Anyone know anything about these??  Thinking of taking our elevne week old lab to a four week course in a couple fo weeks - any one have any experience of them?  We're in the Windsor area.

..... isn't that how to become a Christian?  Are pups being evangelised now too?

Yes - they're the Sarah Whitehead ones, aren't they?  They are very well thought of - excellent, so I've heard - haven't been to them myself.

PM Sent :)

Yes, they are the Sarah Whitehead ones.  IS £69 for four weeks reasonable??  I have no idea.

On the one hand, that sounds v expensive for 4 weeks.  If it was a 6 wk course I'd say it sounded fine.

But on the other hand, it's in Windsor, which is an expensive area for classes (hall hire etc probably costs more than elsewhere) and it's also Sarah Whitehead who is known to be an excellent trainer and has a reputation throughout the UK, so probably can charge a bit more than usual.

An alternative might be Puppy School:  www.puppyschool.co.uk   If there is a tutor in your area (have a look on the website.)

£69 for 4 weeks!!!  Thats it im putting my prices up... LOL

Is Alpha Puppy Classes a franchise?

I'm not really sure, to be honest.  I know Sarah Whitehead runs it and she does also have a list on her website of other trainers she recommends and also a link for people to find out more about running Alpha Puppy classes but I don't know if it's a franchise or if it's like - you buy a book and it tells you how to run each class.  Happyinyournapp - is the class you're interested in actually taken by Sarah Whitehead or by someone else?

I would rather have 4 classes run by an experienced and recommended trainer than 8 classes run by someone whose done a correspondence course and end up with a worse puppy than I started with! :)

I looked at alpha for my puppy but due to the price i chose another class in iver, bucks, which offered great value for money (£60 for 6, or £90 for 12) also there are two Apdt trainers and an assistant per class and the classes have about 8 ish dogs in. let me know if you want the details

i have done alpha puppy classes with sarah whitehead all i can say is they are well worth the money excellent

Sarah Whitehead is extremely good, with dogs and people, and classes in somewhere like Windsor would be likely to cost more due to trainers costs etc :)
I would think classes would be smallish so you should get good individual attention; if you're not sure try asking if you can go along to a session first before you sign up. It is quite expensive so you'd need to be happy about it :)

Lindsay
x

it is a franchise..... 

http://www.dogtrain.f9.co.uk/behaviour.htm

I would go for it, yes expensive but you get what you pay for in my opinion.

if nips got confirmation that he might be an "alpha puppy" we'd never hear the end of it. ;)

I wonder what you get? I know that down here in Sussex there are some trainers that have done a course with her and have set up classes. I think it sounds expensive but it does depend on what is the outcome and if you have to go back for more. Not a lot can be taught in 4 weeks unless an owner has the magic touch.:-) The norm around here is about £60 for 6 or 9 weeks.

Gosh thats expensive, our ringcraft is £1 per dog each week.

World of difference between ringcraft prices and obedience prices. :)

Our Pet Obedience is £1.50 per week.

I think it depends on how much it is to hire the place that is used as to how much classes are and if there are any other over heads. ie: how many trainers and wages for others.

Our pet obedience in North London is £50 for an 8 week course. Once you've done the Foundation and Bronze tests, you can join the club for £10 a year, then £1 per dog per class each week. :-)

i think almost 70 quid for a 4week course is a total rip off. there is only so much you can teacjh a puppy after all. .UNBELIVABLE!!!

Me too Michelle no matter how good they are I know the vogue to charge per course so that the hall gets paid for but over 4 weeks how much can they teach the owners in that time ? After all it's the owners that learn at the "pet/puppy"classes & the puppy isd then taught by the owner, or has all that changed now ?

I used to set"home work"(very achievable BTW)each week & then we had a little test to see if the dogs & owners had done their homework & then some practice/work to take the owners' education forward & sovialization, then the homework exercise. It's not rocket science or is it ?

When I think about how much money I've spent on dog-related things it is overwhelming.

A champ show costs £25 to enter, then petrol there and back is at least £50 for most venues.

That's £75 for a few minutes in the ring.

A lot of you show and seem to think nothing of spending equivalent amounts of money on shows (because I doubt I'm the only person here who drives considerable distances).

A good puppy school can set a puppy up for life for most pet dogs.  Assuming you're saying that the classes should be £40 for 4 weeks - when the dog is 5 yrs old, what difference is that extra £30 going to make to your pocket - hardly any.  But it can affect a dog in a positive way, life-long, to attend a good puppy class.  Who cares if you're lining the pocket of the trainer - think about your dog and your interests and if they're a good trainer, they deserve to have their pockets lined anyway, because good trainers are few and far between.

I made a rule a few years back - education and training is something I will never worry about expense over, as long as I can feasibly afford it.  If I can afford it, it doesn't matter what the price is, I will pay it, if I want to learn whatever it is or achieve whatever qualification it is.  But hey, I don't splash out on clothes, films or in other ways - my one indulgence is training, books, and anything related to my education.  This has served me really well.  I don't put a price on education.

yes shows are expensive,but its our choice to go.you cant compare shows to puppy classes

@our club,its £5 a year to join,then its 2 or 3 quid a week.

i think a club that charges £70 for 4weeks is more interested in making money than helping puppies/owners,because by doing that theycant possibly help everyone that would like to attend.

i think £70 is daylight robbery. totally disgusting,money grabbing .

Why can't you compare shows to puppy classes?  Isn't it also our choice to go to a puppy class or not?!

Obviously if the classes are full at that price, then there is a demand for them at that price, meaning there are enough people willing to pay that much.

It will be no skin off her nose if you don't go.  The person who will lose out will be you/happyinyournapp, for not attending.

