Is Puppy Class still important in 2024?

Talking to people when we are walking dogs around the city for training, we often hear that people think they can just train their dogs using YouTube.  Since online training has become popular, is there really still a need a take an in-person puppy class?

Socializing the Right Way

The one big thing online training can't provide is proper socialization.  There is a right way to socialize puppies.  There is also a wrong way that sets your puppy up to be mistrustful of the world, causing fear and reactivity. Which way are you socializing?  The best blend for most Wags & Wiggles clients is in-person puppy classes for socialization and online training if the client needs more help doing their homework. In the very first class, you will learn the best techniques for socializing your puppy.

Good Training

One big reason puppy classes are important is the trainer you are learning from.  Anyone can start a YouTube channel.  Wags & Wiggles has been teaching puppy classes for 25 years.  Our techniques evolve every year to keep our puppy classes current in curriculum and fun.  We have seen every type of puppy every type of personality, and we know how to train people, not just dogs. Training in person gets you instant feedback so you don't practice the wrong thing and confuse your puppy.

Stopping  Unwanted  Behavior

Puppy class is important to teach you how to stop behavior you don't like.  Let's be honest.  It is much easier to teach a little puppy to stop biting and pulling than a full-grown dog. We are positive reinforcement trainers, but learning to stop behavior is just as important as teaching puppies cues for new behavior.  This process isn't always simple since it varies from team to team.  Only learning in person can give you the tips and tricks you need.  Preventing puppy problems is much easier than fixing them later on.

Distraction Training

In puppy class, we recommend you start new behaviors without distractions.  But if your dog can't be well-behaved everywhere, then something is missing in your training.  If you are only practicing puppy training online and don't take the lesson on the road, you will be missing a critical point in your puppy's learning.  Puppy classes give you a place to practice with distractions.

New Ideas

Most of our new puppy clients have not had a puppy in 10 or 15 years.  We can train dogs better and faster than we did then.  Wags & Wiggles trainers also take classes with their own dogs to be pushed to be better.  You may notice the team next to you nail a leave-it challenge in class. Sometimes, we need incentives to do our homework to be as good as we can be.

Wags & Wiggles Puppy Training

Our classes are in single-class drop-in format.  You can mix and match days and times. They are priced reasonably at $50/class or $180/4 pack.  In January 2024, you can buy a 4-pack and get a 5th class free. If you purchase online, the 5th class will be added manually. A good, well-controlled, positive reinforcement puppy class can help the puppy and support the people who are trying to do the best thing.

Performance Pup Class and Game Day Class is for experienced training teams looking for added challenges for their dogs.  Check out the class schedule for more details.

If you need a little more help, we offer in-home private training and infacility puppy raising. You may not realize that Wags & Wiggles can come to you. Some of our best relationships started with a trip to the home when our clients first got their puppy.  We can make modifications to the home environment and get a training schedule setup.

Infacility puppy raising means the experts are helping raise your puppy.  We can get the right behavior very fast and nip the bad behaviors quickly.

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