Puppy kindergarten is basics, but usually more for puppy socialization since that is very important for any puppy, not just Shiba's. That is also dependent on where you go. I know most PetSmart puppy classes are just classes, with little socialization time.

The puppy obedience training can be very helpful for basic manners as well. In-home-training is helpful, but again since your dog is still a pup, the socialization aspect is key.

Personally, I had Stella in two different puppy classes at the same time (one at a PetSmart and another at a private training facility), so she was getting double the training, and still the adequate puppy play/socialization time. Was the dual classes necessary? Not really - especially since she is a very friendly Shiba as it is, but the cost was not as high as I had thought it could be, and at the same time I wanted more for her anyway.

In case you haven't seen it, there is www.trulydogfriendly.com, and you may be able to find additional training places near you if you have not already found them all.

Good luck, training should always be kept fun! And remember, look for positive reinforcement trainers!

Bark Busters trains very similar to Cesar Milan, I would stay away from them. Clicker training is the gold standard. These links might be helpful in searching for trainers near you..

http://www.clickertraining.com/
http://apdt.com/

Clicker training! And with a group, because there's no way you can OVERsocialize a puppy, but its so easy to undersocialize. Clicker training is by far the most motivating thing I've ever tried--the dogs love it, and my stubborn adult Shibas who seemed unable to be interested in any sort of training are fascinated with clicker training--if I'm using the clicker with my AA pup, they SO want to get in on the act and will volunteer behaviors from whereever they are (sitting,etc).

I'm usually one of the "do it yourself" types as in I read a lot about clicker training and understood the theories behind it quite well, but the fact is, I needed the two classes I took with my pup to help me sort it out and work on timing, and Oskar needed the interaction with other dogs. I also took him to a puppy socialization which was very valuable.

Make sure you ask a lot of questions about the training methods. Some people say they are positive trainers when they are not. I called one place that wanted me to use a prong collar on my 4 month old Akita puppy, and insisted I was making a huge mistake for not doing it. I've had people tell me positive training doesn't work, and if I knew what I was talking about, I'd know that. That's bullshit--it works, and it works very well, far better than anything other method, and it is especially critical with dogs likes Shibas (and Akitas) who are smart but not interested in pleasing people.

I ended up doing private lessons with Oskar on his second class only because we don't have a lot of clicker trainers in my area, and she didn't have people for a full class. In my case, the price was the same, and he had fun, though I think he needs another group class.

IIRC Bark Buster's is a franchise kind of place. The trainer in my area that is part of Bark Buster's advertises as a positive trainer. I've not used him as our current trainer is also available to do home visits.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I spoke with my local Bark Buster trainer recently and he's definitely a positive reinforcement kind of guy, so I think it may vary depending on the local trainer that represents the franchise.

Right now I'm leaning toward going with private training since it is much more accommodating to our schedule (I work in another state during the week while my bf takes care of Katsu), but I was worried about the lack of socialization. I guess if I do go private trainer route, I will have to make sure Katsu's socialization needs are being met in some other way. There is a local dog trainer who organizes free group walks, but I'm not sure if I should take Katsu yet since his vaccinations aren't done.

If someone knows of resources where I can find local puppy "meet ups" outside of enrolling in puppy obedience/kindergarten classes, please post here!

I really enjoyed the experience of home-schooling Jack. He's as smart as they say his breed is so after doing research online teaching him commands wasn't/isn't as hard or as painful as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, some things took longer to teach or correct but I think it was mostly because *we* had to change our behavior.

For us, puppy classes would have been primarily for socialization. However, we decided against it since we had plenty of opportunities in our neighborhood as well as with our sitter to give our guy play time with other dogs and puppies and people.

I used the site below to find a local Shiba meet up group and there are also non breed specific meet ups closer to where we live that we have found through the site.

http://www.meetup.com/find/

It seems to me that going to class or hiring a trainer is as much about you as it is about your puppy. I would definitely make sure you are comfortable with whatever training methodology/philosophy the trainer uses. I'm not arguing for or against anything. I just know who I am and there is no way I would have found a class helpful if it was training me to be someone I'm not under the guise of training my puppy how to SIT. If Jack had serious behavioral issues or didn't respond to us after we tried to correct something, I'd hire a private trainer rather than take him to class. So far we haven't had to do that.

Hey Lindsay, my brother and sister in-law used them for their two darling yappers (Mystery terrier crosses) the chain still works 3 yrs later they just have to hear it rattle a bit and they settle straight away. One I am definitely keeping in mind.

I need some suggestions...We just adopted our shiba 2 weeks ago. She is 2. I want to do some training classes with her. I know she is kennel trained and house trained...I'm not sure what sort of training I should get her into, and where is best. Seeing that she's two and not a puppy and I have NO idea what training she has actually had, I am not sure where to start.

