3rding Elrohwen!
Also, some of my own opinions:
~Is there something that you've experienced that either made you very happy or immediately turned you away?
I really dislike it when an instructor keeps everyone at the same pace. Maybe I shouldn't be, because I know how difficult it is to just lesson plan, let alone lesson plan for handlers and dogs that learn at various paces, but when I have a puppy that is holding a long distance down/stay for 30 seconds because he's been doing it for his food from Day One, I don't want to be criticized for "moving too fast" when I don't just stand one step in front of his nose and instead I'm standing at the end of the leash. I don't want to be chastised for working on something other than "sit" for 5 minutes purely because the Great Dane puppy two dogs down still doesn't quite get it even though my puppy is starting to get bored and check out because she KNOWS how to sit. How you would fix this in a setting where you are stretched thin and don't get to know the dogs/handlers personally, I don't know...but that has always bothered me. Dogs aren't cookie dough, nor are their handlers, and I don't know why instruction must always be so cookie cutter-esque.
I loved getting constructive criticism on my handling/posture/movements. Abrams' basic obedience class was the first time I had ever been in a class that actually cared about that and it was refreshing to be critiqued on it.
I don't know if I'd have stayed in a class where the instructor wasn't good at, well, instructing. Not only explaining how to do a task, but being encouraging and polite with the handlers who are trying their best, even if they aren't quite as smart as their dog is. LOL
~What are some fun (learning) games you've played in classes that you've enjoyed?
Abrams' most favorite was when he got to play with agility equipment, although I wouldn't say that was a learning game so to speak. It definitely showed which dogs were environmentally sensitive and which ones weren't. LOL I really liked it when we had a mock rally course that we got to go through. Helped exemplify that just because your dog knows how to sit when you stop doesn't mean he's not going to then immediately get up and grab the cone to carry with him. (Not Abrams, but another dog in the class did! Hahaha!)
I will say I never cared for the "pass the puppy" that Petsmart did/does. I'd like to be able to control my puppies interaction with strangers, thank you very much, not just pass him around like a hot potato.
~And finally, what would be your ideal class? Set up, what was gone over, etc.
Biggest thing for me would be class size. I'd much prefer a moderate size class (5 or 6 dogs total) than a large one. And the ability to spread out so when we're sitting waiting for class to begin I don't have three other dogs sitting within two feet of me. But, basically, what Elrohwen said. LOL