[From a previous e-mail which questioned why I recommend that dog owners don't try to train their dogs in a group class setting]

Yes, I understand about imprint stages [two week stages from birth to 4 months of age in which a small amount of exposure will have a lasting affect on dog's socialization to it's surroundings] but not everybody lives in ideal world of getting their puppy at 6 to 8 weeks of age.

[The imprint stage when dogs learn dominant and subordinate behavior with other dogs. Missing this stage, or having a negative experience during this stage, can cause dog aggression later in life].

What are you then suggesting happens? There are a lot of people out there that don't know first thing about dog training. So, all of these theories are great but how would that help somebody that comes to you when their dog is a couple of years old and displays canine aggression?

Regards, TB.

Dear TB:

Here's deal: I don't have a lot of time to go into detail as this is a subject that could end up being another book. But to fix this type of thing, you need to:

2.) Experience— I know people who have been driving an automobile for 30 years and still can’t parallel park! And dog training is same way! Don’t measure a dog trainer’s skill by his number of years in profession. Instead, judge a trainer by what he has done in ‘Dog World,’ rather than how long he has been doing it.

3.) Cost— When you pay for training, make sure you are paying for results... not for a specified number of hours or sessions. Good dog trainers know that every dog (and owner) is different. Some need more time to learn than others.

4.) Avoid Group Classes— I’ve never seen a dog that is 100% reliable come out of a group class. When professional dog trainers train their own dogs, they never do it in a group setting. It’s always one-on-one. There are just too many distractions for a new dog in a group class.

5.) How Much Should You Expect To Pay For a Good Dog Training Program: Expect to pay between $400 and $1200. A good dog trainer will sometimes have a waiting list of dog owners who want to work with him. Your goal should be to work with best dog trainer you can find, not to haggle over price. And in virtually all cases that we’ve seen, dog trainers who are charging bargain basement prices are ones who you probably don’t want to be working with in first place. It’s better to spend your money intelligently on a top-notch dog training program in first place, than to waste your money chasing a bargain, and then have to pay more money for a good dog trainer somewhere down line.