# Training puppy at home vs Petsmart/Petco Obedience training



## vietguy357 (Mar 1, 2012)

Hi, Would it be ok if I train my puppy at home? I can teach him the basic obedience like sit, stay, wait, heel, come, leave. So I was thinking would it benefit me to take him to an obedience class? He get socialize a lot daily with during his 30min walk, a lot of people with their dogs walk in the evening when we walk. 

Leo is just over 7 weeks old and he know how to sit (98% of the time), come (75% of the time) and leave it (75% of the time). I started training him since he was around 6 weeks old.


----------



## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

He is very young and should not be attending Group Classes yet. They won't (as far as I know) even accept him till he has all his shots. So starting him at home is a good start.


----------



## vietguy357 (Mar 1, 2012)

I know he is still young and he is getting his first shots next week. In your experience would it be worth it to get him into the class later on?


----------



## GSDBESTK9 (Mar 26, 2002)

Sure, it will help to solidify what you have taught him around distractions.


----------



## AkariKuragi (Dec 19, 2011)

You also shouldn't be taking him to visit with strange dogs until he's had at least his second shots, though I wouldn't take him to high dog traffic areas until he's had his final set, because I've had a bad run in with parvo and I wouldn't want the pup to get it. I'd say stick with visits to friends houses who have dogs that you know have been vaccinated, and keep walks limited to low dog traffic areas (i.e. avoid dog parks and pet stores). 

As for joining the class, it would definitely be a good chance for you to cement your commands amid distractions, and with his early training you'll probably be #1 in the class. ;3


----------



## EJQ (May 13, 2003)

Training at home is fine but I believe that group training is very important from the standpoint that your puppy will be socialized with people as well as other dogs. However, that being said, you will want to wait until all of his shots are complete. Aside from class you should be mindful of where you bring him at this time.
Good luck


----------



## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

I was not impressed by petsmart training. Classroom settings don't always translate into real world settings. My husky and my GSD both went through the classes and only socialized with the dogs in their class. They are still wary of meeting new dogs especially my GSD. Best to you.


----------



## Touch of Gray (Dec 14, 2011)

I did both classes and private training with my youngest. He got much more out of the private training than the group class which was a struggle at first due to the distractions. Also, the private trainer was ready with various techniques in case the standard approach did not work. In the class, all dogs were trained with exactly the same approach,which was not ideal for several of the dogs. It all depends on what you are trying to get out of the training. Training house manners is very different than formal obedience.


----------



## *Lisa* (Nov 20, 2011)

I think that doing both is important, and we've had success doing both. We began training at home during the first 4 weeks and taught Jazmyn to sit, lay down, a brief stay and a few tricks along with teaching her the rules of our house and potty training.

Puppy classes began at 12 weeks and helped her to learn to be around other puppies her age, how to interact with them and also how to focus on us even with distractions around. I will say that basic puppy class was *boring* for us, and Jazmyn too, but it was good socializing for her. We're now in our second round of classes at 16 weeks, and I find it much more interactive. We're using clicker training this time around (which we've been doing at home since the 2nd week) and Jazmyn responds really well, even with the other dogs around in class.

Keep your pup away from classes until they've had their 2nd round of shots (We couldn't start classes until Jaz was 12 weeks old). In the meantime, look up other places that offer group training classes. A lot of times (here at least) they are run out of vet clinics, or instructors with their own companies.

Good luck!!


----------

