In-Home Dog Training

Why would you want or need in-home dog training sessions? Does it really matter if training sessions are in the dog’s home instead of in an outside facility? Yes, it definitely does matter, because training objectives and outcomes differ between training in the home versus outside the home.

Dog training, child schooling have different objectives

Dog training is parallel to school for children. However, where each should attend school is quite different. Ultimately, children are supposed to grow up, move out of the family home and start their own lives. At least that is the plan, although sometimes it takes longer than expected. Dogs, in contrast, also grow up physically but the objective for them is to never leave home. Children and dogs are taught skills needed to live either independently without their parents (humans) or live dependently and harmoniously with their parents (dogs).

Different dog training objectives

Dog training needs differ from one person/situation to the next. Some folks are looking for dog training because they just adopted a new puppy/dog (Newbie) and want to give them the right start in their new life. Others have an established puppy/dog who has behaviors that are less than desirable in and around the home (Trouble-Maker), be it soiling the house, jumping on people, barking at strangers, etc. Others still have well-behaved dogs who need a job (Job-Seeker) as an outlet for their extra energy. And still others don’t really need a job, but their human companion wants to pursue doggie extra-curricular activities (Over-Achievers).

Make the venue match the training objective

Private in-home dog training sessions are especially helpful for the Newbie and Trouble-Maker dogs. Their issues are related to the home, so home is the best place for training. In-home dog training sessions are not really applicable to the Job-Seekers and Over-Achievers because they need outside resources to achieve their objectives. For example, unless your home is all set up for agility trials, you will probably need to travel to other locations to practice agility. And unless you have your own pool or pond, you’ll probably have to take your Golden away from home to practice retrieving.In-home sessions are especially helpful for Newbies and Trouble-Makers. Click To Tweet

In-Home Board & Train (B&T)

If you need a little more help than just private in-home dog training sessions, “In-Home” Board and Train (B&T) sessions with a professional trainer are an ideal alternative and may be a preferred approach. If your dog can’t reach his objectives through training in your home, the second-best location is the trainer’s home. And, not surprisingly, training objectives are almost always achieved much quicker when dogs live and train with a professional trainer.

Is in-home dog training for you?

In-home dog training is a great approach for training dogs that are Newbies, Trouble-Makers and others. Both private sessions and B&T are very successful methods to achieve training goals. To find out what training methods and venues would be best for you and your dog, talk to a certified professional dog trainer.

Kathryn R. Gubista, PhD is an evolutionary biologist, college biology instructor, former zookeeper, author and certified professional dog trainer with Lucky Dog Training Asheville. She has over 30 years of dog training and human teaching experience. The Dog’s Perspective is a training philosophy based on how dogs think, and the title of Gubista’s book series and blog. For more information, contact TrainingLuckyDogs@gmail.com or call 828-423-9635.