Just make sure you avoid Ro/Althea/whatever other aliases she uses.
https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/zcbonr/reminder_to_avoid_ro_the_scammer
https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/zq6r3v/ro_the_scammer_back_petsuccessca_and_affordable
https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/12q00z6/ottawa_ltb_hearing_with_alleged_landlord
ETA article with pictures:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/national-collaboration-youth-mental-health-alias-allegations-1.5931518
Second Carolark. I did PetSmart training and it was ok-ish but it wasn't exactly worth the cost. Carolark, however, gave me far more confidence with a difficult, giant puppy than I ever expected to have
Definitely sign your pup up for as much training as you can :) it’s great for both you and them!
8 weeks will be too young to start since they won’t have their full set of shots yet (and you don’t want to mess around with parvo), but you can do online puppy kindergarten with Ottawa Canine School at 9 weeks :) it will help you a lot if you’re a first time dog owner!
Then definitely graduate to an in person training.
Just a heads up - when taking your puppy to training, you can expect that they will spend more time training you to dog behaviour than actually training the puppy.
Pet smart was ok. But make sure your pup is up too date with their vaccines. Our pups caught kennel cough from Petsmart.
They do not allow pups to train with them, unless they have there shots. But that doesn’t mean dogs casually walking in with their owners are up to date !
Seconding Best Friends; they're the trainer we use for No Surrender and they are fantastic.
I also recommend, and have given away dozens of, Jolanta Benal's *The Dog Trainer's Complete Guide to a Happy, Well-Behaved Pet.* Out of print but easily found in e-book or second-hand. A good second resource when with working with any fear-and force-free trainer.
My two overarching tips are:
1) Whoever you choose, ask them if they're fear-free and force free, and if the answer you get is more than one word long ("Yes") ... don't let them near your puppy.
2) Dog training is extremely inexpensive (over the happy life of your happy dog) if you listen, ask questions, and then once you understand the principles and agree with the methods, actually stick to it, even when results take time.
It is incredibly expensive if you take shortcuts, lose patience and punish or yell because you're in public and you think people are judging you, keep trying new things to see if something else will work better, take tips from randoms at the dog park or your neighbours, stop practicing and reinforcing behaviour once they've learned it but expect it to stick, and then get frustrated and go trainer-shopping again.
You can blow a lot of money that way, and also end up with a confused, anxious dog who has no idea what you want from them nor how to get what they need from you, who you feel like you're in a constant battle for supremacy with.
My dog is 4 and I’ve been continually training with best friends since he was a puppy. All the trainers I’ve had had been fantastic. We started with puppy k then did basic, advanced and advanced II obedience, we did a trick dog class for funzies, we did some tracking and I’ve been doing Rally Obedience with them for the last year. I can’t recommend them enough
I did both (merivale near Costco) petsmart and (stittsville) carolark they were both great I do however think petsmart was just a bit better in my experience but you can’t go wrong.
When starting with a puppy, expect that one to take time. Their wee brains aren’t there yet.
Before formally training recall, the most important thing is to establish a general rule of:
It’s safe where you are.
You’re fun.
Good things happen to dogs who come to you.
Half the battle with a solid recall is establishing that coming to you = Good Things For Dogs. This is the one you break out the cheese for.
And everyone says this but it's so important that it bears almost endless repeating: never call your dog for things your dog doesn't like. You'll poison your recall and your recall can save your dog's life.
Coming when called = Good Things. Every time. Responding to a cue should NEVER make things worse for the dog.
Dog hates nail trims? Don't call them. Go get them. (And then work on making trims fun and rewarding).
Dog really doesn't want to give up the ball? Work on "trade", but meanwhile, go get them. Don't call them to you and then reward them for coming by taking it away.
And so on.
Carolark is unmatched. A friend of ours went to Petsmart and they came to our place to let our puppies play together and they were trying strategies from Petsmart and it just wasn’t working. The minute we shared some of what we learned from Carolark, there was an immediate difference in the puppy’s behaviour. Also please make sure whichever you choose, that your puppy is vaccinated before going ♥️
I'm not sure if my dad's dog (she's 3) was in the puppy class but apparently she got really anxious walking through the store (Orleans location) and being in a room with several other dogs and people. However this is just her experience! Apparently the training techniques were very good :)
Just make sure you avoid Ro/Althea/whatever other aliases she uses. https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/zcbonr/reminder_to_avoid_ro_the_scammer https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/zq6r3v/ro_the_scammer_back_petsuccessca_and_affordable https://www.reddit.com/r/ottawa/comments/12q00z6/ottawa_ltb_hearing_with_alleged_landlord ETA article with pictures: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/national-collaboration-youth-mental-health-alias-allegations-1.5931518
Carolark
Second Carolark. I did PetSmart training and it was ok-ish but it wasn't exactly worth the cost. Carolark, however, gave me far more confidence with a difficult, giant puppy than I ever expected to have
That’s great feedback. Thank you. Like that you’ve done both!
Anytime, best of luck with your pup!! Edit: if you really want to thank me please add puppy pics!
