Private lessons are one of the most common ways that dog owners can work with a professional trainer. These dog training lessons might occur at a training facility, in your own home, or in a local park. During these sessions, you will work one-on-one with a trainer and your dog, and learn how to teach your dog new things and how to manage their behavior. Most dog trainers offer lessons ranging from 45 minutes to an hour and a half in length, and generally you will do multiple lessons spread out over a period of time.
Some people are leery of the idea of private lessons because they do require more work from the owner than a program like a board and train. However, there are other aspects of private lesson programs that you may not consider. There are some huge benefits to this type of training, including an increased understanding of your dog and the ability to work with your dog more in your own home environment.
1. Being Involved From Start to Finish
When you participate in a private lesson program, you are right in the mix with your dog from day 1 of training. Your trainer will show you how to start teaching new commands, how to utilize training tools, how to motivate your dog, and how to manage your environment. You will then get to practice these things with your dog every week.
Because you are working with your dog on a daily basis, you will get to establish consistency early. Your dog will get lots of repetitions with you, which is crucial for building habits and eliminating bad behaviors. You will also be able to understand each step in the process, and will have a better understanding of each behavior because you know how it was built.
2. One-on-One Feedback
Traditional dog training lessons are typically thought of as a group class setting. While group classes have their place, they spread the trainer’s attention between several dogs and their owners. When you are doing a private lesson program, you get all of your trainer’s time and attention during the lesson. This means that you get to devote more time to your specific issues.
For example, a group class might have one person struggling with leash pulling, another struggling with jumping on guests, and another who tears up shoes. If you are also dealing with these issues with your dog, you would really benefit from being in that class. However, if your biggest issue with your dog is chasing cars, you only get a few minutes of discussion so that everyone gets addressed.
By enrolling in private dog training lessons, you can have entire lessons focused on car chasing, and eliminate the problem with much more customized work with your trainer. This goes the same way for any major training issue, and is a huge benefit of private lessons.
3. Gradually Adding Distractions
When your dog participates in a group class or board and train, they have to deal with distractions right off the bay. In a group class, you are in a room with 4-6 other dogs and their owners, which can be too much for some dogs when they are just getting started. In board and trains, your dog may need a day or two to adapt to the new environment before they can totally focus.
When you do private lessons, it is just you, your dog, and the trainer. This means that you can add distractions whenever your dog is ready, and you can progress at the rate that is best for them. Some dogs can handle distractions very early, others may take a few sessions before they are able to handle it.
4. Setting Your Own Timeline
Group classes are generally 4-6 weeks long, which is a timeline that works great for some dogs, but may not be the right fit for others. You may only be dealing with very minor house training issues or something similar which only take 2-3 lessons to resolve. On the flip side, you may have a dog with more severe behavioral issues that simply won’t be resolved with a 6 week group class. Both of these categories of dogs can be a better fit for private lessons than they are for group classes.
Private Lessons with Kentucky Dog Training LLC
We offer several different programs for private dog training lessons, and they are based on the age and issues that your dog is struggling with.
Puppy Lessons
We offer one program for puppies under 6 months of age. You can start this program when your puppy is as young as 8 weeks, and we will cover everything from basic obedience to house training, and anything else you are wanting to know about your puppy.
This program consists of two lessons, and you have the option of customizing the program with additional lessons and day training sessions.
Adult Dogs
We offer programs for adult dogs that range from four lessons all the way to programs that include 10+ lessons.
Out Manners Matter program consists of four lessons, and covers basic manners and the essential obedience commands. This is a great program for dogs who are generally well behaved, but who have a few issues here and there to work on.
The Essentials program consists of six lessons, and covers more advanced obedience commands, and a higher degree of behavior modification. Dog with minor behavioral problems like leash reactivity are a good fit for this program.
The Dream Dog program is for those who need to go above and beyond with ten or more lessons. This is a great program for dogs who have severe behavioral issues, including human aggression, dog aggression, separation anxiety, and other major problems. This is also a great option for those who want complete off leash control, those with service dogs or therapy dogs, and people who want to teach more specific skills that are not covered in the other programs. While some of these lessons might be at our Louisville facility, most will be done in your home or at the park.
If you are interested in our private lesson programs, please contact us and tell us a little bit about your dog.*
