Thoughts on Petco Dog Training

Last Thursday Athena officially graduated from her basic obedience class at Petco.  We were very proud of our little girl and the progress that she made.

The training room at our local Petco

During the seven weeks that Athena was enrolled in her class, many people would ask us, "where is your dog training at?"  I found that I was often embarrassed to admit that we had signed Athena up for classes at Petco and would usually respond with a "*cough* Petco *cough*" under my breath.  When researching online about dog training classes at Petco and Petsmart, I found that most people were underwhelmed with the training experience at both stores.

Despite my embarrassment of admitting that we were training Athena at Petco, here is a list of reasons why we opted to enroll in a Petco basic obedience (AKA Adult Dog Level 1) course:

• Money - The course is $110 for 6 one-hour classes (the first class is humans only), but we were lucky enough to score a $20 off coupon making the course only $90 (so that's $15 per class).  Somehow we also ended up getting a 7th class for free.
• Trainer - One day while shopping in Petco I was approached by the resident dog trainer who gave me the $20 off training coupon.  Before signing Athena up, I was able to talk to the trainer about her experience with dog training (she actually had a long history of dog training before becoming a trainer at Petco).  Also before committing to the course, I brought Athena in to meet the trainer to make sure that it was a good fit.
• Positive & Rewards Based - We like that Petco's training philosophy focuses on positive reinforcement through the use of rewards because today's research shows that this is the best way to train a dog (especially pit bull type dogs).  For the most part, the training was very positive.  The trainer did deviate a little from the positive method in teaching us about Bitter Apple.  However, this spray has been a life saver in dealing with Athena's mouthiness and leash biting.
• Training Facility - I can guarantee that we wouldn't have paid $90 for the course if the Petco in our neighborhood didn't have such a large and private training room.  Most Petco and Petsmart stores have a very small area (reminds me of a cubicle) in the middle of their store dedicated to training.  The Petco where we received training had a large room for training that wasn't accessible to costumers shopping in the store.

The usual Petco & Petsmart Training Cubicle

Now that we have completed the basic obedience course and Athena is an official graduate, I am able to reflect on our overall experience.  For the most part, we enjoyed the training at Petco and believe that Athena (and us) learned quite a bit during the seven weeks.  However, I don't think that our Petco training experience was the norm.  Our first 4 classes were private because no one else signed their dog up for training during our time slot.  This allowed the trainer to focus on Athena's specific needs.  When we finally switched time slots, we were in class with no more than two other dogs at a time (every time they were different dogs).

So, we give Petco training a four star rating out of five based on our personal experience.  Athena learned many commands including sit, down, stay, come, leave it, and heel and received some great socialization and practice with distractions.  Our one criticism would be that there didn't seem to be a real plan for what Athena would be able to do once she graduated.  When first meeting the trainer, she told us of all of the amazing commands that we would learn throughout the six weeks.  Petco's website even describes that the Adult Dog Level 1 course will teach skills such as "leave it," "wait," and "walking on a loose leash" and will also address challenges such as jumping, barking, and digging.  However, we didn't learn all of the commands and ways to deal with behavior that we were promised.

Read about Athena's progress during each week's class at Petco here, here, here, and here

What have been your experiences training your dogs at big box stores or elsewhere?

We are looking forward to beginning the Canine Life and Social Skills (C.L.A.S.S.) training through Regarding Rover beginning in October!  More about that to come this week...

Basic Obedience: Week 6

Last week Athena had a rockin' time in her week 5 basic obedience class.  Yesterday we headed to our final class of our 6 week session only to find out that we get to attend a bonus class next week!  So, Athena's basic obedience training has turned into a 7 week class-- how exciting!

Pleeeeeeeaaaase let me play with my doggy friends today!

Athena hasn't been feeling 100% the past couple of days and we suspect that she had an allergic reaction to some new treats that she had.  We have an appointment at the vet today, so we will update you next week on her recovery.

We told our trainer that Athena was having some tummy trouble and that we would like to have a low-key session without any dog-dog play interaction.  So, even though Athena whined and whined that she couldn't play with her doggy friends, the training session was overall successful.  Athena seems to be getting better at responding to basic commands when faced with the distraction of other dogs around her.

