My dog has been through Puppy Kindergarten and Basic Manners.
Puppy Kindergarten involves some basic obedience; basic agility games (which my dog LOVED); and "pass the puppy," which gets the puppies used to being handled by strangers (loads of fun for both the dogs and the humans!). Every young puppy should go though this class! My puppy left it confident and friendly towards all dogs and people!
Basic Manners is a good introductory obedience class. It involves a lot of homework, so be prepared! It was hard for me to notice any improvement in my dog from week to week, but when he took the "final exam" on the last day of class, it blew my mind how much he had learned!
As for the instructors, everyone is a certified animal behaviorist or working on certification. They really know their stuff. Since I haven't trained a puppy in a very long time, it put my mind at ease to have their reassurance that my puppy is progressing appropriately for his age and his behaviors are normal. I also really appreciate their willingness to answer questions before and after class, as well as over email during the week, so we can head off any behavioral issues before they develop into real problems.
I feel the cost of the classes is comparable to others in the area, and it's an especially great deal when you factor in all the one-on-one instruction and the credentials of the instructors. read more