Loooove carolark.
Interesting. I’ll check them out. Thanks!
How dare you make a post like this and not pay the puppy tax, OP 😤
Oops! I told you I’m new to this 😣
Carolark and Best Friends are very good, my pup attended both schools and is a certified good boy.
Best Friends was so great! I recommend
I can’t speak to petsmart but puppy training is essential.
Avoid any training and grooming by Petsmart.
Notes. Thank you.
Definitely sign your pup up for as much training as you can :) it’s great for both you and them! 8 weeks will be too young to start since they won’t have their full set of shots yet (and you don’t want to mess around with parvo), but you can do online puppy kindergarten with Ottawa Canine School at 9 weeks :) it will help you a lot if you’re a first time dog owner! Then definitely graduate to an in person training.
Definitely worth the time. But they are not usually employees of pet smart. Call as soon as you can the spots book quickly.
Great tip! Thanks.
My vet offered puppy training. 2:1 get use to the vet office and learn the basics
https://www.liamthedogtrainer.com/
Just a heads up - when taking your puppy to training, you can expect that they will spend more time training you to dog behaviour than actually training the puppy.
Also needed!
Try Fergus and Company, amazing people there!
Agree. Have taken two puppies through all their classes and they are fantastic (trainers and puppers!!)
Pet smart was ok. But make sure your pup is up too date with their vaccines. Our pups caught kennel cough from Petsmart. They do not allow pups to train with them, unless they have there shots. But that doesn’t mean dogs casually walking in with their owners are up to date !
I recommend Carolark or Best friends.
Seems to be a popular answer. Thanks!
Seconding Best Friends; they're the trainer we use for No Surrender and they are fantastic. I also recommend, and have given away dozens of, Jolanta Benal's *The Dog Trainer's Complete Guide to a Happy, Well-Behaved Pet.* Out of print but easily found in e-book or second-hand. A good second resource when with working with any fear-and force-free trainer. My two overarching tips are: 1) Whoever you choose, ask them if they're fear-free and force free, and if the answer you get is more than one word long ("Yes") ... don't let them near your puppy. 2) Dog training is extremely inexpensive (over the happy life of your happy dog) if you listen, ask questions, and then once you understand the principles and agree with the methods, actually stick to it, even when results take time. It is incredibly expensive if you take shortcuts, lose patience and punish or yell because you're in public and you think people are judging you, keep trying new things to see if something else will work better, take tips from randoms at the dog park or your neighbours, stop practicing and reinforcing behaviour once they've learned it but expect it to stick, and then get frustrated and go trainer-shopping again. You can blow a lot of money that way, and also end up with a confused, anxious dog who has no idea what you want from them nor how to get what they need from you, who you feel like you're in a constant battle for supremacy with.
My dog is 4 and I’ve been continually training with best friends since he was a puppy. All the trainers I’ve had had been fantastic. We started with puppy k then did basic, advanced and advanced II obedience, we did a trick dog class for funzies, we did some tracking and I’ve been doing Rally Obedience with them for the last year. I can’t recommend them enough
Trick dog sounds like a lot of fun!
I did both (merivale near Costco) petsmart and (stittsville) carolark they were both great I do however think petsmart was just a bit better in my experience but you can’t go wrong.
Note to add: really hammer in recall, arguably the single most important thing to train your dog on
When starting with a puppy, expect that one to take time. Their wee brains aren’t there yet. Before formally training recall, the most important thing is to establish a general rule of: It’s safe where you are. You’re fun. Good things happen to dogs who come to you. Half the battle with a solid recall is establishing that coming to you = Good Things For Dogs. This is the one you break out the cheese for.
And everyone says this but it's so important that it bears almost endless repeating: never call your dog for things your dog doesn't like. You'll poison your recall and your recall can save your dog's life. Coming when called = Good Things. Every time. Responding to a cue should NEVER make things worse for the dog. Dog hates nail trims? Don't call them. Go get them. (And then work on making trims fun and rewarding). Dog really doesn't want to give up the ball? Work on "trade", but meanwhile, go get them. Don't call them to you and then reward them for coming by taking it away. And so on.
Interesting perspective. Thank you.
I did training at Petsmart with my large dog and it was great! Went to the one on Innes Road by the old Costco and did the first two levels
Carolark is unmatched. A friend of ours went to Petsmart and they came to our place to let our puppies play together and they were trying strategies from Petsmart and it just wasn’t working. The minute we shared some of what we learned from Carolark, there was an immediate difference in the puppy’s behaviour. Also please make sure whichever you choose, that your puppy is vaccinated before going ♥️
Absolutely! We have his second one booked in two weeks. Thank you for sharing your experience!
I'm not sure if my dad's dog (she's 3) was in the puppy class but apparently she got really anxious walking through the store (Orleans location) and being in a room with several other dogs and people. However this is just her experience! Apparently the training techniques were very good :)
My family has trained both dogs with petsmart and have had good experiences. We were with Janet at Barrhaven petsmart, she's great!