Obedience/socializing

[meaghanmplatt]

I am looking into classes for my almost 5 month old B and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions…

One of my boyfriend's co-workers praised petsmart classes but I am hesitant because Basenjis are so different(complicated) compared to other puppies. I am living in the Pittsburgh area and looking for advice. Kona isn't by any means bad, he is quite calm compared to stories I have read (except for the occasional basenji 500 - I call it "the running of the dog" hahaha)....anyway, I'm getting off topic.

I just want Kona to work on being around other dogs, barking seems to startle him a little and I would like for him to obey basic commands...I taught him "sit" and "paw" very easily (they are SO smart)

[Duke]

Nothing wrong with taking Basenji to puppy class with other puppies. I just enrolled Daisy, 4 mos old. I took Duke to Obedience there last fall. You'll just have to be prepared that your dog will be the class clown. I found that Pet Smart here in MI uses the positive training technique - perfect for Basenji training. We have a great instructor there.

[Quercus]

You can search for a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers here:

http://www.apdt.com/po/ts/default.aspx

Most the trainers in this organization are committed to positive, gentle methods of training. I searched Pittsburgh, and there are quite a few options. PetSmart does have some good trainers. They have a pretty comprehensive course written by some great names in training and behavior, but how each teacher/trainer adheres to the manual varies some. With any trainer, you should see if you can observe a course first, and see if you like the trainer and the methods.

[meaghanmplatt]

Wow Quercus…that is sooo helpful! Thank you so much for searching that for me!!! I appreciate it so much....if you ever fly into Pittsburgh....you have a place to stay