Dog Obedience Group — Local services in Blue Springs

I have mixed feelings. I like the mission behind this group but my personal experience left me feeling disappointed and regretful. I took my puppy here for puppy class and wish I hadn't. The puppy class, namely the puppy free-play, were not handled well. Perhaps there was too much focus on obedience and not enough on early puppy development?

I highly regret that I took my sensitive girl here for puppy class. The teacher seemed to think that just exposing the puppies in free play was good enough, instead of making sure positive experiences also occurred. Puppy play time was chaotic and stressful. There was little to no guidance or redirection from the trainers. I would NOT recommend taking their puppy class if you have small breed puppies or fearful puppies. Or, make sure you advocate for your puppy and don't force them to do anything they don't want to do. They won't "get over it" and you stand there chance of making the fear worse!

I wasn't impressed with the class in general. I felt like the teacher was a bit aloof. Half way through Puppy 1, he introduced variable ratio reinforcement way before any of those puppies behaviors were ready. He began to ask for duration of the behaviors when some of the puppies (and handlers) were still trying to figure out what the cues were in the first place. I don't believe we were exactly told how to introduce duration either. Just suddenly asked to hold a sit until the timer went off. Instead of focusing on expecting obedience level training for our Puppy 1 students, I think the class as a whole could had focused on more appropriate subjects. There was no people socialization/handling, no introduction to new stimili (sounds, textures, objects.)

I believe my puppy would have been better off socially if I hadn't taken her to this class. Well, I blame myself too. I wish I had the knowledge and experiences I have now when she was in this class. Instead of injuring her trust in me by not helping her when she asked, I could have been building her confidence by showing her that she can leave when things become over whelming. She was never physically harmed, I should say. It has taken a lot of creativity and research for me to begin to counter some of this fear that was made worse from the chaos during puppy free play. I've also had to work on rebuilding her trust and confidence in me.

This all being said, I want to emphasize that this was my first and only time going to this group for classes. My experience could be different than someone with a larger and more confident puppy. My puppy is a small-minded dog and is 'soft' and sensitive. I did not like how Puppy 1 was taught either way. It could have been simplified with more emphasis on early puppy development. Based on my personal experiences, I want to give a two or three star.

However, I greatly admire the type of training that D.O.G. advocates. They appear to be postive- reinforcement based and force-free. They are active in dog events. They appear to offer many neat and interesting classes that I would still consider trying out. They offer things that many of the local groups don't offer, like obstacles and agility. Because of my experience with only one class, and because of what they promote, I believe a 4star is an acceptable rating. (Also, sorry for any weird errors... I was fighting my phone's autocorrect the...

I’m extremely disappointed by the training and the amount of money I spent. For a $1,200 program that was supposed to be “complete behavior and manners training,” I expected a clear plan, set goals, and trainers who came prepared. What I got was far from that. Here’s the cost breakdown: $50 for a required “Dog 101” class (for a dog I was already having reactivity issues with).

$185 for an initial consultation that lasted about 45 minutes. All we really did was walk my dog around the office and outside so the trainer could “assess” her. That consult ended up costing more than any actual training session, which was hard to believe.

Then I made the mistake of paying $995 up front for eight sessions—without realizing each session was only 30–45 minutes long. The sessions had no structure and felt unproductive. Most of the time I was feeding my dog my own treats (because she wouldn’t take any from the trainer) while we wandered through mild obstacle courses she barely engaged with. One session involved taking my dog to a home department store to work on leash pulling and reactivity around people. She did okay as long as I kept feeding her treats and stayed far from anyone, but the usual issues came right back the second we got close to someone. But I didn’t really get any advice on how to make that better.

In another session, I recommended we go to a pet's mart nearby me to try and help her with dealing with people. When my trainer arrived she wasn’t even sure if dogs were allowed in the store (they are). For how much I was paying per session, I expected some basic prep. The biggest problem was the total lack of any plan or goals. I was never told what to work toward. Instead, I was told to just keep doing the same things I’d already been trying: distract her with treats, remove her from situations when she panics, and use generic worksheets (like “how to loose-leash walk your dog”) that you can literally find online. There was no progress, no structure, and no follow-up guidance. To top it off, the trainer canceled a dog meet-up session and hasn’t contacted me in nearly two weeks. I don’t think she keeps track of me at all. I’ve had to re-explain my dog’s issues at multiple sessions, and even remind her that my dog is afraid of the clicker (which she kept trying to use anyway). I still have four sessions left, one was so visibly unproductive even the trainer comped it, but honestly, I don’t even want to go. For $1,200 and eight sessions, I expected way more professionalism, effort and communication. I feel like I wasted a big chunk of money on training that was disorganized, apathetic, and not...

I was originally interested in Dog Obedience Group from the positive reviews I read online. I was very excited for my dog to have the opportunity to be introduced to new ideas and teaching methods. I contacted the company asking about the July schedule in late May and was told it would be posted the first Friday in June, but it was not posted until the following week. After the schedule was posted, I enrolled in the first level obedience class. Prior to the class, you have to attend a $25 introductory class that they only address very basic ideas and issues such as nipping, jumping, and going to the bathroom inside the house, along with having a focus word and saying "yes" before giving a treat. A total waste of money and time for anyone experienced with dogs or who does not have a puppy. I was still very excited for the obedience class; however my hopes were cut short. I attended three classes before asking for a prorated refund for the remaining three. In the class, the dogs are promoted to not interact at all and they were never given a chance to meet each other. This troubled me since my dog had been attacked and in fights with other dogs before I adopted him, but since then I have made such a strong and continuous effort to allow him to socialize with as many dogs as possible. He did not understand why he couldn't meet the other dogs in the class. My dog has been to downtown Chicago and goes Stand Up Paddle boarding with me; he is very adventurous. However, I have never seen him have as much anxiety anywhere as he did in the facility. It was obvious that he did not like it there, but received minimal help on how to keep him engaged rather than wanting to crawl to the door. Class was dismissed at least 5 minutes early each week. With the final class I attended, the structure was disorganized near the end and it was obvious the trainer had no desire to be there any longer. Overall, I was optimistic about the class, but turned out to be very disappointed. At least I can say that I was able to pick up my refund check the day that I...