FirstBarkInstructors are nice. They use postive reinforcement and current behaviour based training. I took a manners class with my 10 months old pup and their are approximately 15 dogs in one class, way too many at once. Two classes take place at the same time and it is overly loud. I hav…Read full reviewClose full review
Instructors are nice. They use postive reinforcement and current behaviour based training. I took a manners class with my 10 months old pup and their are approximately 15 dogs in one class, way too many at once. Two classes take place at the same time and it is overly loud. I have a hard time hearing instructors. My dog had taken a puppy class and wanted to greet dogs in class, but students were not overly friendly. There was also a dog agressive dog in the class, which might have been better off taking private lessons. There was hardly room to move around. My first class my dog was sectioned off because he was too interested in greeting other dogs, which was embarrassing. I found out your dog has to pass the Canine Good Citizens test before going to the next class, which was a bummer. I want my dog to learn basic manners and not pull when walking, but I don't need a perfect heel or my dog to think I hung the moon. I went to three classes of the eight paid for and stopped going after. I think the teachers in the class were nice and knowledgeable, but the class environment was stressful and not productive for me and my dog. It seemed like most of the dogs there were already great at manners and that there were a lot of members who would pop in with their dogs to train. I felt like it was overly loud, crowded, distracting and that only certain people got one on one help. My pup wanted to greet everyone and I left feeling like he was a bad dog because he was distracted. I was never treated poorly by anyone I just didn't get much from my experience. I actually learned more from going to a course of free classes offered by an independent dog trainer than I did at the club. POTC has some good qualities so I wouldn't talk anyone from taking a class there, but I don't be taking anymore and feel like I wasted $95 that I could have just saved and watched YouTube training videos. Most of the techniques were ones I'd already tried from reading dog behavior books, which would have just been easier/cheaper to try at home in a peaceful, quiet, non -judgemental environment.