I took the 6 week puppy class with my then twelve week old mini bernedoodle. It should be noted that all classes require a "training collar" which translates to a prong collar, a choke chain, or a "martingale" collar (more on that later). Harnesses and flat collars are strictly banned. Most puppies in my particular class were around the 4/5 month range, and most were large breeds, with a couple of exceptions. Each class started off with the puppies walking laps around the room to "ease anxiety." This was very stressful for my puppy and I. My puppy was still too young to be taken in public regularly and walking on a leash was a pretty new concept. Having some of these first public walks done with a dog 2-3 times his size on his tail was stressful for him, and resulted in him pulling considerably more than he would normally. This class was mainly for basic commands: sit, lie down, place, heel, loose leash walking, leave it, and out. After the first two classes with the puppy (the first week is people only), I noticed my puppy's eyes were extremely bloodshot after being on a choke chain for the hour long class. In the second class, Deb checked that the chain collar was on properly, she then took my puppy from me and dragged him across the floor, giving him "corrections" (jerking quickly on the choke chain) when he did not walk perfectly at her side and did not follow the commands she barked at him that he did not know. A few minutes later, she checked the chain again, said it was on backwards (which means it hadn't been loosening properly when she was tugging on it) and then said he'd need to be moved to a pinch collar if he didn't stop pulling, my fluffy 13lb puppy. The third week, my puppy was crying in the car on the way there. I was radical and came in the harness that my puppy typically wore on our average day. He was happier and walking much better, but after a little while, Deb noticed the harness and told me he needed an appropriate collar for class. She did not respect my wishes for my puppy and insisted that I would regret the harness when he was older, and that she had more experience and knew what was best for him. She said I was "training with my heart" and that "they're not little people" two of her favorite phrases. She allowed us to borrow a martingale collar that she sells to try. I searched for these collars online and could not find them, as this was not a traditional martingale collar. This was essentially the same as the choke chain, but part of it was leather, hypothetically this limited the amount it could tighten, but she used the smallest possible size on my puppy, which barely fit over his head, and would not have been able to tighten to the point the leather would have stopped it. The collar debacle was very stressful and disheartening to me. I chose this class because it seemed to be the most legitimate and easily accessible option in town. In the first week she assured the class that we'd be using positive reinforcement and wouldn't be hurting the dogs, but she did not listen when I said the required collar was hurting mine. Deb very much has a method that produces results, her own dogs are impressive, and some tips were great. It was nice to have an environment around other dogs to train in, and she does make herself available for questions. The last week of class, the puppies got to play together off leash for the first time and that was enjoyable to watch. However, especially for smaller breeds, younger puppies, or for anyone uncomfortable with the training collar, I would recommend the multitude of free videos online on training your dog these basics, and practicing in the park or on the beach once they've had their vaccines. read more
