Ultimate Starter Guide To Dog Training
Training a dog, no matter their age, can feel overwhelming. There’s a lot of information out there and it can be hard to see the wood from the trees sometimes. If you’re considering professional training or looking to start training your dog on your own, you likely have lots of questions. In this guide, I’ll cover some of the most frequently asked questions about dog training, from costs and timing to the best practices for success.
How Much Should You Pay for Puppy or Dog Training?
The price of puppy or dog training can vary widely depending on where you live, the experience of the trainer and the type and level of training you choose. On average, private one to one training sessions range from £40 - £120 per session, while group classes typically range from £20 - £45 per session.
Factors Affecting Cost
Trainer Experience: An experienced and qualified trainer, specialist or behaviour expert is likely to cost a little more because you are getting their expertise and knowledge at a much deeper level, as well as the fact that most experts continually invest their time and money in CPD to offer their clients the best service and training possible. Think of one to one dog training as being the equivalent of having a personal trainer vs going to a group gym class. You’re getting 100% focus, attention and tailored training according to your specific needs in a one to one session.
Training Type: Basic obedience group classes will cost less than specialised, personalised training due to the fact that your sessions will be held with a group of others and won’t be personalised to you or your circumstances. I offer a range of dog training packages to suit all needs and budgets, from my specialist and expert one to one sessions through to live video call sessions which are offered at a discounted price due to the fact that there are no travel requirements. I also offer a self-paced online video tutorial course which is a lovely place for people to start with the foundations of training at a really affordable price.
Location: specialist dog trainers will travel to your home to help you train your dog because training is always best done in real-life scenarios. As such, there will be some travel costs included in the price.
Investing in puppy or dog training can help prevent future issues, making it a worthwhile investment.
What's the Best Age to Hire a Dog Trainer?
For you? Any, hahahaaa! For your dog? Any!
Ideal Age for Puppy Training
The best time to start training is as soon as you bring them home! At this age, puppies are highly receptive to new experiences and can begin learning basic commands and socialisation skills from day one. In fact, in my experience as a puppy specialist, the longer training is left, the more problems rear their ugly heads. The longer a puppy practices doing the things we don’t want them to do when they aren’t trained, the more those things become their habits. It’s much easier to train a puppy before habits take hold rather than try to fix habits that have become established. Ensuring that your puppy is learning all of the right things from day one is a gamechanger when it comes to raising your puppy.
Ideal Age for Older Dogs
Again, any age in all honesty. The sooner you start training the better, however this doesn’t mean you’re too late if your dog is quite a bit older. Dogs of any age can learn new skills and behaviours. I train dogs of all ages on a daily basis. There’s really no set age to start to train your dog or puppy, but the earlier you start, the better!
For Behaviour Modification
If your dog is showing signs of behavioural issues (such as aggression, fear or anxiety), it's best to consult a trainer as soon as possible, regardless of their age. Behavioural problems can worsen over time, so early intervention is absolutely key.
Is Dog Training Once a Week Enough?
Frequency of Training Sessions
Training once a week is a good start for formal sessions with your dog trainer, but consistency and practice at home is essential. Once-a-week sessions work well when owners practice the exercises daily at home, reinforcing what your dog learns with your dog trainer. Once dogs start to work on more advanced training, reducing the formal sessions to twice weekly or perhaps even monthly sessions works really well and allows owners to have a lovely amount of time in between sessions to practice the more advanced skills of training at home.
At-Home Practice Matters
Dogs, like humans, need repetition to retain what they learn. As they say, practice makes perfect! Try to dedicate at least 10-15 minutes daily for training, although having a break over the weekend or during the week for a day or two is never a bad thing either. Practice helps solidify skills learned in weekly training sessions and leads to faster progress. You don’t need to train your dog all in one go however, it is often best to do a few shorter training sessions across the course of the day, rather than train everything in one chunk. A few minutes here and there each day can make an incredible amount of progress when training your dog.
How Many Sessions Does It Take to Train a Dog?
This is not a simple question to answer because there are so many factors and variables involved in training a dog and, again, it really depends on what training is needed, the history of your dog, the experience of your trainer, the time you have to dedicate to training outside of sessions and the kind of support that you choose to gain from your dog trainer.
Group sessions will always have a set amount of time for training, but you won’t receive personalised support and the lessons will be a set and standardised format for all of the dogs. One to one sessions will be organised for you according to you and your dog’s needs and availability. Being completely personalised and tailored to the skills you need to train, you’ll often cover skills in more detail and see a lot more and quicker progress with this type of training.
The number of sessions a dog needs also largely depends on factors like the dog’s age, temperament and the goals of the training. Here’s a general breakdown of one to one sessions:
Basic Obedience: Typically, 5 – 10 sessions will provide you and your dog with a lovely foundation of skills which will set you all up for long-term success.
