That is what has prompted me to make my classes available online!

There are many ways that you can train your dog. The traditional ones are obedience classes, private lessons, kennel training, books and videos. The newest way to train your dog is with computer online lessons. All of them have one thing in common. They will not work without an experienced, competent and reputable instructor with a good program. As in all things in life, there are pros and cons to each method.

Classes are the most popular method, primarily due to the fact that they are relatively inexpensive. The dogs and owners benefit by socializing with others and the dogs learn to behave around other dogs and people. Classes provide the motivation to train regularly. A disadvantage is that individual attention is very limited. Furthermore, time, distance and difficulty traveling to a class can often be a problem.

Private lessons at the owner's home are the most convenient. They provide individual attention and the trainer sees and works with the dog in his home environment. The accountability of a weekly lesson is provided as well. However, when the owner takes the dog out in the real world, the dog may not behave as well as he does at home. The cost of private lessons is often prohibitive, several hundred to even thousands of dollars!

Although books and videos are inexpensive and convenient, they are also not very effective. There is no weekly structure or accountability. They are long and time consuming to read or watch, and it is too easy to put them away and give up. You also do not have an instructor to demonstrate tasks, work with you and your dog or help you when the dog is not responding.

In-kennel training is very tempting for busy people as they feel they don't have to spend the time or make a commitment to train their dog. Unfortunately, like all short cuts this one isn't all it's cracked up to be. Although the dog will probably learn to listen to the trainer, he does not develop the necessary relationship with you. Your dog will learn to behave in the artificial kennel environment, but not necessarily at home. The trainer will undoubtedly tell you that he will spend time working with you and your dog and that you must work with him when he gets home. So you end up putting more training time in that you might have originally thought. In addition, because you didn't actually learn how to train your dog yourself, anytime a new problem arises you will not know how to solve it. Now you must return to the trainer for help. Besides all of this, the cost of in-kennel training is also extremely high, hundreds or even thousands of dollars!

Finally, with the advent of so many home computers, owners now have the opportunity to take online obedience classes. This can fill the gap for those that cannot find a class with a positive training approach in their area. The "Clicker Training" method is now available to anyone who can write and receive an email or fax! You can take a weekly lesson given by a chosen instructor in the convenience of your own home as well as having the opportunity to ask questions via email when necessary. The cost is very low and you still have the accountability of a weekly lesson. The disadvantages are that you must find places to provide the distractions of other dogs and people and you do not have the opportunity to see demonstrations in person.

So what is the best type of training? It depends on you and your dog's individual needs. The optimum situation would be someone who reads books and videos for information, takes private lessons, goes to an obedience class for distractions and follows an on-line program all given by the same, great instructor! Since we live in the real world and this is not feasible, you need to explore the options and choose the program most suitable for you and your dog.