Top Three Dog Training Schools in Utah

Did you sit there watching Marley and me thinking Marley had nothing on your dog? I did. A gold bracelet? Nothing. I've spent $200--twice to repair chewed air conditioning wires. Our cable company knows us (and our dog) by name. They've been out many times to fix chewed wires. Rose bushes litter our back stairs as presents each morning. Our six foot plastic pool, our slip n' slide and any blanket left out carelessly would fall victim to her chewing. Craters dotted the backyard waiting for you to carelessly fall in. Chewed up toys littered the backyard. But then I tried one of these top dog training schools in Utah:

Sit Means Sit

Serving Salt Lake, Davis, Utah and Summit Counties
801-232-6941
Contact: Jon Cain
www.sitmeanssit.com

Before Jon came to train our own dog, we had done the Petsmart and Petco classes. What we found was most of those classes were pointless when it came time to bringing the dogs back home after class. The kids easily undid the training we spent over an hour to teach them during class. And troubleshooting the big problems like jumping? The classes offered at pet stores seemed to have a hard time troubleshooting some of their bad behaviors. And our dogs never seemed to want to listen while in class. One dog was too busy trying to kill the dog next to him, the other trying to lick the other dogs to death in a friendly display of doggy hello.

A call to a variety of different trainers led us to Sit Means Sit. Owner Jon Cain was able to quickly change troubled behaviors. Jon has held a Canine Search Specialist certification since 1999, and work's with FEMA's Utah Task Force One. Using a remote e-collar, our dog stopped jumping by the end of the first visit. She could also wait at the door, and knew what the word "off" meant. By the end of the second visit, she could sit, heel, come, and place when I instructed her. By the end of our third visit, we had actually started letting her in the house again and worked with our trainer on several troubleshooting behaviors. Our fourth (and last) visit introduced her to other dogs in a group training session.

Almost a year later, we can walk with her off leash. She still listens and obeys commands. And she has grown to be one of our best dogs. Our trainer Jon was able to easily recognize problems and issues we were having with our dog and offer solutions that worked quickly. Our children were often invited into training sessions where Jon would help troubleshoot any undesirable behaviors the dogs seemed to exhibit while around the kids. And it was great because Jon often brought his own dog with him to show us what our end goal would look like with our own dog.

At a cost of around $300 plus the price of the e-collar, we truly felt our money was well spent. Sit Means Sit offers in-home training and unlimited group training to help behaviors like chewing, jumping, destructive behavior, barking, and aggression. Call the number above to schedule your first in home visit and get started.

Cove Mountain Kennels

435-896-1737
Annabella, Utah
Trainers: Chris and Julie Holt
www.covemountainkennels.com

In Utah, hunting is a big deal. Having a dog that is gun trained, can retrieve, and obey commands is important. Trainers Chris and Julie Holt do an exceptional job of training your dog to be one of the best hunting dogs you will own. If your hunting dog is also a family dog, this is the place to go. A few of our family dogs have been sent to this facility and each time they return they easily integrate back into our family lifestyle but keep and remember the training they got while there.

The dogs are trained to hunt pheasant, chukar, desert quail, forest grouse and sage-grouse. The trainers use the e-collar training system with each dog and in addition to learning hunting your dog will learn socialization and basic obedience training. Dogs are boarded at the facility, and you are encouraged to visit the dog several times during their training. One of the best things we have liked about this facility is the affordable price they charge and their desire to have you involved in the process of training. The dogs have an easy time going back to family life but never forget the training they recieve. The owners also have puppies and trained dogs available for sale. Check the website for more information on training and boarding.

CommuniCanine

801-310-3782
Trainer: Ty Brown
www.communicanine.net

Our own Utah dog training celebrity award goes to Ty Brown, owner and trainer for the company CommuniCanine. The company has won the Best of State 2008 award, and has been featured on 97.1 ZHT as well as ABC 4 News. Owner and trainer Ty is relaxed, laid back and comfortable with the families he trains with as well as the dogs he is training.

His program utiliizes a few different programs. The Puppy Training Program offers house training, house relationship, and basic commands training. The Level 1 program is for dogs six months to 16 years old and helps train undesirable dog behaviors like jumping. The Level 2 program helps overcome aggressive behavior and help gain control of your dog. The Level 3 program offers off and on leash training. And finally, the Boot Camp program offers the most condensed, high level of training for your dog.

Most of the training is done in your home using the e-collar training system. In-home training offers the best level of training and the greatest ability to change behavior that is undesirable. It also offers a chance for the trainer to watch, catch and fix behaviors that you might not recognize as undesirable or may become undesirable in the future.

Training your dog from Marley to marvelous isn't very hard if you choose one of these fantastic trainers located right in our state!