Question about puppy school

[MoonandBean]

Sunny is 10 weeks old now and we've had her for a week; we just love her so much. She is such a sweet and good puppy. Yesterday we took her to petsmart and she rode in the front of the cart like a baby...she just laid there and looked around and of course, got lots of attention. Everyone thinks she looks like the puppy on the Advantage commercial and they sing the "ain't no bugs on me" song to her . She has growled at 3 people as they approached her too quickly which has me concerned but I'm hoping she was just scared and we will work diligently at socializing her lots and lots.

Anyway, my question to you guys is...what do you think about the puppy training classes at petsmart? There aren't a lot of personal trainers around me and everyone seems to use petsmart but I know the first training classes are the most important and I want to make sure we're not going to regret later that we didn't use a "professional". I know the trainers at petsmart get the necessary training but I also know they're not "professionals"...

Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Oh, here is a picture of Sunny this morning. She seems to know "sit".

[Rachel]

I don't know. I've watch some of the puppy classes at PetsMart and haven't been very impressed. That said, it would probably all depend on the individual person handling the class you attended.

[chocolatepuppy]

My Lacey and Layla have both went to Petsmart for classes. In fact Layla goes back the end of May to 'fine tune' a few issues. I don't have a problem with Petsmart training,I guess it depends on the trainer. The one Layla is going to has a search and rescue dog and is training her newest puppy to be a cadaver dog. IMO, she is a darn good trainer. Lacey had her for a trainer when she was younger and she turned out quite well.The trainer Layla went to before is no longer there and she was a bit more 'easy' in her training ,therefore the need for some fine tuning.
Regardless, the socialization is well worth it, imo.

[Freedom]

If you have options, then you want to consider the requirements for the trainer. Is it 'just' sitting in a class room and learning book info? Does the person HAVE a dog? (Don't laugh, there is a trainer at my local PetCo who LOVES dogs, but has never HAD one!) Has the trainer had a dog in any sort of competition (obedience, rally, agility,field work . . . doesn't have to be SHOW / conformation). And the more obvious things like how long been training, what certifications, and so forth.

Maybe this will help you sort it out!

[Catlady711]

I don't know much about PetSmart's puppy classes but I'd think any class that allows socialization and helps with training would be helpful.

One thing I do want to mention. You said the puppy is 10 weeks old, which means the puppy has not completed the series of vaccinations yet (those are usually finished by 12-16 weeks depending on your vet). Until those vaccinations are complete (with Kennel Cough vaccination) your puppy is not protected from diseases.

I've seen far too many young puppies very sick or even lose thier lives because they have been exposed to diseases at a young age before their vaccines have provided the proper immunity. I know owners of puppies are very happy to show off their puppies and eager to socialize them as soon as possible. It's MUCH safer to hold off on that until the vaccinations are finished. You have such a cute furbaby there, I'd hate for anything bad to happen to her and cause her or you any suffering.

[MoonandBean]

Thank You! She has had 2 sets of shots so far and is due for another set on May 23rd. Her vet said kennel cough wasn't necessary?? I will check with him before I bring her out again...she is my first puppy.

I do have a call into a very well respected personalized trainer in the area...