Why In-Home training might be better than Group classes

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Is private in-home dog training better than a group class?

Sometimes.

But the bigger question is whether you are doing them in the right order.

In this episode, I break down what private in-home training does well, where group classes can become difficult for dogs that do not yet have a solid foundation, and why I think group classes can be incredibly valuable later in the training process.

A few of the biggest takeaways:

• Problem behaviors are often best addressed where they actually happen.
• In-home training lets you work on things like jumping at the front door, pulling on leash, potty training, separation issues, reactivity, overstimulation, and attention in the dog’s normal environment.
• Private sessions make it easier to start in a low-distraction environment and build skills gradually.
• Training can progress from inside the house to the backyard, front yard, neighborhood walk, and eventually public environments.
• A dog that has never learned to work around distractions may struggle badly in a room full of other dogs and people.
• Group classes are not bad. In fact, they can be an excellent finishing school once the dog already understands the basics.
• Practicing familiar skills in a room full of dogs, people, noise, and movement adds an entirely new level of difficulty.

The point is not that one type of training is always better than the other.

The point is order of operations.

Build the foundation first. Then add the distractions.

K.I.S.S. Dog Training
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Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hello and welcome to another Kiss Dog Training Podcast episode with professionally certified dog trainer Mike Deeth. You have dog training questions? Mike has dog training answers! Mike is coming up with all the info. Stay tuned!

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Hey guys, welcome back! It's Mike with Kiss Dog Training. Have you ever found yourself asking, is it better to take a group class with my dog, or should I do private in-home training with my dog? Well, this month that's going to be the topic that we tackle. Okay, in the conversation of is a group class or a private in-home dog training session better, let's look at the private-in-home scenarios first. So I think the first thing you gotta discuss is everybody's home life is a little bit different. Um, we find that a lot of problem behaviors happen inside the house, and that's where a lot of people are gonna want to, especially trainers, but people also will want to deal with that problem where the problem is happening. Um working with a dog who jumps on house guests coming in the front door, we want to be practicing right there by the front door, and how are we going to deal with that situation? Your in-home situation may involve, you know, kids, or it may involve, you know, somebody who works late shifts, or it may be an apartment, or it could be a house, or it could be a mobile home. It there's lots of different options, but I do think that if you're having a particular problem that occurs inside wherever you live, that's where we should be dealing with the problem. So that would be the first argument to put a check mark and say, hey, private income training is better. And I think what you're gonna find is by the end, when I talk about group classes, I'm going to tell you when to take a group class, and I don't think one's better than another, but I do think the timing of when you do each is gonna be really important. Okay, come back for the next conversation about the who what is better, a private in-home dog training session or a group class. Okay, now I want to look at this from a little different point of view. I want to look at the group classes, but I want to look at maybe what some of the shortcomings of a group class might be. Okay, number one, most people are going to look at the price point of a group class. And while it's usually less money than doing private and home training, um it puts dogs in a situation of high distraction, a lot of a lot of other dogs in a room, other people in the room, and a dog that you're really taking the group class as a way to fix some of the problem behaviors. Well, I would kind of argue if your dog's not ready for a group class and is already having some problem behaviors, putting them in that kind of pressure cooker situation that they've never experienced before is gonna cause them to lock up a little bit. They may not be able to pay attention, they may overstimulate, they may bark, they may pull on a leash, they may act out, they may get overstimulated, frustrated, whatever thing you want to call it. But in many cases, folks with dogs with issues will take a group class thinking, hey, this is gonna fix all my problems, I'll just take this class, we'll cover everything, and the dog will come out magically on the other end. In a lot of cases, I would say that this is a lot like trying to take a calculus class before you take an algebra class, before you take her math, or before you actually learn what please excuse my dear Aunt Sally is. So I think that sometimes our dogs are not ready for what they're gonna find in a group class, okay? And in the very end, when I'm talking about kind of you know, the conclusion of this video, I'm gonna kind of break down how I think the order of operation of classes and instruction with a dog should happen. And it is pretty specific, but I think once you hear it, it'll make total sense. So now we'll kind of move on to the next topic. Okay, in this next segment, we're gonna talk about kind of what in-home dog training does well. Okay. Um, number one, if your dog hasn't learned to be out in public or work under distraction or deal with frustration or overstimulation, the beauty of in-home training is a trainer should be able to come out to your house and start you off very simply in the least distracting environment and say, okay, here's the first six or eight things that we're gonna learn, okay? And then they're gonna give you a week or two to practice, okay? And then they're going to come back in and go, okay, show me what you got. Okay, that's good, that's good, that's good, okay, perfect. Now let's learn part two of all of that stuff you've already learned. Let's add a layer of distraction, let's complicate the skill just a little bit. And what you find is that you start building in layers of distraction. And by doing it in layers of distraction, I think you build a better bond with the dog. Now, I'm a total hand feeding nut, and I think that's one of the ways you bond with a dog. But if you're doing all this practice, the first thing that I need to do as a trainer is trick you into hand feeding your dog while you're training your dog so that we're really killing two birds with one stone. Okay. And the idea of private instruction is instead of having to move from dog to dog to dog, I'm gonna deal with this dog because it's having a problem, and I'm gonna work with you a little bit here, and then I'm gonna go over here and do this. And even if they have assistants who are kind of doing all of this, it becomes a real segmented kind of training, okay? Um, but within home, your trainer should be able to tailor this to you and move at a pace you can handle and give you plenty of time in between the sessions to kind of get everything under control before we move on to the next topic.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

