# Petsmart puppy classes



## LuxysMommy (Feb 28, 2007)

We've signed Luxy up for a puppy course starting mid-April. What can we expect? How do we make the most of these classes?


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Depends on the trainer... for a pet owner they can be okay. Practice and great socialization!

Years ago I actually took one from a woman who shows her GRs in obedience. I was a kid- petsmart was a brand new thing- and she taught me a lot of what I know about competing in obedience. 

These days I think it's very much puppy socializing and basics, as it should be.


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

The Petsmart classes are good exposure to some of the basics, and good places to start the socialization process. As ACC said, they are only as good as the trainer. 

If you don't get what you want from Petsmart, you might try contacting your local AKC club for training recommendations.


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## howie (Mar 26, 2007)

LuxysMommy said:


> We've signed Luxy up for a puppy course starting mid-April. What can we expect? How do we make the most of these classes?



I agree with everyone, Practice and socialization. All our friends went to Petsmart. I think it all depends who your trainer is but I would say most my friends' dogs didn't learn much. It was good exposure and discipline to have to sit through the class with other dogs and distractions but most were dissatisfied. With that research, we ended up just teaching Howie at home. And he is much better behaved than all our friend's dogs and he knows far more commands than they learned, even though some went through 2 classes with Petsmart. We printed out tests and taught him what were on the tests. He even passed his Therapy Test that way. Never with any formal classes, just practice at home.

Recently, I just started volunteering with a non-profit, TrainRite. They get their dogs from shelters, etc... and train them to become assistant/service dogs. It is amazing to see what these dogs could do and how they do serve their disabled owners. It was humbling to see how this place managed to survive, pretty much on grants and donation. It broke my heart to see how much they struggled to get funding because they were so small and most funds go to larger organizations like CCI.

Long story short. I learned that they offered obedience and training classes. For the same cost as Petsmart!!! Not to put down Petsmart at all (I shop there too). But if you could give your money to a non profit that helps disabled war vets, come on, it is an easy choice. But here is the real important part. If you want to make your money REALLY count. Who would you rather train your dog. Trainers from Petsmart (which most, I know not all, but most are just book taught and a few Petsmart classes, I know ours here are all kids that teach it) or a trainer who has taken over a year of dog training (ours even worked training the Navy seals, the real water mammal not the men). And the classes are with other service dogs, real service dogs not just other Joes who want to take a class, hoping their dog will learn. The service dog classes are real serious, since this is their "career". But taught with the best techniques and a lot of care!

So, with that long note. I honestly, could not stress more about researching and looking for a non-profit organization such as Train Rite (there are tons like it in each state), and giving them your money, which they desperately need (last I checked Petsmart isn't hurting). And I will bet money that your dog will be better trained than most classes given at any Petsmart. Not to mention, they will learn cool tricks like peeing on command (how cool is that?!), opening doors, turning on lights, etc.... SUPER COOL! So, please help your local non-profits if you can.  Oh, and they do things like Grooming, Boarding, etc... So please look into helping them!

Good luck!! Have lots of fun!!!


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## Thor's Mom (Feb 25, 2007)

Puppy classes at Petsmart are fine. They've restructured their classes a bit. The key thing is to try to have everyone in the family attend the classes so that you are all using the same terms, signals, etc. In puppy they go over things like basic commands, nutrition, handling, socialization. Some time is saved for playtime and socialization. A good trainer will try to pair up dogs with similar tendencies. The key to the training working is to practice at home each day. If you have any questions about the trainer audit a class or talk to the trainer privately.


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## marshab1 (Aug 28, 2006)

We had a great trainer at Petsmart. She rescues dobermans and owns 5 or 6 and they can do the most amazing things. She was more concerned with helping us train our dogs and helping us to become good parents than she was about Petsmart. She even recommended products that Petsmart doesn't sell. I've recommended them and in particular her to several people and they have also been happy.


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## Brinkleysmom (Dec 17, 2005)

The Petsmart classes here seem to do very well. Whenever I have gone there with Brinks, and the classes are going on, they seem to do very well. People seem very happy with it. I know the girl down the road took her German Shepherd there and Rascal is a wonderful dog.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

We didn't have a very good Petsmart experience in part because our store's facilities were so poor. They had a tiny, tiny little ring for us to use for our class. As my dog was 6 months old and not trained very well (why I took the class) he spent the whole class trying to scuttle on his belly over to the next dog since that was what he was interested in (I finally got a Gentle Leader to help keep him by my side).
I'm not sure what is supposed to happen in an obedience class as I had never been to one before, but in mine after taking 10 minutes to have us show what the dog had learned from the previous week, the trainer spent about 5 minutes teaching us what we were to practice, then we were to walk our dog all over the store and practice for about 30 minutes.
Is that what typically happens?


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## howie (Mar 26, 2007)

lgnutah said:


> We didn't have a very good Petsmart experience in part because our store's facilities were so poor. They had a tiny, tiny little ring for us to use for our class. As my dog was 6 months old and not trained very well (why I took the class) he spent the whole class trying to scuttle on his belly over to the next dog since that was what he was interested in (I finally got a Gentle Leader to help keep him by my side).
> I'm not sure what is supposed to happen in an obedience class as I had never been to one before, but in mine after taking 10 minutes to have us show what the dog had learned from the previous week, the trainer spent about 5 minutes teaching us what we were to practice, then we were to walk our dog all over the store and practice for about 30 minutes.
> Is that what typically happens?


 
Yea, that is what I noticed too when I would visit and they would be in class. People would be practicing all over the store and people would come up to them and want to pet their puppies, or the puppies would want to sniff all the treats and goodies. I guess our stores weren't the good ones. I'm glad to hear everyone else had better trainers. 

But that wasn't really my point. My point really was, if you can support a non-profit, hopefully you will!


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

Our classes were terrible in Houston too. The trainer would start late and leave early, get distracted easily, and we didn't learn much. But it DID get Brandy used to going to class and interacting with strange people/dogs. So I just considered it "pre-K" for canines.


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