Oklahoma City Obedience Training Club

I am only writing this review because I wish I had known these things before I signed up. I hope it's helpful to dog owners who are looking for obedience classes. What I liked: 1. The class I attended started in December 2020, when COVID was still a real problem. The club did an excellent job handling it. 2. After the first class in December, I asked to be moved to the February session and was immediately and professionally accomodated, which was lovely. Why I stopped going after the second class (first that included dogs) even though I forfeited my $100: 1. The trainers are REALLY into prong/pinch collars. If you're looking for positive-only training, this is not for you. My lab mix can be a bit timid, and the idea of doing anything that made her associate training with physical discomfort seems completely counter intuitive, so I did not use one. One of the trainers came around and inspected everyone's collars and noted my plain buckle collar disapprovingly but then said "well, she's a lab, so she may be okay." Another poor young man with an active puppy was not as determined as I was and the main trainer put a prong collar on the pup herself, which meant the owner and the rest of us got to listen to the dog cry and try to bite at the collar. The trainer's response to the crying: "Drama queen." 2. The whole vibe is rigid and...joyless? The same puppy mentioned above got loose from the owner at one point before class even started, which just seems to me like not a big deal. The dog wasn't menacing anyone and was in no danger of getting out of the enclosure. But the main trainer ran over and straddled the dog, gripping its ruff, and wrestled the prong collar on like we were all in danger. It was weird. I think of dog training as a way to bond with our animals, but that is not the focus of this program. It's not fun. I wish I could adequately describe the mood--it's not hostile or even overtly unfriendly, but it is not cheerful at all. This example may help: When I came back for the first dog-inclusive class, I brought the packet of info we were given at the first class. I'm a teacher/nerd. I take lots of notes. I was met at the door by the lead trainer and told that I didn't need it. I said, oh, okay, and we ended up in an awkward standoff. She said I could take it back to my car. I didn't really want to walk back to my car, especially since my dog was bouncing around ready to go inside. She said if I brought it in I might forget it. I was willing to take the risk(?) It was just a packet of stapled pages. I don't know what that was about, but that's how we were greeted at the door. Not with a "Hi, welcome back! This must be Miss Harley!" but with a doorway block and "You don't need to bring that with you." 3. Finally, though I truly appreciated the professional way my change of session and the COVID protocols were handled, the actual teaching methods are a bit disappointing. I've been a teacher for 30 years and now am a teacher of future teachers; I know how hard it is. And I don't want to be personal about this critique. But the lessons felt stilted and disorganized and a lot of time was wasted. I'm not convinced that instructing humans is where these trainers' best talents lie.