There are lots of dog training schools around, though not all of them will meet your expectations. Below are some things to think about when you are choosing a school to help train your dog.
Reputation
Reputation could mean popularity to you, high recommendations, or production of results by whatever means, however a good guideline to go in is a combination of popularity and how well you like their training methods. A school’s reputation demonstrates how well people trust them.
So if you are looking into a school’s reputation search the internet or ask around the people you know. Veterinarians are often a good source of information, as are dog breeders and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; you should be able to source some references or a list of registered schools. Those listed by the ASPCA will be ones whose methods are humane.
Training Methods
A good school will use appropriate methods to train a dog, and treat your dog as well as they would one of their own. Avoid schools whose training methods are old fashioned, such as yelling at or punishing the dogs. These schools do exist.
Good schools use humane methods which use positive reinforcement and avoid negative techniques. Positive reinforcement mans praise (including dog treats) when the dog behaves in the desired manner. Negative techniques punish the dog for undesired behavior, and these techniques include choking, yelling and alpha rolling.
Knowledgeability
A good training school will have knowledge about training methods from the oldest techniques to the very latest ones. This means that the trainers will have at their fingertips all the techniques which your dog might respond well to.
When you are checking out a school, you should look into their facilities, to make sure they are up-to-date, and the level of training of their trainers (recent seminars attended, and so on). You are going to be paying them well to train your dog, and you want to receive the best service in return.
Some schools claim to specialize in a particular area of dog training, whereas others claim to be knowledgeable in all types of training. You should base your decision mainly on the scope of the school’s knowledge.
Class Organization
Dog training classes are either held either as private or group lessons. Group lessons are good for training your dog to behave in the company of other dogs, and for socialization. The owner of the dog can also benefit by learning from the techniques and mistakes of other handlers.
Private lessons, however, do not offer these added benefits when you train your dog this way, and there is in fact a disadvantage that the dog may not learn obedience to anyone other than their own trainer.
Choosing the right school to help you train your dog can be a lengthy and difficult process, however it is an important decision.