According to recent surveys, dog owners who started private lessons first, and then joined group classes got much better and faster results, than those who started with a group setting and had no foundation or prior knowledge of how to handle dogs. Working in private followed by group classes is by far the best way you can your dog.

No doubt that it will cost you more, but trust me, it will be worth it. This is one of the best well-kept secrets of topnotch dog trainers.

Elite trainers know and always follow three steps of proper dog training:

Learning Stage: This should be done in your home or somewhere else in private, without any distractions. Just like us, dogs learn much better and faster with no distractions around.

Correction Stage: Oh yes, your dog will make mistakes, play dumb, or challenge you and need to be corrected. Don’t mistake correcting with punishing. A correction is a simple tug on a leash to get the dog’s attention or to stop any other bad behavior. If you noticed, your dog already knows how to, Sit, Come, and knows what the word “NO” means, but doesn’t always respond to it. This means, you don’t know how to distraction proof your dog properly. A lot of dog owners call us and say, “Oh he already knows sit, down, come and all that.” Our answer is always the same. How about around other dogs, strangers, kids, or squirrels? Does he know and respond to you from a distance and off-leash then?

Proofing Stage: This is where you take your dog around distractions and in a sense, set him up for it. You have to get your dog to ignore distractions, and most importantly, real life distractions. Walking your dog really early in morning or being a night owl, to avoid people or other dogs isn’t the solution. What if someone else is walking their dog the same time and at the same street and their dog is also another Cujo? It happens all the time. You could face embarrassments, vet bills and possibly even a lawsuit.

Don’t Forget …
Starting with Group Classes, WILL NOT help you with:

As I mentioned earlier, if your dog acts like an angel around one or two dogs, that’s better than nothing, but certainly not enough.

When you join group classes, everybody is clueless, nervous, confused, they don’t have any foundation and dogs are all out of control. Most of these dogs are not even under complete control in their homes, let alone in front of 10 more dogs.

Building a strong foundation and understanding dog training and canine behavior in general, as well as improving your handling skills is best done in private and without any distractions.

So most dog schools offer and push for group classes only. The truth is, regardless of how great the trainer is, you just can’t focus or really get much out of group settings alone and starting with group classes, is absolutely the worst way to educated yourself and teach your dog.

Don’t get me wrong, I want you to socialize your dog around other dogs, but it is much better and safer to start socializing your dog around well-trained dogs and well-trained handlers first. Sorry, that’s not dog parks, your local neighborhood park or taking your dog by the lake.

Dog parks are full of dog lovers, but clueless owners with their un-trained dogs.

Master Dog Trainer/Canine Behavior Expert – Kevin Salim

Trainers, Vets, Breeders, Rescuers and Dog Lovers!
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