Husband wants to send puppy away to obedience school- 12 week old for 8 weeks.

[Anonymous]

I would send my husband to therapy first to learn to communicate without threats before i sent the puppy. Maybe you can find dh an 8 week intensive program for that?

[Anonymous]

What kind of dog?

[Anonymous]

I would argue that the family member that needs to be sent away for 8 weeks isn't the dog, but I will be try to be helpful.

There are trainers that keep your dog with them, but 8 weeks is way too long. The puppy is bonding to your family and that is really unkind to send such a young dog away for so long. Like PPs have said, a huge part of training is training the owners. The dog would come back perfectly behaving its new alpha after 8 weeks, but that new alpha is not part of your family. Two alternatives exist that would be much better. One, pay for a trainer to work with your family in your house. It won't cost more than this 8 week program and you will be reinforcing in the environment where the dog actually lives. Two, there are day programs at several facilities. The dog goes to school for the day and then back to your house at night. The trainers work with the family once a week. Either of these options will help train EVERYONE who needs it.

[Anonymous]

OP I sent my difficult to train hound to training, but he was a year old and it was 4 weeks. It was awesome and he’s never forgotten the commands. This training school seems excessively long and the puppy is very young. Compromise by finding a different school he can go to later and do puppy classes in the meantime?

[Anonymous]

The owner needs training as much as the dog. No way I’d do this!

[Anonymous]

There are great programs that are much shorter and will train you on reinforcement as well. Your husband seems like a mean person.

[Anonymous]

Do not do this. Don't do any of the programs where your dog is away from you for weeks. There are too many cases of the animals being abused while they are away.

Moreover: this is prime bonding time.

If you want a trained dog, adopt an older dog from the shelter.

[Anonymous]

I'm about to do board and train with my puppy but only for one week. 8 weeks is a LONG time in a puppy's life. Do you want him to forget about you?
try one week and see how it goes.

[Anonymous]

I read somewhere that dogs associate behaviors with the place and with people, so I wonder if obedient behavior will be transferred back to home? I know that Cesar Milan has that dog training camp where people take their dogs for extended periods, but I thought that was just for aggressive dogs?

[Anonymous]

Wait until he’s a bit older. Unless you are very rich. The rich have their dogs trained for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He’ll be 15 weeks when he attends. We never had a dog before; my husband is overly worried our life will stop with our new pup. I feel I can tell that my puppy is normal, playful, actually more subdued dog compared to others. He has his playful, stubborn moments but I can tell he’ll be fine when grown. Only way we’ll keep him DH says, is if we send him away to the obedience 8 week program. My heart aches. Anyone done this with their puppy?

Do not do this. I don't trust any of the board & train people and frankly, even the best trainer cannot train your dog to obey you. You need to develop that relationship & trust yourself. Maybe you can work with an in-home trainer instead if you husband does not have the confidence to work with the puppy without a professional.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you already have the dog, is that right? I agree with pps, doing this is a terrible idea.

That said, my DH was really unhappy when we got our puppy--it upended our lives in ways he had not anticipated. I was more ready, but it was a shock to the system for me too. DH experienced a period of deep regret about getting a dog. Three years later he loves our dog and couldn't imagine life without him.

I'd suggest getting a trainer to your house regularly, at least once a week, to help motivate and support you, take on the bulk of training yourself, and empathize with your DH while recognizing that you cannot send your puppy away for 8 weeks.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what connection the "DH thinks life will stop with our new pup" has to the training idea. Does DH think that a trained dog will allow you to have a different lifestyle? The dog will still need companionship and to be cared for.

This is in addition to all the problems listed by PPs....it's just a terrible idea. We've had 2 dogs we raised since puppies -- the biggest upside to getting a puppy (instead of an adult dog) is that they bond with you and view you as their parents. You're giving up the only benefit of a puppy.

[Anonymous]

Needs to be at least 6 mos and 8 - 10 mos is better for that duration and intensity of training. Your husband is a certified moron, and I’m guessing wants someone else to do the hard work.

[Anonymous]

You should sign yourself, your husband and that sweet puppy up for puppy training classes. We took 3 classes (beginner, intermediate and advanced) and it was a lot of fun. You basically go once a week - we took our class on Friday evening- and you learn basic puppy training tips and your puppy gets socialization.

If your husband doesn't want to invest a couple of hours a week into learning how to train your new baby, then maybe he needs to reconsider getting a puppy.