Okay, on to the next idea.com. Plus, you can also find them all on audible.com as audiobooks, and you can even get them in print on Mike's website, kissdogtraining.com. Just search the web for Kiss Dog Training or Mike Deep, D-E-A-T-H-E. Before we get to Mike, allow us to take a quick pledge break. Buzz Sprout hosts our podcast, and you can find us at any of your favorite podcast providers by simply searching for Kiss Dog Training or Mike Death. You can also find a direct link to our podcast on our website, KissDogtraining.com, by looking in the About tab and just clicking on the word podcast. It's at that link where you'll find a subscription link where you can donate as little as $3 a month to help us provide monthly podcasts and information on positive, science-based training methods for dogs and their owners. And we would appreciate that help so much. Mike is back now to help answer even more training questions. Here's Mike.

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Okay, I think now we're gonna kind of look at this uh conversation of group class versus um private in-home training from the standpoint of what in-home training does well. What is it really designed for? And I think the key to everything is to think about the word foundational, okay? Um in-home dog training, I'm gonna start really simply in the house, and we're gonna work on three basic skills. Sit down, watch me, and we're going to introduce the idea of paying attention, which is kind of a watch me, but I also want the dog to learn to come to me. So come when called. But we're gonna do it right there in the living room and then maybe move it into the kitchen, and then sneak over to the dining room and work that. And we're gonna get the dog used to all the environments in your house. And again, like I said, last in the last segment, you're gonna be able to then add layers. Okay, now we're going to, once we get the inside, I'm gonna give you a week or two to practice. Then I can incorporate maybe the backyard and the front yard. Okay, and that will add a layer of distraction that will completely confuse the dog again, and we have to kind of take two steps for backwards so we can take three steps forward. And then we're gonna move on to okay, and that maybe that third session, we're gonna start building a walk in front of the house, and we're gonna be kind of adding these layers. But I do think it's important to realize, okay, once we have the basics, then we complicate them. And really, as we're doing this in home stuff, for me with Kiss Dog Training, the most important apex command there is is a redirection or a leave it command. And all that means is quit looking at that, pay attention to me because I'm more important. Okay, and I think that's really hard to teach in a group full of dogs when they don't know it. You're gonna need a leave it or a redirection cue in a group class because I don't want you paying attention to that dog over there, I want you paying attention to me. But then also, you're supposed to be paying attention to the instructor, not the dog. But how are you listening to the instructor not paying attention to the dog while that dog over there is barking? And it ends up being a very frustrating situation for some people, okay? So, what are some of the things that you know we can handle over a couple of in-home private sessions? Well, pulling on leash, um, in distraction, um, barking at the front door, jumping on people at the front door, potty training, so we can look at the logistics and set things up the right way: separation, anxiety, reactivity, aggression, uh, overstimulation, not paying attention. These are all great things for a private and home training at the beginning. But as you come back for the final segment, we're gonna really talk that one's not better than the other, it's just how you do it in what order we do it. Okay, so come back for that one next. Okay, so the final segment. What did we learn? Well, it sounds like I'm really bagging on group classes and I'm really promoting um private in-home training. And I'll be honest with you, after 15 years of doing this, I only do private in-home