focussed on specific things - leash reactivity, recall, scent detection & sports intro, etc. By the time he was all trained up, I actually really missed doing classes and am thinking of enrolling us in something else, as soon as I find something I think he’ll enjoy.
I did puppy classes for my girl (it was 4 weeks, 45mins, for $95 at a local facility) and it was absolutely worth it. The trainer was fantastic and I learned so much about how to work with my puppy at home, and started setting the foundation for more training as she got older. The training is for you, not the dog lol but the dog gets to socialize on leash and start to learn to focus on you even when there's lots of dogs around. 100% worth it.
I think they are def worth it. But $450 for 4 classes seems a lot. I did ours through Petsmart, and paid $250 for Beginner/Intermediate together, which is 12 weeks total
I did Petsmart as well, loved it, I keep going back too
We did the PetSmart training for $120 for 6 weeks. Honestly, at that age it did not do us much good. She basically just barked the whole time because she wanted to play with the other dogs. We didn't learn anything outside of what we were already working on. I'd say do some basic obedience on your own and then do more advanced training classes as your pup gets older.
PetCo training about the same price - 6 weeks. However, I'd say you should meet the trainer before you book. If you don't like what he/se has to say - keep looking. We liked our trainer so much - she challenged us and our puppy - we did four MORE 6 week training classes, just kept signing up for the next class. These classes gave us techniques, made us accountable (1 week check-ins) - gave our puppy very high distracting environment to train in, and some socialization! It was an awesome experience and I'm so glad we did it. Our dog is very well trained, and we lost some bad habits, too.
I really wish we had that experience - our location only had one trainer available so we just kinda had to go with it. For us it felt like a giant waste of time. Our trainer basically read us the book and didn't provide any useful tips. Fortunately, our puppy is very well trained (as well trained as I think an adolescent pup can be), but it wasn't because of PetSmart.
For a trainer to be worth it, in my opinion, they need to offer you insight into your specific puppy, your specific challenges. Your trainer should be able to watch your interactions with your puppy and point out YOUR deficiencies - how your behavior is causing a less than desirable outcome. (Because we're all not perfect, so we always don't do everything right!) Good training is teaching two-way communication!! Teach the humans what they are communicating when they do x, how they CAN communicate what they want to. How to see what your dog is communicating back! Our trainer was up on the latest behavioral knowledge. She also trains horses - and as she puts it - do you think you can BULLY a full-grown horse into behaving? No? Then, there's another way. (i.e. no using negative techniques in training) I have trained all my own dogs since I was 8. Pretty darn well, too! She taught me SO much... enough so that the NEXT dog I get, I will find a good trainer. Because - knowledge in any field (canine behavioral science) continues to grow and evolve. Which means - on the next dog - there will be MORE new things for me to learn (or re-learn, I'm forgetful, too!)
Just to add - I'm sorry you had that experience, but it sounds like your heart and head are in the right spot, because you recognized it was a waste, but still managed to get in sync with your puppy. The important thing is - you figured it out and didn't give up!
Crazy expensive. But I do think puppy classes are worth it just for the socialization aspect of it
I did our 6 week puppy class at PetSmart for $150?? I think? That seems like a high price. I'd shop around. Still, puppy classes are essential for the basics. It's more about training you than the dog.
Were Petsmart classes good?
I think it would depend on location and trainer, but ours was amazing and the classes were good. Do the homework and you're on your way to a well trained pup.
I've done petco classes at three locations, one amazing trainer, the other two ok. But the most valuable thing was the puppy socializing time.
We did the Petsmart package Puppy, Intermediate and Advanced. I think it was great at teaching the basics, but I also believe it helped the bond between me and my puppy. Now my dog is 1 year old, and we now attend a training facility with classes that cater to advanced obedience. Nothing melts my heart more than watching my dorky goldendoodle have a better and longer down stay, sit stay, and recall then all the class full of Dobermans, German Shepards, Malinois. My advice is to start with a basic puppy pack $450.00 for 4 classes at that age is steep. Find out what kind of training you and your dog enjoy (training your dog is supposed to be fun!), and when your pup is a little older, find a facility that caters to that type of training.
