I’ve not had the opportunity to grow up with pets. Once I was old enough and independent enough, had my own money and place, I got a dog. A dream come true for me! It was an exciting time! Learn about breeds, choosing a breed, finding someone to get a dog from, how to train a dog, finding dog training classes, walking with my dog! That was the highlight for me, having a walking companion. I did take various dog training classes at different facilities. Mostly to “socialize” my dog. I do think it helped, initially. Now, all of this started 18 years ago, in 2004-2005. Looking back that dog, let’s call him Puppy 1, had a good life. A “dog’s life”! He was part of the “pack”.
Fast forward to present day, 2022-2023. I have a new puppy. I’m thinking “how do I do this?” I had to really think back hard at how I got Puppy 1 to adapt to life with me and my pack, which had people come and go; change locations; and more. Life things. This new puppy, let’s call him Puppy 2, had to some how be incorporated into my current life. I immediately thought, “he needs to be socialized and I need to put him/us into dog obedience class and be consistent”. I needed to find dog training classes for us.
In the past 18 years a lot has happened and changed. Not just in my life but in the world in general. Technology has changed considerably. There is a QR code on everything now! Digital media is an industry in its own right and cannot be ignored. Computers are in everyone’s hands. The Covid-19 pandemic happened. This added another change to the world and lifestyles. Remote and hybrid work is more accepted and commonly place now. A digital nomad is more than just something your brother in law’s second cousin does that everyone talks about but doesn’t really know what it is. Now, almost anyone can be a digital nomad and its no longer a big deal. There is an entire generation where being a digital nomad is just a part of life. Pets were being bred and adopted like hot cakes and barely satisfying the demand of people and families stuck at home during the pandemic. Now that the pandemic is slowly being over shadowed by things going “back to normal”, many pets are being given up, shelters are becoming overcrowded with homeless pets because their owners want to go back to their ”normal” life, which didn’t include a pet and doesn’t have room for one now. Many of these pets were not socialized properly or didn’t get the training and proper attention they needed, so a lot of behavioural problems in these animals. This is another post! There are still many new pet owners, like myself, who waited until the worst of the Covid pandemic pas before inviting a new life into their home.
Dog training classes
Dog obedience and training classes are still out there but have also been affected by the changes these past 18 years and of course by the Covid pandemic. Some of the more obvious changes that I have noticed with dog training classes are,
- Masks are still worn during classes
- Each dog and handles has a designated spot in the class. There is less interaction between dogs and handles during the class
- Fewer participants per class.
- At most 2 people per pet during a class.
- There seems to be DOB requirements for puppy classes. This may have been the case before, but I don’t remember it being that strict.
- Classes fill up fast.
- There are online classes now.
- A lot more youtube videos of trainers providing dog training lessons.
- People in the classes are so serious! This may have ben the same 18 years ago but maybe I have changed!
I’m sure there are more changes as every industry has to change and adapt with the times in order to survive.
Possible Personal Changes that Affect a Dog’s Lifestyle
What has changed in me during these past 18 years? Quite a bit, I’m sure. But the things I think are most obvious and would affect a new life entering my life are,
- My “pack’ has changed a few time and is currently very different and much smaller that it was 18 years ago.
- I’ve changed work and industries a couple of times.
- And current work remotely now at home all day. 18 years ago I had to leave home for work each day. I am noticing this has a very different affect on owning a pet and on the pet itself. This is yet again another post!
- I’m older, 18 years older! This means a very different energy level, perspective on life is different, interest and path in life are different. All things that do affect a new life and pet in my life.
There are probably, no, I’m certain, there are many more things about me that have changed that affect a pet ownership of a new puppy now vs 18 years ago.
One of many things I learnt with puppy 1 was that I, the owner/handler, needs training just as much, if not more, than the animal. Let’s keep that in mind and briefly take a look at me and how I changed in that past 18 years. In particular, two period in my life and how it changed my perspective.
The first period, Period 1, was when I started, owned, ran and taught in my own Pilates studio. Period 2 was when I started, owned and operated with a partner, a small math tutoring business. The first period and experience started during the 2008 recession and continued for about 6 years. The second period and experience started in the falloff 2019, the year before the Covid 19 pandemic started in 2020 and continued until the new year 2022. During these two periods I was instructing, tutoring, training, whatever you want to call it, I was performing this service. These weren’t the only periods in my life when I taught, instructed or tutoring but they were of my own initiative and during the time I had puppy 1. One thing I learnt during these periods and through these experiences is that if the pupil doesn’t do well or feel good, it’s probably due to the instructors not the pupil. Regardless of the size of the class, it is the instructor that is responsible for how the pupil feels and their desire to progress and the amount of effort the desire to put into the session.
