Looking at agility classes

[daisyandme]

When Daisy gets old enough, I would like to introduce her to agility and maybe some other dog sports, but I live where there are not too many options when it comes to classes locally. 40+ min from Sacramento (not good for traveling in winter due to very bad fog). 1 hour+ to San Francisco and about 2 hours to San Jose. None of this would be so bad, but as it stands right now Daisy is scared of the car (started during winter due to the windshield wipers). So I need to find a location that is not so far that she is completely worked up by the time we get there until I can get her over her fear.

 

I found the Napa Valley Dog Training Club which is about 30 min away, but I don't have very much confidence right now with picking trainers due to my last experience (you can read here)

 

Has anyone heard of this place or do any of you see any red flags? I have looked over the site and had some trouble finding what kind of training methods they use. I could have just missed it though since they do have a lot of information on their site.

 

Thanks!

[Root Beer]

I don't see any info about their overall training philosophy, nor about their methods.

 

My suggestion is to get in touch with them, let them know exactly what you are looking for, and let them know exactly what you are not looking for. Ask if you can sit in on a few classes. They should be up front with you. Evading questions about their training methods would be a red flag.

 

They could have a hodge podge of methodologies and training styles. That's not necessarily a bad thing, if you are sure of what you are looking for and make sure that the instructors that you choose are willing to work with you and your dog in the way that you see fit.

 

I'd see about getting to know them and decide from there if the place is right for your dog.

[Rave]

Are you closer to Vacaville? http://www.jumpstartdogagility.com/

Or Santa Rosa? http://www.tailswagg.com/index.shtml

Or Petaluma? http://www.leapdogagility.com/

Or Fairfield? http://www.co.solano.ca.us/depts/genserv/animalcare/gi.asp

Or Dixon? http://www.precisionchaos.com/

 

And those were just from a quick google search. There's likely more. I didn't check each page out, so those aren't endorsements, just information for you to check out if you're interested.

 

I'd be wary of the dog training club classes. The ones I've encountered in the past were hit or miss as to quality; they'd have whoever sign up who needed to earn hours or whatever for their club so the training methods varied significantly from person to person. It looks like from their website this place is similar, which is why you can't find a training philosophy or even a list of instructors.