Norwich Dog Training School – Views on Residential Dog Training

We are not fans of Residential Dog training for most people (where you send your dog way for someone else to train), unless there are special circumstances. For the following reasons:

If you don’t have the time to train your dog, then ask yourself whether you really have time for a dog?

If you are too idle to train a dog, then you’re probably too lazy to own a dog?

We would suggest that you don’t chose a breed that is too demanding, beyond your abilities or needs. Just take a close look at the rescue centres – they’re full of dogs their original owners couldn’t manage.

If you don’t have the knowledge or experience to train a dog yourself, then it makes sense for you to enlist the help of a trainer. Surely you want your dog to do what you ask – not a complete stranger.

Many residential dog trainers charge an absolute fortune for what can be little work. Just think about this for a moment – if you send the dog off for a week, two weeks, three weeks etc – then be realistic, how much time do you actually think the trainer will spend training your dog each day? I can assure you it won’t be 7 or 8 hours a day, since even you would struggle to concentrate for this length of time. Many residential trainers will look to employ ‘a quick fix’, just before you collect your dog… Beware of those who offer residential training that is more akin to expensive ‘dog boarding’ with a little training thrown in. Take your time to carefully research, as this will pay you dividends over the long term.

We see numerous dogs which have previously been sent off to ‘residential training’, only for their owners to seek help from us, once they’ve been returned (after having spent £000s). Only for their owners to seek help for exactly the same issues, they hoped the residential trainer would solve.   

If you think of your dog as your best friend, do you think it’s ‘fair’ to send him (or her) away to a complete stranger – and to expect your ‘best pal’ to come back perfectly trained? What measurers have you in place to ensure that you know who the actual trainer is – and how they’re treating your friend. Remember that that some of the larger establishments will use multiple trainers, and they’re not all the same…

People who we have helped, have told us stories of their dogs being sent to certain establishments, and coming back frightened – even suffering injuries that have required veterinary treatment, where the owner’s believed, electric collars had been in correctly used.

At an extreme, we had one owner who’d paid thousands to have their dog trained in obedience – only to discover the dog had been been trained ‘protection work’ (and not in a good way). The dog was ruined, the owner could no longer trust his companion around strangers, and now has to wear a muzzle at all times.

Like we said earlier, we are not fans of residential training – but if you still wish to go down this route – there are some really good trainers out there. But rather than simply Googling a list, and sending your dog off to a complete stranger, who you really don’t know then please carry out some in depth research and not just off the net – Get to really know the people you are trusting with your dog, since there are so many people out there, who are not true enthusiasts – they’re simply ‘dog dealers’.