When my owners first brought me into their home, they ran into difficulties with me because everything was brand new. I didn’t mean to be a nuisance. However, I was just so excited about everything, and I might have gotten a little out of control sometimes.
I always overheard my owners talking about private dog training and how it might help with my behavior. I’ve lost track of how many times I heard them mentioning private dog training in the early weeks and months after being brought into the home.
They constantly spent so much time researching private dog trainers and how to correct my behavior. I think they started trying to find a private trainer because their patience began to grow thin. They did try bringing me to group training once, but I recall them mentioning that they didn’t want to go that route.
Is Private Dog Training Worth It?
I think my owners originally hesitated on private dog training for so long was because of the cost. That’s practically the only thing I heard them talk about for weeks and months when they first started researching it all.
The biggest benefit of it is that it’s fully exclusive. I would have a private dog instructor all to myself, and there wouldn’t be any other distractions. I think the distractions are what made the group dog training lessons so challenging to keep up with.
What Are the Types of Dog Training?
There are many kinds of dog training out there, and not all dogs will thrive through the same type of training.
Puppy Training
One of the best things for young puppies to go through is puppy training. It helps get rid of any negative habits they might have developed, and it’s best to catch these poor habits early on so that they don’t grow up with them. Getting rid of an issue before it develops into a larger one goes a long way in helping your dog.
Training The Behavior of The Dog
I always hear my owners talking about my behavior around people and other dogs, and they always mention behavior modification training. Behavioral training addresses many of the negative habits that dogs experience. Some of the habits are chewing everything and barking all the time.
I should admit, I tend to go around trying to chew everything I see. I have so much pent-up energy that it’s just sometimes hard not to chew things. Behavioral training is one of the easiest types of training that dogs can go through, and it can lead to more advanced behavioral training that will touch on training the dog’s leash reactivity.
Specific Obedience Training
Once behavioral problems are addressed, obedience training will become more specific. Specific obedience training goes over certain basic commands. My owners constantly attempt to get me to sit and come and lay on the ground whenever they use those commands.
I think I’m pretty good at all these basic commands by now, and I see them trying to teach me some more tricky ones, like jumping over obstacles and other things.
Therapy Dog Training
I’ve never heard my owners talk about therapy dog training, but I think it’s all about teaching a dog to show affection and love to people. The pre-requisites for therapy dog training are a mastery of obedience training.
Training Your Dog to Hunt
Hunting training is another type of dog training that I’ve never heard my owners talk about. This training is another specific type that depends on what breed of dog and type of trainer you’re using.
How Do I Find the Right Private Training?
I’ve met many different trainers over the past year, and it seems my owners are still looking for a consistent one that will help train me. There are many different things to look out for when selecting a private dog trainer.
The Personality of The Trainer
I think my personality as a dog didn’t mesh well with some of the private dog trainers that have come through the home. It seems their personality wasn’t very warm and friendly towards me, and they just wanted to get in and out of the training session as fast as they possibly could.
Training Methods
Each private dog trainer will use training methods that differ from one to the next. The person will know the training techniques like the back of their hand and will know what will and won’t work for every dog breed. The individual should also be familiar with negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement training strategies.
Pros of a Private Lesson
Even though I’ve only had a couple of private dog training lessons, it seemed to help me in several ways. Some of the benefits of it are:
- I’m able to get 100% attention from the trainer
- I learn faster
- The training sessions are completely customized for me alone
- My owner can ask the trainer whatever they want
- The schedules are more flexible
- It feels safer for me
Cons of a Private Lesson
There are also some cons associated with private dog training:
- It tends to be more expensive than other training methods
- It’s hard to find a formidable trainer
- The dogs don’t get as much interaction and sociability
What Does a Private Training Cost?
Cost can range from $20 to over $120 for each session and will be based on a couple of different things:
- The type of training that I’ll need
- My age
- The duration of the training session
- My owners say that private trainers will always be priced higher but that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
I’m glad my owners took the plunge and started hiring a private instructor to help me out with my behavioral issues. I don’t want to upset my owners in any way. So, this seems to be the best way to resolve the behavioral issues that I appear to demonstrate.
Now my owners are happy with me and we enjoy playing together all the time!