Before doing anything more advanced, I would put her through basic obedience. You can figure out what she does know with it and then teach her what she needs to know.

That sounds like a good plan...I just don't know where to go really. Everyone seems pretty under-informed about shibas. Although, the petsmart about 20 minutes from our house has an employee who owns a shiba. I just don't know who to trust and if the trainers are legit anywhere. I've only really talked to the trainers at petsmart.

@MamaYoko,

No offense to those that use petsmart / petco, but I find them to be a joke. Especially since they do it in the MIDDLE of the store where there are so many distractions. And most of the time the trainers are inexperience. I honestly would look around your area and see who can offer personal lessons, or classes in a seperate room. Some trainers let you drop by to see them in the middle of a class/during a lesson. I think you should feel for your trainer, instead of just signing up for a class and PRAYING you will get a good trainer.

Ask around your area for recommendation. I did and it lead me to a wonderful place. I highly recommend my place. I have only worked with one of the owner/trainer but they are both specialists in behavior and use positive reinforcement to promote well behaved andutual respected dog homes/relationships. Jenny, the trainer, has a way with people and dogs. I call it human training.

The gal who works at Tatonka's daycare joint also runs obedience and agility classes on the weekend -- so Tatonka knows her and sometimes makes a good demo dog for her class.

The 3 things I like about her:
1. Her dog and other dogs she's personally trained are EXTREMELY well trained. Their heel positions are perfect and her dogs live to please her. There's also a push-pull relationship that seems very real -- neither she nor her dog will take crap from each other. With them she uses just her voice, commands in German, and a regular leash. Just a testament to persistence and consistency.

2. She taught me that non-treat-motivated Tatonka is excitement-motivated. He'll do things for you if you get him excited, happy, and out of his head.

3. She's not closed to aversive methods when they're necessary, though the discussion is largely theoretical -- there isn't anyone with a pinch collar or anything of the sort I've seen in her class with me. She describes behavior corrections as traffic tickets. A $2 traffic ticket might not make you want to stop speeding at all, but a $1600 traffic ticket might make you stop driving altogether. With every type of trained behavior, the right level of feedback has to be determined for a dog. If a dog is scared of everything you might do it doesn't work. If a dog doesn't get to think for himself it doesn't work either. If a dog is in a situation where he needs your help or needs you to back him up and you don't step in to help him then he has to take some drastic measure himself, essentially being set up for failure. If a dog can't take you seriously or respect you it doesn't work either.

I like how she navigates through the complex topic of how you communicate with your dog. It's a really good class.

$400 buys unlimited classes for 6 months. You can attend any and every Saturday. She has 6 levels + agility + canine good citizen and there are tests you have to pass to jump to the next level (can't attend a higher level without passing test).

@MamaYoko
If it helps your decision at all, in a class what's really happening is they're teaching you to train your dog. Yes, you go to a class once a week but while there you are the one teaching your dog and you're expected to continue the training at home in order to really get it to work. So the real difference between a class and doing it yourself is that the class costs more and gives you more hands-on guidance.

And the classes keep you off the ledge when it seems like things aren't going as you would hope. I agree that you should look around and do your investigation regarding your options. I'd check with your vet and see if (s)he has a recommendation. My original vet recommended a specific location which I was really happy with. I think you can find good trainers at the big stores, but I think it's just as easy to find one you may be iffy on.

@MamaYoko, I don't know what your dog training background is. Maybe knowing more about how many other dogs you trained would change the responses a bit.

If you don't have much background in how training works, I would recommend at least a 6 week basic obedience course. Like @notoriousscrat said, they are teaching you to teach your dog, they can watch your techniques and recommend techniques that work. They in essence help you avoid common training errors because they can interactively see/watch for those pitfalls during the training sessions. In all cases, the majority of training will always occur at home outside of the structured class, unless you chose a boot camp/away camp training option instead (I have a whole other opinion on that option, but since you don't seem to be considering that I won't go into that opinion).

I agree Petsmart can be hit or miss in regards to the quality of the trainer. It definitely is also highly distracting environment and the trainer was often in my mind unfocused due to other customers. I do not recommend it for long-term training needs, but again sometimes I think people have to start somewhere. I would be very surprised if Petsmart would allow anything extreme (like a Ceasar M) type training to occur, so while not perfect training, I also don't think you are at high risk of being led astray too far either. We started there and feel we got what we needed out of the first 6 week class, but we did move on as we networked more and found other options.

Also as @Xabi said, sometimes you need that relationship to a trainer who is more experienced with dogs and various methods, whether Shiba specific or not, to help talk you off ledges of frustration. Not every dog will respond to training exactly the same, professionals have experience to have a wealth of tricks available.