Behavioural Training: Behavioural issues often require a minimum of 10 sessions or more, especially if there are complex or deeply ingrained behaviours that need changing.
Ultra Advanced Skills such as Assistance Dog Training: Training for advanced skills can take several months or even years, depending on the dog’s required role.
With consistent practice and reinforcement, most dogs achieve good results with structured training sessions over the course of a few months.
Are Dogs Happier if They Are Trained?
Absolutely! Dogs don’t come with their own manual on how to fit into our human world and the more we help them understand what the ‘rules’ are, the less stressful life in our world is for them. The less stressed/confused a dog is, the happier they are! Training also provides incredible mental stimulation for dogs, which is something most dogs are in desperate need of. Not only that, training really helps people and their dogs to communicate beautifully, which in turn completely transforms relationships between you all for the better. Helping dogs navigate our world creates much less stress and confusion for them and helps dogs understand their environment so much better. A trained dog is also less likely to be rehomed due to behavioural issues in the future, as well as helping them to interact with other dogs and people more appropriately.
In short, training promotes a happier, more fulfilled life for your dog.
How Long Does It Take to Change a Dog's Behaviour?
All of us dog trainers wish they had a magic wand and could make issues disappear for you over night. That’s the dream! But, in reality, it is unlikely that you would see dramatic change in certain behaviours in just a single session. Changing unwanted behaviours can take a few weeks to several months, depending on the issue at hand and the underlying factors affecting the behaviour.
Simple issues and skills however, such as jumping up on guests may only take a few weeks with consistent training and the skills you need to help stop this could be taught in one session. More complex behaviours, such as separation anxiety often require several months of dedicated work.
Factors That Will Affect The Time It Takes to Train a Dog
Consistency: Daily practice helps dogs learn faster so owners need to put in the work outside of sessions to see real progress. Without consistency, your dog will learn at a much slower pace.
Medical Issues: If your dog is suffering from pain or any underlying medical conditions, their ability and motivation to learn may be reduced. Sometimes a slower pace of training is better in these cases.
Severity of Behaviour: Entrenched or severe behavioural issues naturally take longer to resolve.
Dog’s Background: Rescue dogs, for example may have unique emotional needs that can lengthen the time it takes to change certain behaviours. At the same time, if there are no behavioural concerns and you need to simply train your dog skills to live in our world, the foundations can be achieved within 5-10 sessions. Practice will be required at home however and it is recommended that training be maintained by you for the life of your dog on a periodic basis.
Patience, consistency and professional guidance are key to successfully training your dog.
What is the Best Time of Day to Train a Dog?
Every dog is different and so this is largely dependent on your individual dog. For example, my dog is not a morning dog at all. She doesn’t want to do anything before 9.30am most days, haha! If I tried to train her early in the day, I wouldn’t really achieve much with her. So I know, for my dog, that training is usually best left until we are out on a walk or later on in the day.
Choosing the Right Training Time
The best time to train your dog is when they are alert but not overly energetic or tired, as a general rule. Many trainers recommend scheduling training:
In the Morning: After a shorter walk or calm play session, when your dog has burned off a little energy but isn’t yet fatigued or over aroused. Unless of course your dog is like mine and would rather not do much in the morning at all. In which case, wait until later in the day!
Before Meals: If your dog is food-motivated, training before meals can make treats extra motivating (and you can use their food to train with). However, training when really hungry can also impede your dog’s ability to concentrate. I find it best to give them a smaller meal before training and use the rest to teach them their skills.
Evening Training for Active Breeds: If you have an energetic or working line breed, a training session in the evening can really help them to settle for the rest of the night.
Avoid Training When….
Try to avoid training sessions when your dog is overly tired or just after a large meal. These times can impact their focus and motivation.
If your dog has had a particularly stressful day, you might want to avoid training that day or shorten their usual training time. Saying that, sometimes a training session after a stressful event (such as a trip to the vets) can help to reduce their stress. You know your dog best, so see how they feel at the time. Illness and injury can also affect your dog’s motivation to train, although gentle calm training sessions if your dog is on restricted exercise can be hugely beneficial in providing them enough stimulation to settle for the rest of the day.
Training your dog is an investment in both time and money and will pay off in dividends for the remainder of your dog’s life. Dog training will transform the life you live with them. Investing in a one to one trainer is like investing in a Personal Trainer vs attending a gym class. The above is based on the most commonly asked questions surrounding dog training, but if you’ve got a question that hasn’t been answered, please do get in touch. I will always happily answer anything that people would like to know.
If you need help to train your puppy or dog, please do get in touch with me by heading to the Book Now button below.
