How often have you heard dog owners say, “My dog flunked obedience class.”  With so many different methods, settings, and styles of dog training, obedience problems can inevitably result — depending on what they choose and the temperament and personality of the dog.

Similar to humans, dogs learn in a variety of ways.  And just like humans, some dogs take longer to grasp a concept than others.  One theory for an average dog learning a task is as follows:

24 hours:  If not repeated; the memory is absent.

1 to 5 Days: repeated daily; the task is in short term memory.

1 to 30 Days: repeated daily; the task in long term memory.

Improvement in a dog’s performance continues when training is effective.  Of course environmental factors (trainer effectiveness, task complexity, lesson style, etc.) influence the time frame, as do the dog’s genetic factors.

Another statement of expected learning curve is more profound.  An average student with an average dog needs about 3 months for a task to be 85% reliable.  A good student with a good dog decreases the number of weeks to 10 for 85% reliability. And a poor student with an average dog increases the amount of time for 85% reliability to about 4 months (most likely due to inconsistencies and poor timing).

So what type of setting is best to train a dog?

​There are several factors to consider before deciding whether a group class or private lessons fit a client’s situation and personality.  Time, money, what their goals and needs are, as well as knowing what environment works best for the dog’s personality and temperament are all factors.

The benefit of a group obedience class is, economically, it’s more affordable. Many opt toward the group because of this, but once they enter the group, they find that the other benefits are the camaraderie; the friendships they gain, or the commiserating of their dog’s problems to one another.  Classes can also offer a competitive edge that pushes members to improve and “keep up” and a great energy is created with a group of people working hard and feeding off that energy.  Human nature is such that we enjoy doing things in a group; however group classes are not designed to be effective with all dog owners or puppies.

If someone is looking for training that will be safe, relationship-based, and 100% focused on them, then private one-on-one dog training is the best bet.  Some argue that private training yields the best results because the trainer is going to gear every session towards their client’s goals using training methods appropriate for their dog’s personality and temperament. Private lessons provide much more detail to training.  This is a disadvantage of group classes where the trainer’s focus is divided among several individuals and a variety of dog personalities.

Group classes can be set up to be more successful by reducing the number of participants to around 6 or less, or arranging it so the dogs are of similar personality and temperament.  Offering aggressive dog classes or fearful dog classes can be beneficial since many of these dog owners already have the stigma that they have a “problem dog”.  Working with other owners of similar dogs in small groups can also provide the catalyst to build confidence in the owners.

Another possibility that works well is to use both environments to your advantage.  Start off the dog’s training using private lessons.  Then once the dog has a solid foundation of obedience, continue training using group classes to improve command reliability or develop a specialty such Therapy Dog or Agility.

​It is difficult to say that one environment is better than the other.  Both types of training environments have their advantages and disadvantages.  One thing they have in common is they help dog owners stay focused on their goals for a well-mannered dog. The benefits of either type of training are accountability and scheduling. For many people, making an appointment with a trainer helps them stay true to their commitment to training their dog.
No matter which training environment your client chooses, it is important to remember that training never ends. Just like any good relationship, you have to keep working at it.  A six or eight week course is not a lifetime guarantee of good behavior, nor is a series of private lessons. Training is an investment in gaining the tools to maintain a dog’s good behavior. Obedience is a way of life and one every dog owner should participate in.

Despite upwards of tens of thousands of consumer complaints and two prior lawsuits filed against the Nestle Purina Petcare Company’s Beneful brand of dog food, California federal judge, U.S. District Judge Edward Chen ruled in favor of the dog food giant, citing failure to prove the product was unsafe and that allegations heavily relied on a veterinarian’s inadmissible opinions.The lawsuit began after California dog owner, Frank Lucido bought a bag of Purina’s Beneful dry dog food in December of 2014 and began feeding it exclusively to his dogs. About 2 weeks after beginning to feed Beneful, his German Shepherd became violently ill. The first symptoms that Frank and his wife noticed were that the Shepherd was losing hair and giving off an unusual odor. Two days later, a veterinarian examined their dog and found internal bleeding and a malfunctioning stomach and liver, symptoms consistent with poisoning. One week later, on January 23, 2015, Lucido’s wife found their English Bulldog dead in the backyard. A necropsy revealed signs of internal bleeding and lesions on his liver, consistent with those same symptoms the Lucido’s German Shepherd suffered.
As a result of his dogs’ illnesses and thousands more similar complaints of illness and death by other pet parents, Frank Lucido filed a class action lawsuit against the Nestle Purina Pet Care Company on February 5, 2015.
The more than 3,000 complaints against Beneful “show consistent symptoms, including stomach and related internal bleeding, liver malfunction or failure, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, seizures, bloating, and kidney failure,” according to Frank Lucido v. Nestle Purina Petcare Company, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
In an analysis of Beneful samples, the plaintiff’s expert found:
“An analysis of 28 samples [from bags of Beneful suspected of causing illness in several dogs] revealed three types of toxins: propylene glycol; mycotoxins, a fungal mold on grain; and the heavy metals arsenic and lead.
But the level of toxins found in the dog chow did not exceed limits permitted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA]. Plaintiffs’ expert analyzed 28 of 1,400 dog food samples from incidents of dogs that got ill after eating Beneful. The sampling was limited because not all dog owners had kept the chow.
The expert, animal toxicologist Dr. John Tegzes, claimed the FDA based its dog chow toxin limits only on short-term exposure and did not consider the effects of long-term exposure.
He said studies used to establish FDA tolerance limits were ‘poorly designed’ and tended to look only at the effects on dogs over weeks, rather than years. While Tegzes could not say definitively that the toxins caused the dogs to get sick, he concluded that chronic exposure to mycotoxins, heavy metals and glycols posed a ‘significant health risk’ to dogs and could adversely affect their health.”​

Following the judgement in their favor, Nestlé Purina spokeswoman Wendy Vlieks released the following statement: “Today’s ruling confirms what millions of pet owners already know — that Beneful is a safe, healthy and nutritious dog food that millions of dogs enjoy every day.”
Although the food is advertised as healthy and nutritious, third party testing found dangerous levels of mycotoxins, a toxic secondary metabolite produced by fungus (mold) that occurs in grains, especially corn, a primary ingredient in Beneful dog foods.
Other sources point to propylene glycol, an ingredient commonly found in anti-freeze and a known toxin to dogs and cats, which is also found in Beneful and other Purina brand foods.
Although the judgement sided with Nestle Purina in this case, any pet parents feeding Beneful brand pet foods may want to carefully consider that choice, keep a watchful eye for any unusual symptoms or illness, and research the complaints of other dog and cat owners in order to make an informed decision regarding their dog’s diet.