# 1 is just around the corner in a big garage with a sand floor.  Starting even the end of March it could still be cold with below freezing temperatures at night and all of a sudden I'm wondering about training a five month old puppy in that cold garage.  Do you think one hour is too long in the cold?  I fear I may know this woman from last puppy's Ob. classes and the memory is not good.  Not sure though.

# Two is a 45 minute drive one way away but in a church basement (mats on floor) with a lady I have heard good things about.  She is a friend of puppy-boy's breeder.

# 3 is about a 20 minute drive and the trainer comes highly recommended.  It's inside but the floor is concrete.  This trainer also breeds Labs and I get the feeling there is some animosity between her and our breeder.

# 4 is a 30 minute drive, inside, matted floor but whenever I have spoken to them they sound like kids and say different things each time.  The only dog I know who has gone there is an uncontrollable liability charge waiting to happen but that is probably the owner's fault.  This place has a very good reputation but the person largely responsible for that is no longer with them.

My biggest concerns are the cold, concrete floors and the long drive to what is clearly the best alternative.  Some nights in mid March I might not make it; we have had raging blizzards at that time of year before.

I don't think the flooring is of much consequence - although concrete will soak up dog wee! (Maybe I am wrong there?)  The trainer and the atmosphere in the class are so important.  We had 3 trainers in our puppy class so we were split into smaller groups - some on grass outside and when raining inside a small hall.  I didn't go and watch any classes although that is what most folk recommend.  It was the only class in my area and I was happy with the way we were taught to train our dogs.  It was all positive reinforcement.  I wouldn't worry whether the trainer gets on with the breeder of your puppy - it is you they have to interact with.  Hope you have a good experience with whoever you choose.

> The only dog I know who has gone there is an uncontrollable liability charge waiting to happen but that is probably the owner's fault.  This place has a very good reputation but the person largely responsible for that is no longer with them.
>

> I fear I may know this woman from last puppy's Ob. classes and the memory is not good. 

i'd say no and no then...

other two sound ok though

Fully agree with ceejay -it's the training methods and quality of training that matters, anything else is pretty much immaterial. At home in Sweden nobody ever trains inside a hall even if it is in the middle of winter, I was SO surprised when I came to the UK and found most dog training took place in halls. For myself I hate it when halls have heating on in winter as a good training session usually has you in  good sweat so you want it a bit chilly. It won't matter to the dogs if it's cold, or if it is a breed that does feel the cold, just use a coat or jumper. :)

No 2 sounds best to me, or No 3 if you think she can be objective regardless of anything between her and your boy's breeder.

Your comments have been a big help.  I signed up last night for number 1.  It starts March 18.  I spoke to the woman on the phone and she seemed very happy and helpful and willing to discuss any potential problems I might have with Oban being too pushy with other dogs.  I still don't know for sure if she is the woman who was helping out at a class I took first puppy to nearly 15 years ago.  My memory of the helper is of a nasty, unhappy, grumpy person so may indeed be a different person.   This woman who will be teaching us was involved with that group and has years of experience.  Surely a bad attitude would not have allowed her to continue in this business for the 30 years she has in it.  Plus, it is at my neighbour's dog training facility so always nice to give them the benefit of the doubt.  Whether it will be cold or not, in that big metal garage, is anybody's guess.  Yesterday we hit a high of +12C and had flood warnings all over.  Today it is -5C and eveything is frozen solid.  Weird weather.

Hope the class is good.  I think you have to balance out what the class is like with how far you can realistically travel.  No good going for a fabulous class if the journey is hard and you end up missing more than you attend.  But that said you still want a class where you like the trainer and feel comfortable with the way they run the class.  Good luck.

Louise