12/05/08

Very helpful

by 206chick

We were very happy with the basic manners class. Our dog was a rescue and needed extra help and that was not a problem with Ahimsa. I love the humane traing methods!!

04/07/08

Puppy Love!

by ToToBoy

We have a bulldog that I took through several classes at Ahimsa as a puppy and we are so glad we did. He started class at 10 weeks old. We met up with his litter mates at 6 months old and again last week for their birthday and he listens so much better than his sibs. We continue to be so happy that we went through classes Ahimsa. I just wish they had a big dog play time there!

• Pros: Great education, know bulldogs, treated us well
• Cons: no big dog play time!

09/17/07

An underwhelming experience. Some dogs are not going to be magic clicker monkeys.

by cowboymonkey

The online manual and movies are very good quality information. Definitely the best part of the program.

Unfortunately, my dog just wasn't that compelled by clickery. He picked up the basic moves, but not any faster or more thoroughly than new behaviors I have taught him with praise and no click-and-treat. I also was never able to successfully walk my dog with anything less than a prong collar, which I was ashamed to bring to class, making all walking class exercises much more difficult for both me and my dog. We bought a halter system from the instructor but it caused serious chafing, and seemed to turn our mutt into a "sled dog" albeit one who goes in circles due to the front-cinching of the harness. The actual class instruction part of the program was the least helpful. The first day the dog was too keyed up by seeing so many other dogs in one place he had no hope of concentrating (shelter flashbacks, perhaps?) The rest of the classes didn't follow the lesson plan provided on the homework. We jumped ahead on some things and skipped others completely. After three classes we decided that hour of our busy lives could be better spent with our dog alone, than in a room of other misbehaving dogs, with a distracted instructor who didn't seem in touch with our training at all. "Maybe you need smellier treats" is not the kind of tip I expected to get for the money and reputation this program has.

In the future, I would probably spend the same amount of money for an hour with a private trainer rather than take a group class again. And I think you would be well served to go buy a clicker and charge it up with your dog and see if he is responsive to the method or not, there are books in the library.

I don't normally review much but there were so many glowing reviews on this school, I thought another viewpoint might be of service to the community.

• Pros: instruction manual and videos are very good. The founder is obviously a good instructor
• Cons: Not all other instructors are up to par, may not remember you, your dog, your issues, or give useful feedback.