It may be tempting to think of obedience classes as something only for first-time dog owners. But, puppy training classes are a valuable resource for dog owners of all experience levels and offer several benefits regardless of experience.

6 Common Benefits of Good Puppy Training Classes

Here are a few big benefits of puppy training classes:

1. Puppy training classes teach essential skills.
2. They help keep training consistent.
3. Puppy training classes help socialize a puppy.
4. They help strengthen the bond you have with your puppy.
5. Puppy training classes can help address specific behavioral issues.
6. They provide mental stimulation.

1. Puppy Training Classes Teach Essential Skills

Lack of training, confusing commands, and unclear expectations are some of the reasons why dogs don’t listen. One of the biggest benefits of good puppy training classes is that they teach dog owners and puppies essential skills. For first-time dog owners, these classes can be a great way to pick up the basics and develop the skills they need to successfully train their puppy.

In a great set of obedience classes, the skills you pick up as an owner will help you as you continue to train and socialize your dog throughout their life. That confidence and those skills may even help you in other areas of your life as well!

Not only are these classes important for teaching essential skills to dog owners, but they also teach essential skills and basic commands that will help your dog throughout their life. The training and socialization they get from obedience classes can help a puppy learn how to be calm and confident in new situations. They can even help prepare your dog for a dog walker in the future.

This is something that helps set the foundation for a calmer, more confident dog that is less stressed and less fearful when faced with new situations, people, things, etc. It can even help prevent separation anxiety. Plus, a well-trained and socialized dog will be easier and safer to manage when out in public, at the vet, meeting new people, in emergency situations, and more.

2. They Help Keep Training Consistent

Puppy training classes also help keep training consistent. Structured routines and consistent training are some of the most valuable dog training tips, and they are things puppy training classes can help with.

One of the dog training myths is that obedience classes are just for your dog. The reality is that these classes are not just for your dog; they’re for you as well. In addition to helping a dog owner structure training appropriately for their puppy, classes also help reinforce training.

They are a great way to learn training techniques that you can take with you to practice and use at home, and then reinforce during class. This can be a great way to improve your dog’s recall training and other commands you want to teach and practice. Plus, you’ll have a foolproof formula to follow when you want to work on more advanced commands or teach new tricks.

3. Puppy Training Classes Help Socialize a Puppy

Another one of the big benefits of puppy training classes is that they help socialize a puppy. Often, the act of attending the classes and simply being around other puppies and people offers socialization opportunities for your puppy.

Some puppy training classes may even host safe puppy play sessions to help provide even more socialization. These classes, and play sessions if they are offered, give your puppy the opportunity to experience new things and to practice social interaction. This is also a benefit of doggy daycare, and can be practiced during trips to the dog park as well.

How Socialization During Puppy Training Classes Benefits Puppies

Socialization during puppy training classes helps puppies:

• Interact with other dogs and people
• Develop crucial social skills
• Learn how to read social cues and play appropriately
• Reduce problematic nipping
• Learn and develop bite inhibition
• Become confident and secure to prevent fear, anxiety, and fear-based aggression later in life

4. They Help Strengthen the Bond You Have With Your Puppy

One of the most common ways to build a bond with your dog is to spend time with them. Puppy training classes are something you do with your puppy. As long as the experience is a positive one where you are working well together, these classes can help strengthen the bond you have with your puppy.

5. Puppy Training Classes Can Help Address Specific Behavioral Issues

In addition to covering basic commands and training skills, you can also benefit from professional advice tailored to your puppy. Puppy training classes can also help address specific behavioral issues or challenges like:

• Potty training
• Excessive chewing
• Excessive barking
• Leash pulling
• Jumping up on people

Potty Training

Some dogs may be more difficult to potty train than others. Having puppy training classes as a resource can provide more house training tips to help you potty train your puppy. Plus, you can commiserate with other dog owners who are going through the same thing, share tips and resources, and more, in addition to getting guidance from the trainer providing the classes.

Excessive Chewing

Puppies are known for chewing, especially when puppies are teething. Some dogs can also be more prone to chewing than others. It’s important to train your puppy and establish boundaries on chewing early on to prevent issues later, and puppy training classes can be a good resource for addressing this.

There are many different reasons why dogs chew. You may still need to address things as they come up and as your dog grows. But, working on this in puppy training classes can give you a good foundation to start with.

Excessive Barking

The same is true for excessive barking. Some dog breeds are more prone to barking a lot than others, but individual dogs will vary, and any dog can be trained into barking a lot, whether on purpose or by accident.

For a lot of dogs, you need to train your dog to stop barking and socialize them well early on to prevent excessive barking. You may not be able to stop a dog from alert barking, but you can establish training and redirections to keep it to alert barking and prevent it from becoming a nuisance.

Leash Pulling

Leash training is important for any dog, and is particularly important for larger dog breeds. Leash pulling and excitement may be cute when puppies are smaller, but it becomes an issue once you have a fully-grown dog on your hands that can pull you around.

It’s a lot easier to leash train a dog when you start when they are a puppy than it is to change an established behavior once they are older and bigger. This is something you can work on and reinforce in puppy training classes, and again when you take your puppy out on walks.