Week 6:

Yesterday's class was pretty much the same as last week because we worked on the same commands in a similar setting.  However, we love getting to practice all of Athena's commands in the presence of other dogs because dogs=Athena's major weakness.  She just wants to play with everyone so badly that  her dog ADHD comes out in full force and we have a hard time getting her to focus on us.  Since joining the group training class though we have seen an improvement in her ability to stay focused with other dogs around.

When class was over, the other dogs got to play with each other, but we kept Athena out of the mix because of her tummy issues.  She was a bit sad about this in the beginning, but totally got over it when the trainer offered her a noise making toy.  However, another dog came over to Athena and snatched her toy away from her and Athena really didn't like that.  She's usually a pretty quite dog, but this situation plus her already irritable attitude turned her into Little Miss Barky (she pretty much only does her "yelp bark" when she is REALLY frustrated that she can't play with another dog).  She was pretty upset that this dog had taken her beloved toy!  Athena continued her sad yelp bark for a few seconds until we decided that all of the dog fun was just too frustrating for Athena, so we left class and let the other dogs play.  Hopefully next week Athena will be back to her normal self and can join in on all of the fun for her last class!

Week 6 Homework:

• Practice down/sit/down/sit
• Practice sequences of commands (example: heel, down, stay, sit and then treat)
• Self-Assigned Homework: Teach Athena a new trick!  Maybe twirl??

Any thoughts on a new cool trick to teach Athena at this stage in her training?  As much as we enjoy building her confidence with the commands that she already knows, we hope to continue adding new commands regularly to the list of ones that she already knows.

Check out Athena's progress in basic obedience here, here, and here.

Basic Obedience: Week 5

Last week we told you about our week 4 basic obedience class that prompted Athena's training boot camp this week (ok, to be honest we didn't do a very good job of implementing boot camp...).  So, yesterday we headed out to Petco for our fifth basic obedience class since adopting Athena.  I was a bit nervous about it seeing as last week was the first time that we were in class with other dogs and Athena did NOT perform at the top of her class like we would have hoped (she acted like she didn't know what "down" was!).  But.....

Athena ROCKED it in last night's class!!!!!

There was one other dog in the class last night who was a 9 month old Boston Terrier/Boxer mix.  Athena and him hit it off great and they spent a good amount of time before and after class playing together.  We are still very cautious when Athena meets new dogs because of her 'dog aggressive' label given by her previous owner (more about that here).  Last week in class Athena didn't get to play with the other dogs, but last night she played and played and played with her new friend!  She was in doggy heaven!!  We were ecstatic that she made a friend who matched her energy level.  There were even times when Athena actually wanted to take a break from playing and the other dog kept going in for more.  Usually it's Athena who won't let her playmate take a breather!

Trying to catch my breath after a long play sesh!

Week 5:

As far as training, we worked some more on distractions with long down/stays inside of the store.  Athena actually did down/stays the entire time (last week she was way too distracted to do "down").  Of course when a big distraction came her way (like a squeaky toy being thrown in front of her face) she would stand up and we would have to give her the "leave it" command and direct her back into a down/stay.  But overall, B and I were very impressed with Athena's progress from last week.  

Oh yeah...it might be cheating not to tell you that we bumped up the food reward last night.  Instead of giving Athena her favorite Nutro Crunchy Treats that she will do anything for unless she is in a group training class with millions of distractions, we gave her pieces of hot dog.  That's right, we bumped from a level one treat to a level three so that we would be at the top of the class.  You gotta do what you gotta do!

Show me the hot dog!

Week 5 Homework:

• Keep practicing basic commands with new types of distractions
• Practice commands in new locations (at the park, on walks, at home, in a pet store, at Home Depot, etc.)

Hopefully next week's class will be just as stellar as yesterday's was.  We have loved having Athena in a training class because it gives us the confidence to train her on our own at home, provides her with socialization, and helps her to overcome some of her fears of new situations.

Check out Athena's progress in basic obedience class here and here.

Also, thanks to everyone who commented on last week's basic obedience post to tell us stories about their first group training classes and to give us encouragement that Athena would get better =)

-A

Basic Obedience: Week 4

For the past month Athena has been enrolled in a basic obedience class at our local Petco.  See our post about weeks 1-3 training here.

Last week we skipped our training class because B had a class at the same time and we like to be at the training class together.  So, today we resumed our training sessions and attended our 4th class (out of 6 total).