In regards to a vet, if your Petsmart has Banfield, I would say stay away from that vet option! They were fine for my non-outdoor house cats, but boy left a bad taste in my mouth handling Bear early on. I think they too often are profit motivated and not great advocates of animals and options available. So while I think Petsmart is fine for a basic 6 week obedience just to get you started I do not in anyway endorse their relationship with Banfield.

Does anyone know of a good place to find free online obedience training classes or a compilation of videos. I want to work on training Ember (just got her - she is 7 months) and have been through 3 courses (beginner, intermediate, CGC) with Nikko. We go to the dog park almost every day for socialization so I was hoping to do this myself but I really need structure.

So far I got a weekly schedule for Obedience I from a local training facility and am trying to find videos that correspond to the topics but it would be great if there was a good resource that had everything together already. I am starting to think going to a class would be easier but I really think that is me just being lazy.

@ShibaLove - I completely agree with @lindsayt. Getting your pup to classes is incredibly important. Not just from a training aspect, but from a socialization aspect as well. No matter how much you take your pups to the dog park, they are going to need socialization in other venues as well. Remember, dogs do not generalize well so the socialization needs to happen in as many places as possible.

@redcattoo Ember did not take the CGC test, that was Nikko. I just got Ember as a rescue and she has not been to any formal training with me.

Thanks for the advice everyone! I know that I could train her at home and get her to do the commands so I had been struggling whether it was worth it to go to a facility. I understand what you all are saying about the socialization and listening with different distractions. I will check out what classes are being offered in the near future. Hopefully something not 45 minutes away like Nikko's CGC class!

Just my personal opinion but I'd rather shell out the $165 for sessions with a actual trainer/behaviourist. I think you would get more out of it...a computer can't critique your efforts and help you improve your methods.

@Antoinette

Don't think this is the right thread for your situation. I remember there is a thread regarding vet visit/muzzles. @curlytails desensitize her shiba to the muzzle by putting peanut butter toward the end for him to lick.

Edit: @Romay I agree with Kobe. Better to take actual classes so you can get feedback on your methods. Online would only be for refreshers for those already confident in their training methods

@BanjoTheBetaDog

Not to burst your bubble but you got it wrong. Your shiba has you trained... LOL

My thoughts on courses like the one listed above is that they are great for experienced trainers who want to learn a bit more on technique, and may not have good positive reinforcement trainers in their area. (It looks like it is probably a good class). However, they're useless for what a lot of training classes are good for, which is dog socialization and working a dog under distractions, because all the training is at home.

So if you think of it as a class for YOU, and that's what you need, then it might be a good investment (I've thought of doing some classes like this myself--not the same one, but others from well known trainers). But it sounds, even from reading it, that the focus of the class is on the handler, so it's a matter of what you need. (I thought what was listed looked like it would be solid info, though). If you do take it, keep us posted--it certainly looks interesting!

I realize this thread has been going on for awhile. I read a lot before I got Max (he's now 9 weeks). Both the "Ceasar" type schooling and the new school positive trainers. I'm all about positive training, except in very specific contexts, like when he's mouthy and bites too much. I also have trained horses, so the "bite back" (which is not really and bite at all) can be useful just to stop that. Max always responds to this if I can't redirect his chewing which is always my first line method. At any rate, I really like Zac George on YouTube. Some say he's sloppy, but Max is doing outstanding using this positive method. He's 100% potty trained, knows not to bolt out the front door, acted like a champ when he got his nailed clipped, and has mastered "leave it alone." (Except for the typical puppy chewing). Maybe I was expecting a devil dog and have been compensating, or maybe he's just easier than most to train? I was prepared for the worst, and this little guy has just been a joy so far. I do put in about an hour a day in for training. Just incidental sessions that last 15-20 minutes throughout the day. Anyone else have an easy to train Shiba? Did I just get lucky? I've never trained a new pup before, so maybe the YouTube videos are just that good. Thoughts?

Croakedj said:

I read a lot before I got Max (he's now 9 weeks).

I also have trained horses, so the "bite back" (which is not really and bite at all) can be useful just to stop that.

He's 100% potty trained, knows not to bolt out the front door, acted like a champ when he got his nailed clipped, and has mastered "leave it alone."

Oh dear... You are going to have a VERY fun few weeks ahead of you (if not months).

Your puppy is a BABY.

Please do not "bite back" when he gets nippy. That is not teaching him anything except to be afraid of you.

He is also not 100% potty trained. He is a BABY. A nine week old puppy is NEVER completely potty trained. If he is not having accidents, that is excellent timing on your part and keep it up.

Also, do not get complacent about the puppy not door bolting. He is a BABY. He wants to stick close to what he knows. As he matures, he will start to wander and push boundaries. Be prepared for this and use positive reinforcement training. Please do not just rely on youtube videos for training. Take him to a puppy kindergarten class or basic obedience class (one that uses positive reinforcement and not aversive methods).