Better than nothing, but not by much.

As others said it is highly variable.
Their puppy class is good for socialization, just because they allow younger puppies than most places and I know the dogs are vaccinated becuase you have to show proof.
For basic obedience classes I prefer an experienced training class. Many cities offer them thru parks rec. or you can call animal control for recommendations. Many of these are actually less expensive than petsmart.

All training classes depend upon the work you put in during the week in between class.

I also want a trainer with more than a train to be a trainer course as my trainer. There are many dogs and many situations that only years of experience can prepare you for. A 20 year old trainer with a single certification course is not going to do it for me.

Not impressed. The same people who teach your class are also stocking shelves and ringing up customers when there isn’t a class going on.

Contact your local training club, you’ll be much happier. They usually offer a multitude of classes with trainers who are certified by the pet dog trainers association.

you can train them yourselp or you can go there or get a privete trainer thats what my family did

I took my dog to Petsmart and actually it worked and I’m happy with the outcome. My dog got some great socialization and learned his basic commands.

It probably depends on where you live. I live out in the country. Petsmart just opened a couple years back (if that long) and there was really no other place to go. I’ve never seen any other place advertise obedience before petsmart came around. Now of course it seems like everyone is advertising for it.

Honestly, it is hit or miss. It depends on two things: the trainer and how much you are willing to put into training. I think of the PetSmart training as sort of a community college education. It is affordable and you can have a wonderful experience and learn much, but you must put much into it as well.

I have taken the classes with two different dogs. I observed the classes and met the trainers. I have been fortunate to have taken classes with wonderful trainers who were truly interested in my dogs, but have seen other trainers that I would not have taken the classes with. Do your research before enrolling. Know what is available in your area and the costs. Compare these and make your decision. I do believe you are allowed to retake a PetSmart class. If your experience is not what you want, request another trainer. (Oh, and I’m not knocking community colleges–I have an associate’s degree I worked my tail off for.)

My boyfriend is a manager at petsmart. All employees get a free puppy class. I use to work there as well, so I did classes with my boy, and we just put our new pup through classes.

I did it 100% for the socialization, and that was it. I do all their training on my own. But for a breed like a german shepherd, it is very important to get them out there as puppies, around other puppies. I would never PAY for it myself, but to any inexperienced dog owner, I always recomend petsmart simply for the socialization, but only because petsmart is cheaper then most. We just spent over 300$ putting our pup through private classes with an experience training school in our area. Of course, I send them to stores that I know have good trainers. There are 3 stores in my area, with three trainers that are pretty good, and I recomend them.

There was a trainer at my old store that I loved. She was great, and had a lot of experience with my breed. Unfortunatly, when it came time to do classes, my room mates talked me in to doing it at another store. I HATED that trainer. And she was the area trainer for all the other trainers in the district. Go figure. My older boy, although he has never been a huge barker as far as german shepherds go, went through a barking stage at 11 weeks old where he barked at everything. When he did it one time in class, she used her feet to shuffle him to a corner, and told the class just ignore him, it’s what they do. No advice on how to correct it or anything.

With my pup, we did classes at a store way up north, with another trainer who was an area trainer as well. She is a GREAT trainer in basic obedience, but that is it. Our pup had fear aggression issues. 6 weeks through, and he got kicked out of class. Was it his fault? No. Another puppy had him backed under a chair, and would not leave, so he freaked out, ran out and nipped at the pup, and ran back under the chair. She stood the watchng the whole thing. She said she wanted to see how far the pup would take it. How far do you think he would take it?

Petsmart trainers are also all forced to follow one training method, which is 100% positive reinforcement. while I think that is a good way to start, sometimes other actions need to be taken. I now have both my boys in private training with a very experienced trainer, who does use some old school methods. She was APPALLED at the thought of choke chains and at correcting the younger pup when he barked. Under her training, he only got worse, and nipped at several people. Under the new trainer, he is a different dog, and has made huge improvements.

IMHO, to view only one way of training as the right way is very ignorant. As a trainer, you should accept that what may work on 90% of dogs won’t work on every dog, and that is what most petsmart trainers DON’T accept, as that is how they are trained. If you have a dog with no problems and just want some good basic obedience, a lot of the trainers are decent. With a dog with no problems, our last trainer at petsmart would of been great. But with problem dogs, a lot of them just can’t handle, UNLESS they’ve had previous experience outside of petsmart.

I have clients that complain about the same thing, so they end up calling me. LOL
But maybe it is because Pet’ smart is using kids to do the Dog training. It take time and experience to train dog’s
There is also a lot more to it than it used to be.

The quality of the training at PetsMart is highly variable, depending on the actual experience of the instructor. Many of their trainers are ex-cashiers who went through PetsMart’s Training Instructor Course — mostly a binder full of reading material and a couple of hands-on shadowing opportunities. IMO they are more interested in people who can *sell* classes, rather than actually teach them.

However, I do know some experienced dog people who teach/have taught for PetsMart. They have actual experience and expertise, which leads to a better quality class.

I always recommend people find a dog training club in their area for classes — those are usually taught by people who have trained and/or put obedience titles on dogs, and have experience with a variety of methods.

Waste of money.

A real trainer is a much better value.