Hi all,
Have any of you heard of dog schools where you send your dog away for 2-3 weeks and they get trained with the basics, like recall etc?
I was wondering if you had any views on this and has anyone tried them and do they work?

Thanks

Hi Sam

I don't know anyone who has used a "boarding school" but I suspect they work in as much as the dog will do what the trainer asks of it by the end of the 2-3 weeks.

Assuming the owner is new to dogs (experienced owners are unlikely to spend a fortune getting the basics trained), unless the owner is also trained, particularly what to do when the dog doens't act as expected, then the dog is likely to revert back to normal behaviour (e.g ignoring recalls).

Others may have different opinions but I believe the relationship between dog and owner needs to be developed. Much more effective to find a good training class and develop experience and a real bond with the dog. I think that in learning how to train the basics you learn how to deal with any problems that may come along.

I expect that there are good and bad training schools, just as there are classes. The only difference being that you are not there to see if abusive "training" methods are used. If it's something you're looking into research your chosen school carefully.

it would be best if you went to training classes with your dog otherwise you send your dog off to be trained, when you pick him/her up you should be shown what has been done with your dog and then you are 'trained' by the trainer as to what to do, you take your dog home and if you make one mistake everything is undone and you are back to square one, also you dont know what goes on behind the scenes, before i started at my current job my boss sent 2 dogs away for training, 1 of them Sammi (my jacks mum) was 9 mths when she went away she went away a typical springer full of bounce and confidence, she came back a nervous wreck, she has now been rehomed as she was unable to work, in follow-up training which is done weekly with substances and daily with dummies, she is fine finding dummies toys etc, but as soon as you put a substance down for her to find, shell find it but then go and hide and refuse to work for hours, Zac the other dog a GSD went away a happy GSD, he came back only my boss could get near him, it took weeks for any of the other blokes to get near him, and women he doesnt like i am the only women that can get near him and at the moment as he has been in a fowl mood as of late i am unable to get near him, both dogs went away fine came back completley different, our GSDs and rottis are all approachable they need to be they only 'attack' when their handlers either instruct them to or when their handlers are threatened, which is how it is supposed to be done.
That is just our experience of sending the dogs away they are now trained by ourselves and only go away for licensing with their handlers, if you wish to send your dog away go have a look, go by word of mouth and ask to see previously trained dogs, see how these dogs react to their handlers when commands are given, do the carry out the command because they want to or because they are afraid that if they dont they will get a beating? I dont mean to scare you or to upset anyone how does do training this way as said before there is good and bad of everything and it is up to you to decide what to do for your dog,
hth
tanya

I think the best thing about dog training is the development of the relationship between the dog and the owner and also the feeling of achievement when you manage to train them well. You just wouldn't get that with a dog boarding school. Training together is half the fun of owning a dog IMHO.

And who can train a dog in 2 weeks????

I couldn't send my dogs away and they would never forgive me if i did. The best way is for you to learn together that way you build up a loving relationship. Also your loving dog could come back scarred for life as you dont know their training methods when your not there. :-(

You can send you dog away, give it to someone else and they may train it for you and it may behave perfectly for them; however when they return it is up to you to continue in the same vein; however if the dog did not respect you before it went away it will not on its return!

There is no magic wand to dog training, if there was we would all have one :D

my hubby works at a school and one of the teachers sent away his springer to be basic obedience trained it cost him over 500.00 for this, he then asked my hubby if he thought it was a good idea,after OH had picked himself up off the floor when told how much it was costing, he sent him to see me, to which i said, it is not just the dog that needs training it is the owners also, oh i am going for a days training at the end of the course, he said. i have been training for over 20 years i told him and i am still learning, so you don't think it is a good idea, my reply NO, and now the dog has been back home 3 weeks, and he has told me that it has reverted back to what it was before, but he has also admitted that he has not kept up the training and the discipline and the dog is allowed to get away with a lot of things, his wife finds she can't cope with the dog, well it is not a dog it is only a puppy of 6 months, so he is now going to join a local training club where he can be trained along with the puppy,
Oh and i have seen the puppy and he is a smasher .
Carol

Hi, I looked at dog schools when considering training for Copper but after having private sessions at the house and now training at a class, I am glad I didn't go for that.  Not only was it going to be very expensive but I think you might find (as I am finding) that the dog will respond very well to the trainer and do all the right things at the right time but as soon as you are back on your own again the real hard work starts and the dog wants to revert back to old ways.

Copper is doing fine in his class although sad to say he is back to his muzzle as a room full of dogs is too much for him, but he has most definitely improved from what he was like before.  No quick and easy way for training I'm afraid, especially if the bad habits are long ingrained.  Little and often and don't give up!

CG

Hi I don't want to say too much and have this sound like an advert but I train over 40 dogs a year on a residential basis and 95% of those are trained in 2 weeks.  Yes there is work to do afterwards and extensive training for the owners but my website is full of clients own stories of their experiences with this type of training.  A large number of dogs come because of serious aggression problems and even the obedience based ones have often been thrown out of classes.  It is always better to get owners to go to classes and/or have private lessons, but this is not always possible.
One recent dog had already been to 3 classes and had two trainers do some private lessons before getting here.  The owners had already contacted the relevant breed rescue as they were totally fed up with this dog and it's behaviour.  After a two week stay the dog is described as like having a totally different dog and a pleasure to own.  2 others have been in to us because of this one and the difference friends and relatives can see.
There are some unscrupulous centres who are very hard on the dogs they take in and charge a lot of money, some of them charge twice what we do.  All of our residential dogs leave with 3 months follow up although only a tiny percentage need to use it.
Anyone wanting to use this type of training is advised to ask lots of questions and preferably speak to owners who have used the centre and have had their dog back for a long period and so can tell you the true results of training.  Like any industry there are good and bad trainers and good and bad owners.