The Ins & Outs of Dog Obedience School
Wondering if dog obedience school is the right choice for you and your pooch?
Dog training can be difficult, and many Portland pet parents lack the time to work with their furry friends every day. Obedience school offers a solution – and experienced professional dog trainers know how to help canines become well-behaved family companions.
Whether you have a young pup who needs to learn the basics or an older tail-wagger with bad habits, a Portland dog obedience school could be of great help. The following info should help you decide if enrolling your fur baby makes sense.
What Dogs Learn at Obedience School
No two dog obedience schools are exactly the same, but most share a similar goal – to help canines develop the skills and behaviors needed for a strong and healthy pet-owner relationship.
Obedience programs can effectively address a range of issues, and some professional dog trainers in the Portland area offer personalized training plans to better meet the needs of pet parents. But as a general rule, canines have the opportunity to work on fundamentals like:
Basic commands, including sit, stay and down
Crate training, potty training and housebreaking
Going for walks without tugging on the leash
Greeting people politely instead of jumping up
Impulse control, good manners and other life skills
Proper socialization is also important for canines, and obedience training schools typically offer experiences in different settings and supervised interactions between dogs. By socializing your pooch appropriately, professional trainers can help them become a confident and happy family pet.
When to Send a Dog to Obedience School
Canine behavior experts say that the best students are puppies between 8 and 12 weeks in age. When dogs are that young, any bad habits they may have picked up aren’t unshakeable.
However, older doggos can certainly benefit from obedience training school. What’s more, with their better understanding of human language and longer attention spans, adult canines are usually no more of a challenge to train than young pups. With patience, persistence and consistency, professional dog trainers can get the job done.
All things considered, the age of your fur baby isn’t a factor when it comes to enrolling in obedience school. What really matters is where you take your tail-wagger for dog training.
How to Find the Right Dog Obedience School
Do a quick online search, and you’ll see that there are quite a few dog obedience training schools in and near Portland, Oregon. Having plenty of options is nice, but more choices also means that choosing the right school is more difficult.
The location closest to home seems sensible – and it could be the best dog obedience school in the region. The opposite could also be true, though, and since the dog training industry is unregulated, you’ll need to do some research on your own to find the right facility for your furry friend.
To start, ask friends, family members and co-workers if they know of a good local obedience training program. Your veterinarian or groomer might also be able to supply you with the names of Portland dog training schools. Look up each of the recommendations you’re given, making a point to find answers to the following questions:
How – and how long ago -- did the professional dog trainers acquire their skills?
Does the program rely on positive reinforcement and reward-based techniques?
Is the obedience school up to standard in terms of safety, security and comfort?
Do the trainers have experience with dogs of all breeds, ages and dispositions?
When school ends, do pet parents get guidance on getting results at home?
Much of the information you need might be available on the websites for the dog obedience schools, but reading reviews can provide you with further insight. You can also call a facility or make arrangements for an in-person visit – doing either can be helpful, as you’ll come away knowing if you and the professional trainers are on the same wavelength.
Is Your Dog Ready for Obedience School?
Obedience training can be beneficial for just about every dog in Portland. Some learn faster than others, and some have more challenges to overcome, but as long as you choose the right dog obedience school – one staffed with a team of skilled and dedicated professional trainers – your fur baby can get on the right track.
At Blackwood Canine, we have extensive experience working with doggos of all ages, and we welcome all breeds and temperaments. Your pooch will love our state-of-the-art training facility in Scappoose, as the design was planned for canine safety, comfort and enjoyment. Our friendly and knowledgeable professional dog trainers can help your four-legged friend learn how to be a trusted companion, and we’ll make sure you know how to reinforce their new skills at home.
If you live in Portland, elsewhere in Multnomah County or in the surrounding northwest Oregon region, Blackwood Canine is here to assist with all of your dog training needs. For more information on our professional dog trainers or our dog obedience school, contact us today.