Jumping Up on People

It can be cute when puppies are excited to see you and jump up. But, here, too, things that are cute when puppies do it may not be as enjoyable once it’s a fully-grown dog. You have to be aware of the behavior you are reinforcing and encouraging in puppies. If you don’t want your fully-grown dog to do it, don’t encourage the behavior as a puppy.

Starting early, you can train your dog not to jump up at home and in puppy training classes. This can be useful for small dogs, and is essential for larger breeds. You might be fine with a giant dog jumping up on you, but other people, especially seniors and children, could get injured if your big dog were to do that to them.

6. They Provide Mental Stimulation

Puppy training classes also provide mental stimulation and can help keep your dog from getting bored. You may not necessarily want to enroll in puppy training classes just for this reason, but it is a nice benefit that comes along with everything else.

Plus, if the training classes offer puppy play sessions, your energetic puppy can get mental stimulation and some exercise while you are there. It’s not the only thing that will help, but if it helps your puppy get enough exercise and keeps them from getting bored, it can help cut down on destructive behavior or other behavioral issues at home.

What to Look For in a Good Puppy Training Class

There are several benefits of puppy training classes, but only if they are good. Good puppy training classes create a safe and positive learning environment for people and puppies with a focus on positive reinforcement and socialization. Here’s what to look for in a good puppy training class:

1. The instructor is experienced, enthusiastic, and supportive.
2. Training methods are focused on positive reinforcement.
3. There are opportunities for an individualized approach.
4. The training space is clean and large enough.
5. Class sizes are limited.
6. There are strategies to limit and manage distractions.
7. Playtime and interaction between puppies is supervised.

1. The Instructor is Experienced, Enthusiastic, and Supportive

Good instructors are key to good puppy training classes. The instructor running the classes should be experienced and knowledgeable. Although the dog training industry is unregulated, there are reputable certifications available and professional dog training organizations that can help you verify experienced instructors.

In addition to knowing what they’re doing and being able to effectively manage dogs and people in their classes, good instructors should also be enthusiastic and passionate about helping owners and puppies navigate training.

You also want to make sure the instructor is creating a supportive learning environment for people and puppies. As an owner attending classes with your puppy, the instructor should be willing to answer questions and be a resource to help you throughout the training process with tips, support, guidance, etc..

2. Training Methods Are Focused on Positive Reinforcement

Puppies respond best to positive reinforcement and reward-based training methods. Whether with treats, praise, toys, or other rewards, classes should be structured to motivate puppies and reward the desired behavior, while redirecting or avoiding rewards for undesirable behavior.

3. There Are Opportunities For An Individualized Approach

Although there may be group training and activities, good puppy training classes will have time, space, and opportunities for an individualized approach to training. Every owner and puppy are different, and they will have individual needs and different training paces.

Plus, there will likely be specific things you want to work on more with your puppy. For example, if your puppy is prone to jumping up on people, you want to work on training your dog not to jump up. Depending on the trainer, the class structure, and class time available, you may be able to work on this in group puppy training classes.

Working with a professional dog trainer in one-on-one sessions may make sense for a truly individual approach to addressing specific things or more advanced training. Group classes include socialization, so if you’ll be doing one-on-one training, make sure you are still socializing your puppy appropriately in addition to training them. A good trainer will address this with you and can help you develop a plan that makes sense for your puppy and your needs.

4. The Training Space is Clean and Large Enough

Wherever the puppy training classes are taking place should be clean, free of clutter, and safe. It should also be large enough for people and puppies to move around and interact comfortably without being so large that it is a distraction or difficult for the trainer to supervise effectively.

5. Class Sizes Are Limited

Socialization, shared information, and support are some benefits that come with group puppy training classes. However, you do want to look for training classes with smaller class sizes.

Limited class size means a more manageable class size for better management of the puppies. Plus, it allows for more individual attention for participants as owners and puppies are working on things and practicing.

If there are too many people and dogs in the class, it’s more distracting, more difficult to manage, and also usually indicates that there won’t be an individualized approach or any time for individual attention or support.

6. There Are Strategies to Limit and Manage Distractions

Puppies are experiencing a lot of new things, and it’s easy for them to get distracted. Part of training is working on distraction management. The training space where the classes will take place should have opportunities to expose puppies to common sights and sounds to socialize them with those things.

At the same time, it should be designed to limit and manage distractions to help owners and puppies build the solid training blocks they need to better handle distractions and redirect attention appropriately. In addition to a good environment for training, the class should include techniques for teaching puppies to focus on their owners during training. This is a good foundation for learning basic commands, teaching your dog nose targeting, and more.

7. Playtime and Interaction Between Puppies is Supervised

Good puppy training classes will often offer supervised puppy play sessions. This is a great opportunity to continue to socialize puppies, let puppies get out some energy, and for puppies to interact, practice, and learn social cues from other dogs. Whether in a play session or in the class in general, any interaction between puppies should be supervised and monitored.

Puppy Training Classes Help Set Your Puppy Up For Success

These are just a few of the benefits of puppy training classes and what to look for when you are evaluating the classes that are right for you and your puppy. Consistent training and socialization early and often are key for your puppy to grow into a confident, well-behaved, and well-rounded dog. Puppy training classes are just one of many worthwhile resources available to help you along the way. They are also one of the costs of owning a dog to keep in mind as you plan to add a dog to your family.