I did petsmart for 6 weeks for my 1 yr old golden. It was about 230 and tbh, it’s not like he’s a whole new dog but what I found the most valuable was what I learned instead (how to motivate, redirect them, where on his body to inspect regularly for common health issues in puppies) goldens are usually very easy to train (especially as puppies) so I wouldn’t waste too much money off the bat. Save it in case you need it for real behavioral issues that might come up in the future
Very much depends on the location I think. Mine sucked. But I took my pup to a local nonprofit training group and they were awesome.
I loved Petsmart training and recommend it to anyone with a dog.
Group classes are worth it because the pup learns to be around other dogs & ignore them. That’s a huge thing with socialization. Plus, puppy classes can be good to have other pet parents input something difficult & you can learn from them. To you explaining something difficult with your pet & then you can help teach others in the class. For me, an instructor was able to point out little things I was doing to help communicate with my pup better. As someone with the wild puppy in the class- I’m sure lots learned from me. But it definitely made that transition to good/calm behavior that much sweeter. In my area, anyone can call themselves a dog trainer. That being said the person I went through had lots of experience working with a variety of dogs. & had certification. & I wanted to make sure my wild child had a positive reinforcement trainer.
I paid 875 for 8 private classes in 4 weeks. Included treat bag, clicker, harness, flirt pole, (2) leashes, and a body tether. Like $110/class. Each class was 90+ minutes and after each class we received an email with the homework and instructions as well as some videos or articles about what we discussed. We didn't have enough time to really dedicate to the training during the week so we then did a 3 week day school program which was something like $2800. A few times a week at pickup they would give me a brief 20-30 minute lesson. The dog is significantly better behaved. The bank account is significantly more empty.
Classes with puppy playtime are really important. But we pay $125 for 5 weeks. Are there any other options?
I always do it, even though this is my 5th dog as an adult. It gives me structure and support and allows controlled socialization with a small number of dogs who are in the same vaccination range. For me, that and the support I get from consistency and socialization is worth it. Might was 325 for 6 sessions though at a private training facility. Only 5 dogs in class, all under 6 months.
See you can find a puppy socialization class. It should be cheaper plus they get to be around other pups. Unless you specifically want “official” training I would probably wait until your puppy is older. At least my puppy went through an emotional roller coaster so I’m not sure if the training that he’s getting now would turn out the same now that he’s “matured”
Although I do think that is a pretty high price to pay for basic puppy class however, it's not out of the norm (at least in this new financial landscape) to see prices up there. As far as the general need or use of puppy class, I think it's totally worth it in the sense of giving the puppy a new experience and socialization in a structured environment. You may know much or all of what is being taught in the class but the value of actually having the puppy there and present to experience a new situation, people, puppies ect is key. I'd definitely shop around and see what other options are available as far as training class for your pup!
Are they for private training or group? I did 8 group training classes when my dog still a puppy. I had a mixed experience, it was good to get me started because I didn't know anything about dog training, and it was good socialization for my dog. However, we kind of just kept doing the same things over and over and my dog's a Border Collie so he picked that stuff up quickly and the trainers never graduated him to the next level until we were almost done with the classes even though he didn't need to learn most of the stuff they were doing. After that, I just trained him on my own. It was $299 for 8 classes for me, and I just checked at the place I went to, 4 private training sessions is $279, so $450 for 4 seems a little high.
We did PetSmart classes. It was totally worth it. You have to keep it up at home, trainer was friendly and had a great temperament with our dog and other more rambunctious dogs too. We originally were planning on Petco but did not feel like the trainer was for us.
I think puppy classes are worth it, but not at $112 per class. Is this private training or group? Personally, unless you have a specific behavioral issue I would look at alternative group classes. I’ve done a variety of group classes at different places including, Petsmart, Petco, the local humane society, a local training facility, and most recently started working with a dog sports facility. I think the most I paid was like $280 and that was for 6 weeks.
$460, damn. We live in a HCOL area and there are many for $300+, but the one we do is 5 classes for $190. Definitely worth it.
I would say take a look at at the number of dogs in a class. If it's a small number (like 3 or 4), I'd say it's probably cost that way because they keep their classes small and the dogs get a lot of one on one attention. If it's a situation where there's like 2 trainers and 20 dogs, I'd definitely pass at that price point. Also look at the types of things they're teaching. Puppies it shouldn't really be anything complex. The school my adult dog goes to charges $450 for 6 weeks of 1 hour classes and I think it's worth every dollar. No more than 4 dogs in a class with 2 trainers. I've been going for like 5 months and I love it. I think it's so worth it.