FWIW I think far too much reliance is now put on puppy classes for resolving every issue - more on a behavioural than basic training sense, I mean. 

I've only ever taken one of mine to puppy classes and I can't say that they tought me anything I didn't already know :)   Unfortunately more and more regular dog owners are being made to feel that they somehow let their dog down by not going to classes - even folks that have owned a few dogs over many years and been able to raise their previous charges to be well adjusted, obedient, happy individuals seem to be developing ever more doubtful of their abilities and experience.

I think somewhere along the line some people are just out to make mega bucks for now't ;)

I disagree with you Teri, I think that one of the main reasons for reductions in aggression amongst pet dogs, is because of the number of pet owners who are well informed and attending puppy classes from the earliest possible time in a puppy's life and during the socialisation period.

So why the increased need for "behaviourists"?  There was no such thing 20 odd years ago just good *dog trainers* who had a natural instinct towards why some dogs were overly aggressive, shy, exciteable etc.  Of course they didn't charge fancy fees ;)

I can socialise my pups perfectly well without attending a training class as can most folk I know - in fact some of probably the best socialised dogs I know have never been anywhere other than running around off lead in a public park on the day they arrived with their new families :)

  

Yes but Teri, you are a knowledgeable dog person - your average member of the public isn't...

Most people at puppy classes are on their first dog, or at least haven't had a puppy for a long time.

There has always been a need for behaviourists, it's just that the need wasn't met before...

We'll have to agree to disagree - the need for the term "behaviourist" IMO came about when less popular or less well known (shall we say) naturally good trainers were not as readily accessible to the GP.  All of a sudden there are behaviourists here, there and everywhere - not IMO necessarily a good thing - although I do agree there is a need for the super skilled in dog training to merit the name and the price tag for one to one assessments and training regimes for the relatively rare "problem" dog.

regards, Teri

I agree 100% - the problem is the 'one size fits all' style of socialising/training that most training classes adopt - I gave up taking mine to puppy classes years ago - without exception the ones I did take absoloutely HATED them and I got far better results from training and socialising in my own way in the 'real' world.

I think the rise in dog behaviourists is symptomatic of people's wish for a 'magic button' instant type of cure - just hand the problem over and hey presto the dogs trained . What ever happened to knowing your dog and using plain common sense !

Yvonne

>one of the main reasons for reductions in aggression amongst pet dogs,

Is there a reduction in aggression, though? How often have I read on here that dogs can't be trusted to approach other dogs off the lead? It seems to me that classes are no substitute for proper socialsation - the type where the pup gets taken everywhere from the word go and is allowed to mix freely with people and dogs.

I don't put a price on education.

expensive dosent automatically mean "good" of course ;) :)

I think anyone should go first and watch for one week, however SW is a really good trainer and if it were me, I'd pay to go to her. She's done some amazing things and turned around some very difficult dogs (she specialises in aggression) so I'd be happy, but each to their own (and I'd eat beans on toast for the 4 weeks LOL :P )

true but we are talking puppy classes here,not problem dogs. how much can  puppy learn??????

It's not the puppy, it's the owner.  If you're asking how much owners can learn in 4 hours spread over 4 weeks - quite a lot, I'd imagine.

I don't put a price on education.

Just because you pay £xxx for a training course(run as a frachise I believe in this case)doesn't mean it is the best & I've probably had equal good free advice as paid for good advice

Education is a lifetime thing not just 4 weeks & if anyone considers they can be fully educated in 4 weeks they are living in cloud cuckoo land.

It's the owners that are being taught isn't it ? or is the hour or whatever a week the only training these puppies need ?

because good trainers are few and far between.In your opinion of course

i wonder how many people repaet the course?

At that price, very few I'd imagine, whether they need to or not.

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Excuse me? I was agreeing with you ...

lol i know wasnt  rolling eyes to you! but to the classes! sorry!!!!

Ah that's all right then! My mistake! :o :D

the :rolleyes: can lead to misunderstandings sometimes ;)

No, I think you're misunderstanding me - I never said that the more expensive a training class, the better.  I merely said that I have heard great things about Sarah Whitehead, just like Lindsay, and I wouldn't let cost be a factor in deciding whether or not to go.  If you don't go, someone else will - you're not depriving her of anything by not going, you're just depriving yourself from seeing a really excellent trainer, renowned throughout the UK.

A very good point, Michelle! :) The training club I used to go to charged roughly the same as yours - £5 membership then a pound or two per class. Each course lasted 8 weeks. :)

And if those trainers are renowned throughout the UK, members of the APBC and APDT and with an excellent knowledge of learning theory, then I'd say you got a good deal.

But if they were local dog training clubs, run by average pet dog owners who decided to make themselves into trainers, then I think you probably got what you paid for.

yes ,you do you get a great service with a brilliant KC reg club.

Do you know what id prefer to go somewhere where people arent trying to make "money" out of dogs. but those who actually love dogs & know about them, & train & help because they love & understand their needs. NOT because they want to make money, not because they want to keep selling their franchises.

what has this  sarah woman achieved anyway?  what dogs has she trained & to what standard?

I also have more faith in trainers who run classes in their spare time from their 'real' job - where dogs and training is a hobby because they love it, not because it's their job.

I actually think it's completely irrelevant whether someone is running it as their business or as their hobby, whether they are professional or amateur, or self-made, it really makes no difference at all.

My point is that if you find a trainer who is well respected by a broad range of knowledgeable people (as Sarah Whitehead is), then don't let £30 stop you from going to her.  What is that over the life-time of your dog?  It will be your loss if you don't - someone else will just fill the place on the course, you're not "depriving" Sarah Whitehead of £30 because she wouldn't be charging that if she couldn't fill her class at that price.