We were pretty excited about being back in class because we bumped into the intermediate/advanced class which meant that we got to be in a training class with other dogs.  I feel like a parent whose kid got on the honor roll!  Go Athena!

Even though we got the advancement...it doesn't mean that Athena was at the top of class!  There were two other dogs in the class: a 6 month old Australian Shepherd and a 7 month old Boxer-- both are very high energy dogs, but both were pretty rockin' when it came to the day's lesson.

Since we are still wary of Athena's 'dog aggressive' label given by her previous owners (who only had her for 2 weeks), our trainer knew that we wanted to take the dog introductions slowly.  Athena got to meet the two other dogs while on leash.  The Australian Shepherd owner didn't seem very comfortable with Athena meeting her dog and even said, "we don't need any more vet bills!"  I guess I would be cautious too if I heard that another dog is possibly dog aggressive.

But, after some quick introductions we got right to training.  Here's what we worked on in class:

Week 4: 

• DISTRACTIONS!

So apparently everything Athena knows goes out the door when two other dogs join her in class.   At least the trainer told us that her behavior was normal for a dog's first time in class with other dogs.  We totally looked like the owners who don't do their homework and don't practice any commands with their dog at home.  Athena really didn't want to listen to anything we said (even with totally tasty treats dangling in front of her face) and she acted like she had never heard the word 'down' in her life.  I will just say that the experience was challenging.  And if I thought that it was challenging, I can't even imagine how Athena felt.  Not to worry though, when we got home I gave Athena lots of loves to let her know that I love her even though she has doggy ADHD.

Anyways...the hour of class consisted of us practicing down/stays in the training room while the trainer distracted our dogs and got them to move around the room while other dogs stayed.  Next, we moved out into the store and were presented with some major distractions while we practiced down/stay.  Athena really refused to be in a down position...so we just practiced sit/stay most of the time.

Week 4 Homework:

• Practice 'leave it'-- this once mastered command doesn't work so well when distractions are present
• Practice 'down'-- diva dog doesn't like to down in the presence of other dogs
• Implement doggy boot camp-- ok, this is self-assigned homework, but Athena better be ready for some major practicing in highly distractible situations this week because her parents are teachers and therefore like to be at the top of the class!

Overall, week 4 class was bleh.  Could have been better, could have been worse.  But, I'm proud of my little girl for being so stealer in her first month of being with us!!

-A

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Basic Obedience: Weeks 1-3

For the past three weeks, Athena has been enrolled in a basic obedience training class at our local Petco.   Prior to putting her in the class, we had planned on having her take a basic obedience class from the shelter that we adopted her from because they offer a discount for adopted dogs and we really liked their training facilities.  However, the class at the shelter wasn't starting until the end of August and we felt that we needed to get Athena into a training routine as soon as possible.

At first we were a bit hesitant to put her in a class at Petco or Petsmart because the group training sessions often happen in a small area located in the middle of the store.  Our local Petco is not the fanciest, but actually has a HUGE training room that is the largest in the Northwest unlike most of these big box stores.

I get to run all around this gigantic room!!

Aside from the perk of having such a large training space, we receive individual training for the cost of group sessions ($90 for six weeks-- we used a $20 off coupon to get this deal).  We didn't plan to be the only ones in the class, but nobody else signed up!  So, we get all of the attention and the class is geared towards Athena's specific needs.  The trainer is great and has worked as a dog trainer at many locations in the past.

Here is what we have been learning so far in our first three weeks of training:

Week 1:

• Sit
• Attention Game
• Leave It
• Come

Week 2:

• Down
• Heel

Week 3:

• Long distance down/stay
• Heel with distractions
• Stay with distractions

I do a pretty good sit/stay!  Just wait till' you see my down/stay!

B and I do multiple training sessions with Athena each day.  We also reinforce commands and desired behaviors throughout the day outside of these 15 minute sessions.  Athena has learned so much in the past three weeks.  When we first got her from the shelter the only command that she knew was a selective sit.  Now she knows so much more (sit, down, stay, come, wait, watch, leave it, off, heel, bring it) and we are working to build her confidence with these commands when distractions are present.

Because Athena has been progressing so quickly in her beginning class, we will be joining the intermediate/advanced class in two weeks.  This will give Athena the opportunity to experience training with a group of dogs and help her to be the best dog that she can be!!

-A