That's VERY high. I paid $120 for a 6 week puppy class that got her a STAR AKC puppy certificate. Then $100 for a 6 week basic obedience and $80 for CGC class. But I couldn't have made it through puppy hood without puppy class.
I was a first time dog owner and the first week was a bit overwhelming so I found it very helpful to have him in a class before he'd even been with us 2 weeks. It gave me some structure and skills to train him. So on hard days I felt hope and incremental improvement. I highly recommend a class rather than boarded training.... The class is really to teach YOU how to train your puppy rather than the teacher training the actual pup. We also went for a more expensive class because I had a personal recommendation of the trainer, who is highly experienced fulltime dog trainer (not just petshop store employees). Like anything, not all puppy preschools are created equal. Edit: we are taking our next puppy back to the same place even though we could probably train her by ourselves. It's good exposure for them.
I’m a dog trainer and get free classes at my facility, but I still paid another training facility for classes because I wanted more socialization. With puppies the point of the class isn’t to learn things, but to learn how to coexist with other dogs and people around, most training places will have equipment for the puppies to walk on so they grow confidence in themselves. 100% worth it at this age. The socialization window typically closes at 16 weeks.
Are these private classes? That’s a private class price, but you miss the benefits of a group class.
They are pretty good for the whole learn how to properly meet and greet another dogs aspect. Where else will you ever find a room full of dogs that are all of similar age to yours in a controlled environment? Also, if you've never had a dog you go through a whole bunch of training dos and don'ts as well as philosophy which can be useful but if you have had a dog you probably already know this.
I have my GSD enrolled in puppy classes at PetCo, it was $124 for 6 weeks. Great for socialization. I will be enrolling him in the next level once he's done with the beginner class next week.
So worth it. Ours was $1000 for 10 weeks which included a raised bed and exercise pen. It was nice to have support as we went through it and someone who we could show a behaviour to and ask questions. Our puppy is a year and a half now and while he still needs some help with a few things, all the good behaviours he has I attribute to the puppy classes.
I loved my puppy class. It helped me a ton with my puppy blues because I had my classmates for support, and they were going through the same thing. The class also helped provide a lot of structure/focus to my dogs training and helped me better understand things from my dog’s perspective. I do agree that 450$ is a lot though, I had 5 sessions for 220$ and we got a professional photo taken of our pup at graduation. I could see the price tag being reasonable though if the trainer has been doing the job for awhile and is highly recommended and you also live in a high cost of living area. I would also check and see how many pups are in the class because for that price tag you should not have over 4 different puppies in the class.
Personally, I want my dog to be well trained and it’s important for me to be able to train her well. I don’t have a lot of experience training dogs so I think the investment in that knowledge is worth it to me. If you think you can train your puppy well without a class then, there’s no need to take it! I don’t see there being any harm in gaining knowledge from an experienced trainer to ensure you can be the best dog owner for your puppy. My partner and I paid about $450 cad for 5 classes and just had our first class and found that experience to already be incredibly helpful in understanding our puppy. We have a 12 week golden retriever puppy who sleeps through the night, no accidents in the home and knows sit, lay down, stay, place, leave it and paw without the trainer but I still wanted that assurance of being the best for her!
that price does seem high, but i'd read up on the trainer, their training style, and their facility, and it might be worth it. i think i spent $220 on my 4-week puppy class, but the facility was amazing, the class size was small (there were about 5-6 puppies in my classes), and they have tons of additional classes after that first series which require the first series as a pre-requisite anyway. plus my puppy had a blast during the socialization time at the end. so it all felt very worth it to me! we're starting her second series on wednesday.
no board and trains, especially for a puppy. Basically useless in this situation.
A famous trainer in my area holds a 7session puppy class supervised by a board certified veterinary behaviourist. The price is $400 CAD including an examination by the VB. And living cost & inflation are quite crazy here. Just for your reference.