training. I don't do group classes anymore. I have several places around the Kansas City metro area. I'm located in Shawnee, Kansas. Um, and I will recommend other trainers do the group classes. Now, is one better than the other? Absolutely not. Okay, but it's important. I think too many people will try to take a group class first because of the price point, and then they'll get into the class. And when I did teach group classes, I started at PetSmart. Um I would always find that in a general class you would lose 10 to 20 percent of the class over the eight weeks, and then I think it's been shrunk down to about six weeks now, but you would lose them at week three or four, and I think a lot of it was their dog was acting out, their dog was barking, it wasn't paying attention, another dog was barking, they didn't think they were getting the one-on-one time they were paying for, and that group class becomes a huge frustration box for all the dogs and people involved because you're supposed to be paying attention to an instructor, the instructor's supposed to be paying attention to you, but they're dealing with that dog over there, and then they're coming over here. Some of them have added assistance, which makes it even better, but I don't personally think that for introductory learning that a group class is the best option. So, what does that mean for a group class? Um, I think group classes are an incredible finishing class. Um, I would almost look at it as a finishing school. Okay. I would rather have my clients, and when I did teach group classes and owning kiss dog training early on, if you didn't do a certain number of private in-home sessions with me, you were not allowed to take my intermediate or advanced class. So my beginner class was kind of the um in-home private session because I wanted to work in the different layers of inside the house, the front door, uh, paying attention, moving to the backyard, moving to the front yard, uh, working on a walk-in, building it, adding a dog as a distraction so that you can kind of practice your redirection cue and your leaving cue, and then usually finishing that in-home private stuff with maybe a trip to Home Depot or to a busy city park. Now, once you've completed all that, then I think it is the most brilliant opportunity in the world to find a good beginner class. And everybody goes, Well, Mike, that's stupid. I already know how to do all the stuff that I'm gonna learn in a beginner class. Ah, but you've never had to do those beginner skills in front of a room of six to eight other dogs, 10 or 12 other people, and an instructor walking around working with the dogs. Trust me, you're gonna know how to do some of these commands, but now you're adding an entirely new level of distraction to finish your dog in public. Okay, that's where the magic of a group class happens. So when I started this, a little bit of clickbait, I apologize, but you know, I'm going, which is better? There's one's not better than the other. But I do think that a lot of people will start with the wrong one, get frustrated, and quit, and then it stalls the entire training process out. Whereas if you do it right and you do three to five private in-home sessions and you get good at some basics, and then take your group class as a finishing class to add more layers of distraction, and you might go from a beginner to an intermediate to an advanced group class after you've done just a little bit of homework one-on-one, so that you can kind of put the elementary school education in your dog before you try to go to junior high, high school, and college, which is what a lot of group classes are. So one's not better, but make sure you do it in the right order. And the other aspect of this is talk to trainers. Call a facility that does group class, ask what they think. I'm not gonna say that my idea is perfect, but it is the way over the last 15, 16 years of doing this that I have seen the most success. So it's my quick kiss dog training. Uh, come back next month, we'll have another awesome topic, and we will go from there. And hopefully, this information helps you a little bit. Have a great day.