Different types of pupils / teaching situations
If I consider the couple of experiences and periods I mentioned above,
Period 1 – Pilates studio owner and instructor – pupils usually want to be there and are there by choice. So highly motivate to learn and reach their goals. Pupil by choice.
Period 2 – math tutoring business co-owner and tutoring – parents usually want the pupil to be there and have a great deal of responsibility for the results. E.g. parents are like the manager of the entire project and in particular the pupil The tutor is the consultant of sorts working with what the manager provides them and of course the tutor must provide the desired necessary requirements to be able to work and provide the desired results of the parent and pupil. Pupil not necessarily by choice.
Back to dog training classes.
Who exactly is the dog trainer training?
With puppy 1 I did at least 3 different dog obedience classes with 3 different instructors in 3 different locations. I may have done a few other dog obedience classes during his lifetime but off hand I remember 3. One of these classes a was puppy class. My current dog, puppy 2, is still just a puppy and barely 6 months old. We’ve done a puppy class and are currently in a “good manners” dog obedience class. Same location for both classes but different instructor.
- With puppy 1 I do recall the classes not only being larger, more of a social, participatory type of classes but also more of a feeling that I, the human, was being taught by the instructor. The instructor would use their own dog to demonstrate behaviours we then would try with our own dog. The instructor would then come around and help use out, mostly the human.
- With puppy 2 and the classes we are doing together now in 2022, the instructor demonstrates the behaviour using one of the dogs in the class. The instructor lectures”, talks and lot telling us the ‘whys’ behind what they want us to practice with the dog before giving us a few minutes to try the behaviour with our dog. The instructor walks around and helps but instead of helping “us”, dog and handler, the instructor just does the behaviour with the dog taking very little interest in how the human is doing the behaviour or whether the human even understands how to do their part. Ow this may be specific to the dog training facility, the training method, instructor’s training style or a sing of the times, I don’t really know.
One thing I have concluded based on my own experience instructing and also being a learner, trainers, teachers, instructors, tutors, lecturers, whatever you want to call them, they need training themselves! Not just training in their subject matter they are training other in but how they are imparting that information to the pupil, who the pupil is, how that pupil is receiving the information; whether they are understanding the material you are communicating, are you speaking audibly, do you know your pupil’s name, are you being respectful your pupil (your customer). But most importantly, are you working cooperatively with the pupil to help them achieve their goals or are you just trying to get through the material and collect the customer’s money? I doubt most instructors, trainers or teachers are asking themselves these questions.
I don’t think it’s worth spending time going over my opinions on what is “wrong” with the dog training, trainers, teachers, instructors in general but rather what I personally would look for in an instructor and class next time I am looking for an instructor and lass whether it’s for my puppy and me, or just for me.
Questions to ask before choosing a dog training instructor or facility
Some take aways from my dog obedience training class experiences and my own instructor and learner experiences, past and present, are questions. I would ask a lot more questions before making a commitment to a class. What questions would I ask? Good question!
- What are the qualifications of the instructor? Experience, certifications, training, years of work and training etc. Whatever you want to know regarding the instructor that makes you feel they should be in that position to teach you how to train your dog.
- Does the instructor train the handler or the animal? Does the instructor mainly do group class training or private training?
- How does the instructor train? What methodology or style of dog training do they use/follow? E.g. it’s your choice” vs some other method
- What is the goal of the class?
- What experience is required of both dog and handler for this particular class?
- What vaccinations are required?
- What age range of dogs will be in the class?
What temperament of dog will be in the class? - Can you meet or talk to the instructor before deciding to join the class?
This is just a short list of questions I would ask next time I’m choosing a dog training class for my dog. What am I looking for when I ask these questions?
I am looking for answers but also the customer service, communication style and sincerity of the person/business answering the questions. You want to choose somewhere where you feel you will be heard and that they will be working with you and your dog and not just your dog. You need to be apart of the training process not just your dog. This means you want to find a training facility that has human communication skills as well!
Something I am learning and realizing with puppy 2 and dog obedience classes, is that all instructors and dog training classes are different. Finding a fit for the human/handler, first and not a trainer that is good with dogs only is the priority. In the end, if the human/handler is not comfortable, able to understand or learn from the instructor or doesn’t feel like they are part of the process, then the human/handler will become frustrated, disinterested, less motivated and this will be eventually felt by the dog. This isn’t good for anyone and no one is learning anything at this point.
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