In Kennel Training

[niche]

I'm considering sending my dog for In-Kennel-Training at a facility named Protrain, www.protraindog.com , near San Diego California. The website states the following:

"Training Consultation and Training sessions -
$100 at your home or $50 at our facility.
1-2 hours to evaluate, train, and customize a training program for your specific needs.

"Training Camp
Dogs stay here for 2-3 weeks while they run and play with other compatible dogs 3 time a day. They are trained 4 times a day while going to shopping centers and parks etc. We then arrange delivery to your home and schedule follow-up sessions to train you and make sure your dog works well for you in your home.

"Free Refresher Training
Schedule sessions with us at our location free for the life of your dog. or Have your dog stay with us while you are on vacation, etc and he gets tune-up training. All you pay is the boarding at $25/day. "

During this last weekend we met the fellow who runs it and we were impressed with the facilities and his knowledge. My biggest reason I was considering something like that is that Wanda goes ballistic when she sees another dog when walking. What I've done to "fix" it hasn't worked and to this facility it didn't seem like a big thing to fix. They would also get her ready to pass the therapy dog test and do some prep for schutzund as well as total on and off leash obedience. The one-month training would cost 1,100 plus the collar. They use the e-collar. That's one of the areas that I'm not so sure about. I felt the stimulation and it was no big deal, but I'm still not sure.

I was wondering any of you did something like this and how it worked out. He says the dogs get trained 4 times a day by different trainers in different places; parks, malls etc. He also teaches trainers so I guess some of the students would train the dog as well (another part I'm not so sure about). However, I did see some trainers handling some dogs and it was impressive. When they bring the dog to you you are in turn trained yourself on how to train and make the dog work for you.

[WorkinDogz]

Well niche..... there are some very good in-house training facilities (and I've taken dogs in myself for training and then given back a trained dog.....then trained the owner...) BUT.....that really isn't the "preferred" way to do it.

The dog benefits INFINATELY more with YOU training your dog. The dog has a rapport with you....and you will learn how to teach the dog in a consistant manner.

It's part of owning a dog. Training him/her. I wish I could tell you what bond it builds when you do-it-yourself vs. handing the leash over to another person to do it for you.

People who train their own dogs get to KNOW their own dogs inside and out. If you think training just involves "conditioned responses to commands" then you're wrong. It involves the whole-dog concept and finding out what makes your dog tic.

I feel very sorry for people who don't take the time to train their own dogs.......they are missing out on a bond that you just don't get anywhere else but in training. :( What an exception opportunity is missed when "someone else" does the job.

[niche]

WD,

I agree with you. I've actually trained her on the basics: Sit, Down, Stay, Come, Wait I just have a problem with fixing her burst when she sees other dogs. I haven't worked that one out, so I figured it would be good for that and advanced off-leash training... thanks for your reply.

[alexav]

Niche,
Please think long and hard about turning your dog over to total strangers. Read the fine print on the website. Your dog will be used to train students. "30-50 dogs per student". You are paying to have your dog trained, and the students are paying to learn how to train dogs. This guy is a genius! The sheer volume of dogs there must be in the 100's and that means plenty of "cracks" for your dog to fall through. This guy could be a great trainer, but he will not be training your dog.

I think the ideal think for you to do, (and will probably end up costing the same) is for you and your dog to learn TOGETHER. It will take longer, but believe me, you will never regret it.

As WD said, ...you will be "...missing out on a bond that you just don't get anywhere else but in training. "

In the long run, your dog will be missing out too.

[niche]

Just a little update. I didn't do it. You guys were 100% correct. I want to be the one who's involved in her training. What we're doing is joining a Schutzhund club. We went las weekend and we were really impressed. Not only with their dogs, but the people. Everyone is so helpful and they all have a lot of experience training.... and they don't mind that I'm not advanced.

Thanks again,

Javier

[WorkinDogz]

Good for you niche! Excellent choice.

Remember; SchH is a 3 phase sport.......you don't "have" to do the protection phase if you chose not to....

In fact; if the club you're training with is a DVG club; you can still trial and earn Tracking 1-3 and Obedience 1-3 Certificates.

Go for it niche! You'll be so glad that you did your own training.....and so will your girl :)

[niche]

Today was our second outing to the Sch club. We're having a great time and she's showing a lot of promise. Btw, WD is there any particular reason why we should do the protection phase?

[WorkinDogz]

SchH IS all 3 phases.

There's no reason to do the protection phases unless you want to title. But the protection phase makes up 1/3 of the sport.

Same as tracking and obedience.

If you don't want to train toward a title then the protection phase is the 1/3 I'd leave out. Do the tracking and obedience though :)

[niche]

I understand, but why leave it out? Does it change the dog or anything? The dogs who do the protection seem like they're not aggressive or anything. Besides, this club only uses prey-drive.

[WorkinDogz]

Sometimes you don't have a choice but to leave it out. If you don't have a dog with what it takes; then the dog makes the decision for you.

Just remember niche, SchH is a very time consuming and handler-demanding sport. If you don't feel that you can devote the time it takes to do it..then leave the bite development out of it.

Most trainers start in prey-drive. Then add defense later on in the training.

There are plenty of people who DON'T have the dog or desire to train the protection phase of SchH but thoroughly enjoy the tracking and obedience and the DVG affords them the ability to trial and earn Certificates.