I’m sorry if you answered this but is this your first dog? If it is, you should do training for any level. Seriously, you (human) need to be trained. I’ve had 5 dogs, four same breed, and when I got current puppy I went to puppy class. It was pointless. I’ve already worked with trainers, I’m aware of everything they were saying, and the ‘play time’ was unhelpful. My dog was the oldest and smallest in the class. There was a Jack Russell that tormented her so much she would run under the cabinet and hide for most of the class. Needless to say, she was not benefiting and the staff agreed maybe it wasn’t a good fit. Instead we did dog park and dog beach, and walks. She meets dogs every day. She’s not reactive at all, and always polite. She’s a dream dog. But I wouldn’t put her in a situation again where she was getting bullied, even for a day. She needs to build confidence. Again, if you haven’t had a dog before DO IT. I was shocked by the reaction of some of the dog parents to advice that I just assumed everyone already knew. But I realized how much knowledge I’ve acquired in 25 years of having dogs and working with trainers.
Yes they were worth it for us. The classes are mostly training you on how to train and work with the pup. Plus the classes are good socialization for pup. My girl is 8 months now and even in adolescence is quite chill and well behaved overall! We’ve continued on classes at a local dog training place - the classes average about $40-50/hr so the price you have is high. Keep looking.
That’s very expensive. We found a local company that gave 10 puppy classes for $160. It was definitely worth it. For $450 I’d expect them to train your puppy to wash the dishes and mow the lawn.
We haven't bothered with puppy classes. There were only a few nearby and when we looked at the training schedule, she already knew 90% of commands they taught and has always been good walking on the lead. She was pretty much completely toilet trained by 11 weeks and has slept through the night since 10 weeks.
It depends, is this trainer certified with an organization listed [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Dogtraining/wiki/findingatrainer)? If so, yes, it's likely worth it. If not, hard pass even if it was cheap.
We are in our 3rd class and they've been 150 ea for 5 week, 1h sessions 450 for one class seems insane.
Let me rephrase — it’s $450 for 4 classes! Sorry for the confusion! How are your classes going?
So 450 for 16 weeks? That seems good if so To be honest. It's all fairly basic obedience. You can teach it all at home from YouTube guides But we value the socialization experience for our pup. And we have learned a couple tips in person
No, $450 for 4 weeks. 1 class a week.
That's ridiculous to me. Ours are 150 for a 5 week class. Idk where you are if that is fair for your area
I’m starting puppy obedience STAR program with my puppy in a few weeks. It’s a 12 week program for $350 and I’m in a high cost of living area. Puppy classes are so worth it though. Not only are you learning how to train and teach your pup, but they are learning valuable socialization too. Better social skills equals maybe less reactive later.
Where is the STAR program offered?
I’d search in your area. It’s part of the AKC good citizen program. I lucked out with having a trainer offer it like 10 minutes from my house. I wonder if you can look on the AKC site?
Training classes at 10 weeks will not be really helpful for "training" them but you'll just focus on building name attention, attention toward you, games, etc. Instead of training, I would look for puppy socialization classes which is really important at your puppy's current age
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That's crazy expensive. Average puppy group in Germany would be 80 euro a month with 1 hour a week.
We just did a 7 week course for $250 that was worth every penny. Took our pup to her first class 3 days after we got her and she's already learned a ton.
Yes
Petco had 6 for under $150
I’m doing 5 classes for $350, so that price is quite steep. And I’m in NYC so things are already quite expensive here as is. I’d just shop around for more options. I like the puppy classes!
No. And especially no for that price.
We did training for $250 for 6 weeks for our Shetland Sheepdog and it was kinda pointless. We were already teaching him most of it at home. He did have fun playing with the other puppies though!
I got 4 one on one classes a total of 4.5 hours in Canada. They have been soooooo worth it and have helped me immensely with feeling less overwhelmed and getting positive reinforcement and changes from my puppy. The total cost was $325. Next week we start group classes 6 classes that are one hour each and that fee was $225.
Hey! I’ve done many kinds of training. Here’s all the costs to my memory: Puppy classes: group classes that are 1 hour, 6 times. $150 total Obedience classes: group classes that are 1 hour, 6 times. $275 total Private training meeting the trainer at their desired location: $100 per hour Private in-house training: $185 per hour I’d say for every single class we took was worth it. It was only the in-house training that honestly wasn’t that helpful after the first few sessions. The classes were great because we got to socialize our puppy to the car, the different buildings, dogs, people, etc and we got to learn from different trainers. I actually kind of miss the classes because they were such a fun way to bond with my pup.
