Oh yes, we've been to several.

First off, we went to an obedience school led by a renowned dutch dog trainer, called "Martin Gauss".

http://www.faunalandwinkel.nl/foto/martin%20gaus.jpg

Martin has a fine school, based entirely on creating a friendly bond with your dog. Cookies, praise, clickers, everything friendly. That worked to some extent for our dog, a dalmatian with a very, VERY strong mind of his own.

Here's a pic of our dog, Spike:
http://webzoom.freewebs.com/chrisnicole/spike.jpg
You can see his strong mind just by looking at him there.

This was a mild success, but only as long as Spike enjoyed it. When he got bored, he just stopped listening.

So, after a year, we switched schools, to a way more stronger and tougher school. When not listening, he was 'dealt with'. He was thrown to the ground, and definitely put on his place. He squeeled a few times, but boy, did he listen!

Now, a couple of years later, we still use those strong techniques every now and then. If he eats something from the street, I battle him to get it out of his mouth. If he growls to another dog, I throw him to the ground, with his paws in the air. This only happens every few months, when he 'forgets' what he learned. Apart from that, he is the best friend in the house, a playful and active dog.

So, for our dog, the tough classes worked better, even though I would have wanted the easy school to work better. For some dogs that will be enough, and I would always try that first.

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