[Sterling Archer]

Butter is a great dog. However, between work and the kids, I don't have the time to train him to be a good member of the family. When I have found the time to train him (could only make it to three of the six Petsmart classes I paid for ), he responds well. He has a reasonably good attention span and a desire to please. That leads me to believe that an intensive program like this might be great for him.

Would this be a good investment or money down the toilet? It's $1,200. Yeah....a lot of money. However, I look at it as a small price to pay if it will help get him to where we could start trusting him in the house. According to this place...you give them a list of your concerns (i.e. eating the deck, snatching kids toys, etc), and they incorporate those into the training.

My concern is that they would give me a trained dog, but if I'm unable to work with him for 'x' time per day or week...he would likely relapse. Thoughts?

Obedience - Colonial K9

3 Week Obedience Course

Your canine companion will stay here at Colonial K-9 and learn all the basics: heel, sit, down, stay, recall, wait at the door and leave-it. We also work on behavioral issues that are your concern. You are then given handling instructions at the end of the 3 week period.


3 Week Obedience Course: $1,200

 

[pzeidan0]

In my experience, the dog may wind up respecting the trainer and therefore disobey onlh because they got used to the trainer. But to me one ofthe greatest joys of owning my Sully is training him and watching as he learns new skills! It might be the teacher in me but thats my. 02 cents.

 

[GinnyinPA]

Have you looked into having a trainer come to your house? When we got Ben he was too wild for class, so we had a trainer come to the house for two long sessions. We covered everything that was covered in obedience class, plus a lot. It was really helpful to have the one on one time to ask questions and address our specific concerns. Later we went to school so he could learn in a highly distracting environment, but I think our time with Bonnie was in many ways better.

 

[MikaTallulah]

They seem to specialize in police and protection dogs.

I went to training place similar to this on this week to try and find a trainer for Buddy. They were too rough with Buddy for my liking. He peed out of submission/fear. Their classes were also very regimented. It looked like military training to me. Not good fit for a golden retriever I think.

 

[khrios]

When I brought my very first golden, Woody, home, he was 8 weeks old. Soon after, I realized I was pregnant with my second child. The first child was three. My husband and I went to the Community Center and took a puppy class. We found a teacher we liked and hired her to come to our house and train all of us.

It was a wonderful experience. We all learned, even the three year old learned. Later on, when I very, very pregnant, she would come walk Woody and I. hehe.

 

[MikaTallulah]

When I brought my very first golden, Woody, home, he was 8 weeks old. Soon after, I realized I was pregnant with my second child. The first child was three. My husband and I went to the Community Center and took a puppy class. We found a teacher we liked and hired her to come to our house and train all of us.

It was a wonderful experience. We all learned, even the three year old learned. Later on, when I very, very pregnant, she would come walk Woody and I. hehe.

:wave: The whole family needs to be part of the training for "pack" bonding.

 

[Sterling Archer]

In my experience, the dog may wind up respecting the trainer and therefore disobey onlh because they got used to the trainer. But to me one ofthe greatest joys of owning my Sully is training him and watching as he learns new skills! It might be the teacher in me but thats my. 02 cents.

I bonded with Butter pretty early. He was only 5-6 weeks old when we got him. I'm his dad. Everyone else has a bit of an issue getting him to respect them (he eventually came around with my wife). He may respect the trainer, but he's a smart dog. He knows who walks him, feeds him, and throws him balls.

Have you looked into having a trainer come to your house? When we got Ben he was too wild for class, so we had a trainer come to the house for two long sessions. We covered everything that was covered in obedience class, plus a lot. It was really helpful to have the one on one time to ask questions and address our specific concerns. Later we went to school so he could learn in a highly distracting environment, but I think our time with Bonnie was in many ways better.

I haven't seriously looked into it, though that's something that I've talked with the wife about (I'd kind of forgotten about it, to be honest). That might be a better option than this type of class. i.e. Have the trainer come out once a week, every other week, or some similar arrangement.

They seem to specialize in police and protection dogs.

I went to training place similar to this on this week to try and find a trainer for Buddy. They were too rough with Buddy for my liking. He peed out of submission/fear. Their classes were also very regimented. It looked like military training to me. Not good fit for a golden retriever I think.

They do specialize in police dog training, but they also do agility and other civilian dog training. From the sounds of it, they tailor the classes to fit the breed of the dog in question.

Butter is a GR, GSD, husky mix. There's not going to be a sure fire way of training him. He does have some interesting instincts. i.e. The other day, I was throwing balls to him while wearing a thick work jacket. After he brought the ball up to me...he jumped up and latched onto my arm (not too tight) like you'd see in one of those police dog training sessions. Mind you he has never bitten a soul, is very docile, and is great with the kids. Just something clicked in his brain when we were playing and he saw the thick jacket.

When I brought my very first golden, Woody, home, he was 8 weeks old. Soon after, I realized I was pregnant with my second child. The first child was three. My husband and I went to the Community Center and took a puppy class. We found a teacher we liked and hired her to come to our house and train all of us.

It was a wonderful experience. We all learned, even the three year old learned. Later on, when I very, very pregnant, she would come walk Woody and I. hehe.

Haha. Yeah....I'm going to have to look around and see what it would cost to do a one on one session. That might be a good option for now. I would get a lot of satisfaction out of being involved in his training. I just don't think that's a very realistic goal for me at the moment.