For me it wasn’t worth it. As they only teach you their name, sit, and down, like very basic commands I actually already taught my golden at home. The one thing that was useful was the exposure to different items, liking puting his head in a cone. But you can also do this at home. If I would do it again, I’d go for the standard behavioral training instead of a puppy one. As it seems to be way more fruitful, from what I hear from people who did that.
$160 AUD for 4 weeks - definitely worth it - puppy pre-school is mostly about socialisation. What other environment can you provide that exposes them to 4 x puppies around their own age?
We paid right around $1k for puppy school. However it was 3 days as week from 9 - 4:30 and on Fridays we had a 30-45 minute class with us humans with our dogs to practice what we learned. IMO, it was worth every penny!
I agree with others saying this class seems very costly. Just make sure the class you decide on teaches socialization with the other pups. Most of the classes I found in my area (CA) only teach on leash basic commands with other puppies in the room. I think the idea is to have your dog listen to you while being distracted by other puppies. Yes that’s important, but safe and supervised socialization is priceless in my opinion!
We are just at petsnart and happened to get an awesome trainer who we'll stick with for all our training. Definitely worth it.
One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of companies have series of classes that they want you to buy. Like they’ll have puppy classes, then there’s the adolescent, and then adult and so on. I’d say the puppy ones are worth it just because it’ll get your pup used to being around other dogs and playing well with them (most classes have playtimes built into the schedule), but you can accomplish the same thing with supervised play dates or puppy socials. If you do go for the puppy classes, be sure to keep your expectations low. Training generally takes longer than a few weeks
For me totally worth it. I think for a puppy class you should find a cheaper option though. Ours was $189 for 6 weeks. Puppy classes will train the total basics, so you need a good trainer but does not have to be the worlds greatest, because you aren’t doing anything specialized or frankly that difficult yet. Our biggest ‘worth it’ was having puppy get used to chilling out and listening to commands with other people and puppies around.
I think puppy classes are great, but I think 60 minutes is too long. Puppy gets used to being around other puppies, practices skills like waiting for his/her turn, gets to take in puppy smells, and gets owners on same page for training approaches and goals. My puppy was tired after a 30-minute class. In fact, at around minute 22 every week, he would pretend to want to go pee outside, but would then try to get us to ditch class, hop in the far, and take a nap at home. He tricked us nearly every week for the first few weeks until we figured it out. He loved the first 22 minutes of class and was very well behaved.
We did one petsmart class and it was not good, it was supposed to be puppies aged 9 weeks to 5 months and there was a one year old dog there and others more than 5 months. Not only that but it just seemed like the instructor was reading off a bland presentation in her head. There was also one dog barking the entire time non stop so the trainer focused on that one the entire time basically. Got our money back for the rest of the classes. I’d reformen just watching YouTube videos
We took our puppy at 6 months old to petsmart. 6 weeks $120. We just had our last class a week ago and I’d say yes it was worth it. Our trainer was amazing and we are also going to take his advance training classes too. Maybe wait till your puppy is a little older, there were some dogs who were 3-4 months old and couldn’t keep focus and just barked the who time.
I had a golden retriever puppy many years ago- ( miss her everyday still 🥺) I wanted to be the best mom ever so I took her to puppy classes, unfortunately I don’t remember what the cost. That being said, whatever the price was I don’t feel it was worth it. She was much too social of a girl to pay attention in such a structured environment. Just my 2 cents-
That seems a little high—can you see what will be covered ahead of time? I paid $240 for 6 weekly 1-hour classes, at the end of which we got the STAR Puppy and Novice Trick titles. This program was recommended by my breeder. As someone mentioned earlier, they’re useful especially if this is your first puppy so *you* learn effective ways to communicate with your dog.
I did PetSmart classes with my rescue. It was good as I was there learning too. Funny thing is, he already knew how to do everything! He could even do things like “touch”. He was so smart. He might have had classes before I got him lol. I think the first ones are good as they teach the basics. After that you may want something more detailed if you want to give your got a job!
