Narnia Pet Behavior & Training

We went to beginner obedience class with our 10 week old puppy and was asked to leave after the first couple of minutes due to our dog being very scared of others in the class. They recommended one on one training to relieve the timidness with hopes to enroll in the obedience class after completing one in one. We did pursue the one on one training, it was an hour and 30 minute session in the back office that contained about 90% discussion on his emotions and only 10% training methods/actions. All information was helpful however it was our understanding that one on one training would be more corrective action based instead of how to analyze our dogs emotions. The trainer was informative, but for the price we expected more direct training. When we left, the trainer provided more information to research various training methods instead of physically showing us how to correct/calm our puppy. We felt as if all of this information was already available online and would not recommend one on one training. Unfortunately after a few weeks, none of the methods we discussed in our one in one session have helped calm him down when he becomes stressed and looking elsewhere.

Overall, the classes are very affordable and will teach you the basics needed to get your puppy started. The trainers were very kind overall and seemed willing to be present and offer support as needed. We unfortunately were not that impressed with the way classes are being taught and probably won't be coming back in the future. We wish that the trainers did more in class to assist us with our individual struggles that are visible during a lesson or hindering the learning of what is being taught at the moment. The classes are a lot of the trainer talking at us seminar style and expecting our dogs to be able to hold still and behave quietly while we listen. Rather than listen to long lectures it would be better to give us more time in class to practice a command with a trainer present to correct what we may be doing wrong. Here is our personal experience for those who may find it helpful: We enrolled our puppy in the level 1 puppy course as a way to allow her to be with other puppies and people rather than in a 1 on 1 learning environment. This is our second time raising a puppy, our first obedience school experience was with Urban Pooch closer to the Chicago area and we liked their classes much more. The main instructor we had wasted a lot of time telling stories of her own dogs or learning experiences that were often long winded and pointless to the command being taught. They also had us doing a lot of work with toys and our dog's kibble (which was often boring and uninteresting as a reward). They had us use a toy to get our dog to play then use an "off" command to get our dog to settle down again after play. When our dog was not interested in the toy and wouldn't play for the lesson they did not offer any other type of support or suggestions for another way to teach our dog the settle command. Our puppy was usually very focused in class but toward the end of the session became disinterested in the treats. The trainers never offered suggestions (other than verbally joking that our puppy would rather sniff than train) on what to do to regain our puppy's interest again even when we clearly struggled to get our puppy's focus. We also had an incident where our seating got switched around and we were in a new spot where our puppy could see different dogs than who she normally saw during class. Our puppy got reactive to other dog's family after awhile (we think it must have been the child of the family who kept getting up to move around that was capturing her attention). She refused to focus on us and would not stop barking even after we body blocked her, tried to gain her attention by moving around, trying to work on commands, or even full on redirecting the behavior. Even after the trainer acknowledged that our puppy was acting out of the ordinary, they did nothing to help us navigate the situation at all. We eventually had to find an unused partition to put in front of our dog to block her from seeing whatever was triggering her to get her to focus again, but it baffled me that the three trainers who were present did nothing to assist us during the whole ordeal. If you are looking for very basic classes to get going then this might be for you. But if your dog struggles with reactiveness, not listening, or has any other special considerations then these trainers won't be able to help much or offer the correct support.