Growly Dog Classes | Training Tracks Canine Learning Center

Does your growly dog frighten your neighbors and embarrass you by barking and lunging at every dog you pass on walks?

Have you joined the midnight dog walkers club to avoid these displays?

Does your friendly dog park or daycare dog become aggressive on leash?

Our Growly Dog classes are for you!

Finding the right environment in which to train aggressive dogs poses a significant challenge even for professional dog trainers. Working in public with a lunging barking dog can be embarrassing; even dangerous. That’s why we created our semi-private Growly Dog classes. These unique classes provide several advantages over private training programs for dog aggressive dogs:

Safety: We hold the classes at our training facilities, so there’s not need to worry about scaring your neighbors or running into loose dogs. We have a strict set of safety policies to make sure that everyone in the class stays safe.
Predictability: To resolve dog aggression, we must work the dogs in scenarios that they can handle without losing control. We use visual barriers and distance to make sure that your dog only sees other dog when he can handle it. You start working with our trainers’ calm well-behaved dogs and progress to working with your classmates’ dogs as you progress.
Focused attention: Solving this problem means that you must learn to read your dog and react to situations with good timing and technique. Growly Dog classes always have a 2:1 dog to instructor ratio. We often do better than that because our trainers love the class so much that they want to come help.
Affordability: Because we offer the class in a group setting, you share the cost with your fellow students, making Growly Dog class significantly less expensive than board and train or private training lessons.

Growly Dog Class Programs

Initial Evaluation: All Growly Dog candidates must be evaluated by one of our owners before being invited to attend the classes. If aggression towards strange dogs is your dog’s only serious behavior problem, then we do a 45-60 minute appointment to evaluate your dog and get you started working on some foundation skills before class. The fee is $115. If your dog displays fear, anxiety, or aggression in other contexts (including aggression towards other dogs in your home), then we do a more in depth evaluation to determine what your dog needs. The full behavior consultation will last up to 90 minutes and the rate is $195.

Growly Dog I: In this 5-week class, we’ll teach your your dog to walk politely on leash while paying attention to you and ignoring other dogs. We’ll also teach you some skills that will help get your dog ready to meet other dogs in Growly II. About half of our students in this class are “frustrated greeters” who generally like other dogs, but become aggressive only on leash. Most frustrated greeters need only this class to solve their problems. Once a frustrated greeter can walk up to another dog on leash in a calm relaxed manner, the aggression disappears. Dogs who get into scraps off-leash usually need additional training. The fee is $350.

Growly Dog II: In this 6-week class, we help dogs whose aggression goes beyond leash frustration to start interacting appropriately with other dogs. We’ll show you techniques for introducing your dog to friends’ and family’s well-behaved dogs in a safe manner that your dog can handle. This class is still mostly on leash, but the dogs interact much more closely than in Growly I. Mildly aggressive dogs who are aggressive only or primarily upon first meeting other dogs often become comfortable enough during this class that they don’t need Growly III. The fee is $350.

Growly Dog III: Dogs who get into conflicts with other dogs even after initial greetings need Growly III. Many of these dogs will never enjoy rowdy free-for-alls like a dog park or day care, but can still learn to have safe friendly interactions with dogs belonging to your friends and family. Our Growly III dogs learn (wearing muzzles when appropriate) to interact and play in a non-aggressive way. You learn how to referee that play and to evaluate it properly so that you can recognize and interrupt potential problems before they get out of control. The fee is $350.

Recommendations

Satisfied Customers

My husband and I highly recommend Training Tracks! We initially met Jeff through a local animal shelter and then started in-home training sessions with our first dog for some behavioral problems. Both Jeff and Mel are incredible trainers and are very personable. Their positive-reinforcement approach is very rewarding for both the person and the dog. When we got our second dog we continued with basic training classes at the West Chester location and were very happy with those as well. I would rec… Read more

Courtney Ress SchankWest Chester, OH

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Tater was our bad little deaf rescue puppy. He barked at everything that passed our window. He pulled us down the street while he chased everything with four wheels, two legs or four paws. Tater would come home from walks with back pockets in his mouth. This was our first dog and we needed help. Training Tracks came highly recommended with special experience in training deaf dogs. They knew how to handle our special needs puppy. With only a few sessions, Tater began to respond amazingly… Read more

Misty and Jordan BroughCincinnati, OH

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As behavior consultants, Mel and Jeff Silverman have offered a service to this area that is invaluable. All new puppy examinations in my office include my suggestion that they attend puppy socialization classes. At my veterinary clinic we notice the puppies that have had this training because they are better balanced and are much more easily handled. They truly make better family members. I can be assured that those puppies that have enjoyed Mel and Jeff’s input will be much better appreci… Read more

D.C McGrew, DVMOxford, OH

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I brought my 8 week old puppy to Training Tracks at the recommendation of my vet. I was a new dog owner, terrified and annoyed and wondering if my hyperactive, mouthy puppy was normal. The folks at TrainingTracks helped me and my dog transform from a newbie pair to a happy team! I was so pleased with our experience in the puppy class that I returned again and again for more advanced training classes, and now my dog is a Canine Good Citizen and works as a therapy dog in my psychotherapy practice.… Read more

Siri HoogenOxford, OH

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Dear Fellow Veterinarians, I would like to recommend Training Tracks for use in your practice. I really do feel that their pet training abilities have been invaluable to my practice and to my clients. We started recommending them to our clients several years ago. We received impressive comments and results from our clients and patients. We now include their very helpful and informative handouts and brochures in our puppy folders. We have also worked very closely with them with problem do… Read more

Donald E. Alford, DVM, Westside Animal HospitalHamilton, OH

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Our rescue dog had some serious behavior problems. We hesitated to use Training Tracks because we didn’t understand what clicker training was. We are so glad we did not let that stop us because we ended up loving the positive reinforcement approach and found it to be very effective. Mel and Jeff are not only great at training dogs but wonderful at helping the humans understand the reasons behind the technique so you can apply it at home and in unanticipated situations. Before going to Trai… Read more

Bernadette UngerOxford, OH

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When we brought Weezer home from the shelter, he had an unfortunate habit of nipping hard enough to draw blood. This was unacceptable around my grandchildren (ages 8 months, and 4, 8 and 9 years). The nine year old lives with me, and the others visit frequently, so I called the shelter and made arrangements to return Weezer. However, I’d heard of good results with board and train, and decided to try that before giving up on Weezer. Training Tracks has been wonderful with him—no more bi… Read more

Liz LedbetterMonroe, OH

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We needed personalized, in-home training for our 2 female dogs who fought with each other and who needed to be prepared for the arrival of a baby. We got help with these issues and so much more. Through the patience and knowledge of Training Tracks’ trainers, our girls are now well behaved and play happily as ‘sisters’. And, not only did we receive in-house visits, Training Tracks was available by phone for questions in between training sessions. Thank you for changing all of our lives!

Elizabeth and Chris TaylorOxford, OH

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