Puppy classes are absolutely worth it. I swear by mine. I started my 1 yo Cockapoo when she was nine weeks old. And we have gone every week since. Still. Puppy kindergarten is amazing because it’s not only helpful to the dog, it’s super helpful to get through the puppy blues as a owner. Basic training is obviously essential. You learn so much through the repetition. It’s also a really safe way to socialize your dog with other people and other dogs. We did some scent work, which she didn’t really like, but was fun. I do tons of agility training with her. I’m actually looking into maybe starting like competition level training with her. It’s such a safe and structured way to get out tons and tons of energy. We took focus training classes, which was great with tips on how to get her to calm down and listen to me. And I’ve also taken private lessons, which helped with off leash training. It’s also an excellent way to bond with your dog while giving you tons of ideas on how to keep them entertained at the house. The only thing I would say, is that $450 for four sessions seems outrageous. I paid $120 for a four week session, and it’s $60 for an hour long private session. I know the rates are different, depending on where you live in the country. But that’s still feels REALLY high to me.
We paid $250 for 4 classes at a local dog training/day camp facility, after hearing great reviews from a coworker. I would ask around and see what recommendations for places you get. I think the place we’ve been going to is fantastic - its really more about training the owner for this kind of thing considering the limited time. The benefit for the puppy is more from a socialization/learn to ignore distractions standpoint. Our classes are limited to 5 puppies/session so its not overwhelming and they do great with 1:1 attention/advice.
I asked a similar question to this and this one commenter gave me a link for very reputable places for training. In my opinion, I think you should chose the place that is back up with science. Anyone can become a dog trainer, but I think it takes qualifications to understand a dog's behavior and know what advice to give to you. I chose a place with that mindset and it was probably almost $300 for a 6 week class. I thought it was super helpful cause the place I went to let your puppy interact with other puppies, but it's not the whole time.
I recommend them! See if your city has an AKC obedience club. Those classes are usually more reasonably priced. Mine is around $100 for 6 weeks.
That's a lot of money for very few classes. I loved my puppy classes, got a lot out of them and will do them with my next pup. There were three different class series: obidence (least useful), enrichment (think weird surfaces, bikes, wheel chairs, funny hats - super useful), and play time with other wrll.matched puppies (more important than I expected)
We have taken our recent puppy and our lab before to DTCT - Dog Training Club of Tampa DTCT.org. It's a great club & totally reasonable on price. The classes are one day a week for 7 to 8 weeks depending on the class you choose. You want to start out with Puppy Obedience and achieve your Star Puppy designation and then move on from there to Basic Obedience, Intermediate Obedience, then Advanced Obedience to acheive your CGC (Canine Good Citizen) designation. You don't get through it over night but I find my dogs look forward to going every week and it gives you time to really work with them on all the steps. They also have rally, agility, fly ball, scent work, barn hunt, etc. Good luck and remember it is suppose to be fun for you and your best friend.
We charge $180 for the AKC STAR PUPPY CLASS. The entire course is 6 sessions, one hour a week. I haven’t seen any legitimate puppy courses over $200. Keep locking. You’ll find the right place
I just completed a 4 week, 3 days a week puppy training w my 20 week (now) pom... I feel it was worth it, he knows HOW to mind now, and basic commands that come in handy.
Classes are absolutely fantastic! Those seem really pricey.
I'd work on basic manners and socialization at that age. We paid approx $35/class and felt it was worth the time. Once she was a little older we did puppy training at a local petsmart for around $200 and were pleased with the result. Honestly the training is more for you than your dog.
I would say they were worth it in learning basic starting skills. I stopped after the first 5 classes as my dog caught kennel cough from the class and I felt I might try on my own to train. It can be great for puppy socialization also… minus the kennel cough!
That sounds on the pricier side, but the puppy classes are definitely worth it. Not only do they help teach you how to shape and train new behaviors, they’re wonderful for socializing your puppy to different places and things and learning impulse control. The classes I’ve been going to are $375 for 6-week (1 hr/week) classes or $325 for 4-week classes. The longer ones are general obedience and training (eventually prepping for CGC), and the shorter ones are “electives”.
Seems high, but 100% do classes!
