Do Puppies Really Need Training Classes? What the Research Says

I’ve noticed a bit of a change over the last few years.

More and more people are telling me they’ve decided not to take their puppy to a training class because they’re getting all the information they need from social media.

I understand why – There is a HUGE amount of information out there. If you’ve had dogs all your life, you’re confident training behaviours and you’ve watched approximately 14,000 puppy training videos online, you might think:

“What exactly am I going to learn at puppy class that I can’t learn online?”

Well… quite a lot, actually.

Puppy classes are about more than teaching your puppy to sit

A good puppy class isn’t just about teaching a set of behaviours such as sit and down. It’s an opportunity for your puppy to learn how to behave when there are other dogs, other people and distractions around them.

Because a puppy who can sit beautifully in your kitchen isn’t necessarily going to be able to do it when another puppy is bouncing around six feet away!

They learn that other puppies exist without every puppy being their new best friend. That other dogs can be nearby without needing to interact with them. That they can pay attention to you when exciting things are happening.

And sometimes, that the best thing to do around other dogs is simply… nothing.

You also get someone experienced watching your actual puppy. Someone who can spot when they’re becoming overwhelmed, help you understand what you’re seeing and tweak things for the individual puppy in front of you.

That’s something a video can’t do.

There is research behind this too (for the geeks amongst us!)

This isn’t just me saying that puppy classes are useful because I run puppy classes :0)

A 2021 study involving 1,023 dogs found that dogs who had attended training by six months of age had lower odds of several reported behaviour problems later in life, including aggression, compulsive behaviour, destructive behaviour and excessive barking.

An Investigation into the Impact of Pre-Adolescent Training on Canine Behavior – PubMed

Another study looking specifically at puppy classes found more favourable adult behaviour scores in dogs who had attended classes, including for trainability, nonsocial fear, touch sensitivity and familiar-dog aggression.

Association between puppy classes and adulthood behavior of the dog – ScienceDirect

Now, this doesn’t mean that attending puppy class magically produces a perfect adult dog. It doesn’t.

There are lots of factors involved in how a puppy develops, and these studies don’t prove that puppy classes alone caused the differences.

But they’re certainly interesting, and they reinforce the idea that what puppies experience early in life matters.

So where does social media fit in?

I’m not anti-social media.

Quite the opposite.

There are some fantastic trainers and behaviour professionals sharing genuinely useful information online, and it’s never been easier for owners to learn about positive reinforcement, enrichment, body language and dog behaviour.

If a video helps you understand your puppy better or gives you something useful to practise at home, brilliant.

Keep watching.

But please be careful about who you follow.

Sadly, some of the biggest “names” in the dog world on social media aren’t necessarily the most knowledgeable about dogs. Some are much more presenters than trainers.

And social media rewards things that look good on camera: quick fixes, dramatic transformations and flashy behaviours.

But what looks impressive in a 30-second video isn’t necessarily what’s best for your own puppy.

Teaching a puppy to calmly watch another dog from a distance isn’t particularly flashy. Helping a nervous puppy feel safe enough to approach something at their own pace doesn’t make for a very dramatic before-and-after video.

But those things matter.

So don’t just look at the number of followers. Look at their qualifications, experience, methods and the advice they’re actually giving.

So… can social media train your puppy?

Yes. It can certainly help.

I’d much rather see people actively learning about their dogs than following outdated advice simply because “that’s how we’ve always done it.”

But I don’t think social media can completely replace good, face-to-face puppy training.

Your puppy isn’t learning in isolation. They’re learning how to cope with the world around them. And that’s much easier to practise when the world is actually there.

So watch the videos. Read the books. Listen to the podcasts. Follow the good trainers.

But if you can find a well-run puppy class with a properly qualified trainer, using kind, evidence-based methods, I’d still strongly encourage you to go (hint hint, I run them :0).

And if you’re not sure who to follow on social media, drop me a line. I’d be more than happy to point you towards some good people to follow.

And if you’d like to join fun, well-run puppy training classes with a qualified trainer and behaviourist, with over ten years’ experience and hundreds of puppies helped, you can find out more here