Well, Riley's signed up...

[Snark]

for puppy class at Petsmart. I couldn't find any training clubs within an hour drive that were offering a puppy class at this time. The earliest scheduled class near me was in June and he'd be almost 8 months by then.

I signed up him up mostly for the socialization with puppies his age but it's been years since I've had a puppy this young (11 wks) and this is the first puppy class I've gone to - any red flags (dog or trainer) I should keep an eye out for?

[Fran101]

Thats awesome Kenya also did a bit of training at petsmart, it was basically the same as the puppy class, very basic. (sit, down, walk nicely, dont jump) but the socialization aspect is great and once in a while some really knowledgable great trainers pop up

[lizzybeth727]

You can check out Association of Pet Dog Trainers - Dog Training Resources for a good article about how to find the right trainer. Good luck!

[Snark]

Well, I'm pretty much stuck with who I have right now. She seems like a nice person, have to see what her training techniques are like...

[Criosphynx]

any red flags (dog or trainer) I should keep an eye out for?

they may try and sell you the store, and they may not have any knowledge and experience. So nothing major...lol

they aren't all bad, but honestly you'd learn more picking up the average dog training book most of the time. If your just going for socialization, I guess you ok, but exposing your puppy to the same 5 dogs every week (or less) doesn't do a ton for socialization to be honest.

[Snark]

Originally Posted by Criosphynx

If your just going for socialization, I guess you ok, but exposing your puppy to the same 5 dogs every week (or less) doesn't do a ton for socialization to be honest.

True, but it's more than he's getting now... he's been quite a few places for socializing with people but I think he needs some play time with other dogs. I do have 3 other older dogs, but so far, they don't want to play with him and go out of their way to avoid him (which is better than taking his head off).

[lizzybeth727]

Originally Posted by Snark

I think he needs some play time with other dogs.

Are you talking about, like, off-leash play? Does this trainer do off-leash play in her puppy classes? Most Petsmart trainers do not.

[Snark]

Well, I don't know yet - I kinda walked in at the end of the first class and she let me bring Riley in to meet the other puppies. She let the puppies (on leash) get together and seemed pleased when Riley tried to initiate play with another puppy by bowing. (I'm pretty sure the other people are newbie owners and didn't understand when she was explaining play bows.)

[thoffland]

I start Petsmart puppy training in a couple of weeks also, but it's mostly for me. She'll benefit from the socialization too though.

[Brattina88]

I believe all pets mart trainers go through the same trainings to be a trainer, but some actually ARE good. Try to think of them individually....
The trainer that I went through when Maddie was a puppy was awesome... but I found out after two classes (puppy and then adult basic) that she was taking additional classes to be a "real" trainer, and wanted to open her own business. I was SAD when she left (I heard she went moved south of Columbus to start training... if it wasn't so far I would've taken more classes with her!)

Maybe my experience was the exception, but I like to keep an open mind. The trainers are worth as much effort and thought they put into it jmho