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There are so many dog obedience schools and training centres
that its often difficult to know what to look for in choosing
one.
It is essential to decide what you want to achieve out of
attending dog obedience training and it's a good start to ask
yourself the following questions:
1. Would you prefer one to one training, or group lessons?
One to one training is significantly more expensive than group
lessons, so you should consider the budget that you have set for
the training.
2. What is the aim of attending dog obedience training?
Is it for puppy socialisation? Is it simply general training;
walking to heel, sitting etc? Do you intend to compete in
obedience trials? Are you interested in any specialist
disciplines; i.e trick training, Heelwork to Music, agility?
3. What type of atmosphere would you like?
Would you like to join a proper "Dog club", with all of its
associated social activities and competitions? Or are you just
looking for somewhere to train your dog once a week? Once you
have a good idea in your mind of what you are looking for, then
you're ready to start contacting relevant dog obedience schools
and finding out whether they meet what you're looking for.
It's a good idea to visit the dog obedience schools, attend a
lesson (without your dog), and talk to the trainers. You should
trust your instincts when deciding whether you think you and
your dog will fit into the training classes and enjoy working
with the trainers.
A serious consideration in your decision should be the methods
of training used by the dog obedience schools; you should look
for trainers who believe in kind, positive methods of training.
Dog trainers who encourage the use of choke chains or any kind
of rough handling, should be avoided at all costs.
There are professional associations, regulating some dog
obedience schools, so you may prefer to choose a dog obedience
class that is regulated by one of these associations. But do
remember that there are lots of good obedience schools that may
not be registered with the associations.
Click to see our Dog Obedience School's database, to see what
is available in your area.
About the author:
Stephanie has written many articles on dogs and dog training
which can be found at the Kennel
Corner website. Kennel Corner also contains a useful Dog Obedience School search facility.
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