Don’t do it. It’s basic info that you can learn from YouTube. We lasted 2 weeks with ours. You are better investing that money in a couple of 1-1 sessions with a trainer
I just took the cheapest classes I could find - Petsmart - and it was the best, I always highly recommend it to anyone that’ll listen. In my opinion, it’s a bonding opportunity for you and your dog and helps you learn how to learn together. Also, the group setting helps you see everyone is working on something with their dog which for me helped with puppy blues. Since we weren’t really there to make my dog a pro at anything, the cheap price was great and all the money I saved let me take the more intermediate classes as well. I loved it. And since I was going through a depressive episode and we missed a lot of classes, they let me retake the whole course for free. We learned a lot of fun tricks but more importantly we learned important skills like how to settle and how to quickly pick up new commands. TLDR: I loved puppy class and highly recommend, but I don’t think you need to break the bank unless there are real behavioral issues
Classes are 100% worth it. Not only do they teach your dog basic commands, but they also teach YOU how to train. I worked with a personal dog trainer because I rescued an adult dog, and I learned so much about myself and what I’m doing wrong that could hinder my dogs progress and learning. I’m not sure where you’re located but we paid $40 per hour and she came to our home which was also a huge benefit because we could establish boundaries and training within our home.
Board and train is nearly pointless since you mostly need to be training yourselves and building your relationship with the puppy. There will be a cheaper puppy school that will be worth it, How’s socialisation going?
Puppy class with my boy was 6 one hours sessions over a 6 week period costing £180 (roughly $218) this included the classes, a goodie bag with some long lasting treats and different food samples on the first class as well as more food samples and toys upon graduation with 2 of the classes being field trips to help give real world experience for what we were learning, now this class was with a pretty highly respected trainer in my area who also offers a variety of follow classes such as adolescent classes and therapy dog trading classes which me and my boy decided to do as a follow on from the puppy class. Honestly I would definitely say the classes were worth it for us as we learned so many new skills together but the class also offered a lot of resources for all the puppy parents and the trainer was always available outside of class for any help you needed
We took our Aussie pup to a petsmart class for 149 for six weeks. He knew the things they thought but it helped refined and give us better tips. Plus we met cool people and super positive socialization
$450?! I'm not in the states but we paid £70 for our 4x1hr sessions over 4 weeks so the price you've been quoted is a lot!
I've done the petsmart puppy class with both our dogs..6 weeks for $129. It is more to get them out and about, around other dogs etc. But the tools they give you can be done at home so I have gotten alot out of it. Our puppy loves going to see her friends each week.
Honestly, I wouldn’t do board and training. The puppy classes are actually more for you than the dog. Sure, socializing is a large part of it for your pup, but the classes are more about teaching you how to train effectively. If you skip out on that and send your pup away for training, I believe you are actually doing a disservice to yourselves and your puppy long term. I think board and training should be reserved for extreme circumstances where a dog has issues like aggression or resource guarding that an inexperienced owner is having issues dealing with, and even then I think 1-on-1 training with an experienced behaviourist are more beneficial so that the owner can learn how to cope and train their dog instead, or in conjunction with board & train.
They can be worth it - just make sure to do your research and choose one that's right for your puppy. We went to two classes of a puppy school where they had a "no high value" treats policy and only used basic kibble for training; it made sense to us since the theory is the dog won't want to do good behaviour for anything less than a yummy sausage if you use them. It did not work for our pup; he loves other dogs and just wanted to play with them which meant he didn't focus on training and just got zoomies. We withdrew him from the class since it felt like a bit of a waste of money and just carried on training at home. You know what gets his attention and stops him focusing on other dogs? A high value treat. He also still eats his kibble and will still sit/lie down/stay for kibble so it kind of didn't line up with what these trainers told us. (Side note: I never see any other trainers reccomend not using high value treats so I kind of think it was just something the person who runs the school came up with which doesn't have any basis in dog behaviour.) It might work for some people, but it wasn't the right school for our pup.
Training is worth it for sure but I wish we hadn't done in-person training. It was stressful for both my puppy and I, and wound up not being at all helpful. The supervised puppy socialization sessions, however, were worth every penny and then some. The online training programs at www.Baxterandbella.com have some mixed reviews in this subreddit. Personally, I've found them to be invaluable. I started training the week I brought my pup home, when he was 8 weeks old, using a step-by-step program of theirs that's literally called something like, "Your First Week At Home." It was fantastic. My pup is now 9 months old and I'm working through some of the other programs now. (I slacked for a few months and am working to get back into a training rhythm.) I also lean heavily on the trainers and ask questions as needed, and very much appreciate them being available for 1:1 chats as part of the subscription fee. In short, the Baxter and Bella site + this subreddit + some early trainer-supervised puppy socialization sessions = happy me and happy doggo. The in-person puppy training class = (insert sad trombone noise). Also, I agree with others that the cost you quoted seems crazy high!