Has anyone done St. Hubert's Basic dog training in Madison, NJ?

We just signed up and were curious any thoughts. We just completed the Puppy training at PetSmart in Millburn, and while we definitely enjoyed it and thought the teacher (Bill) was quite knowledgable, the small space in the store in which the lessons occurred was so confining that it tended to make our puppy overly distracted by the other dogs. It seems like St. Hubert's is done outdoors? Is there a bit more space to roam, etc.? How did you enjoy the training? Does it make sense for us to go from Puppy training (at PetSmart) to Basic training (at St. Hubert's), or will this be overly redundant? Thanks for any thoughts -

- Alex

We took our dog to many of the various classes at St. Hubert’s, and were extremely pleased every time. So much so, in fact, that my wife eventually worked her way into becoming a trainer there. (She has since made a complete career change into professional dog training, although she has moved on from St. Hubert’s.)

Some of the classes are indoor, others are outdoor. The indoor classes are in large rooms, and class size is limited in order to assure ample room for each participant. 

The information and techniques taught in basic training classes varies widely enough that you will almost certainly learn new things even if you’ve completed basic classes at other facilities. In fact, it is not unusual for people to repeat the same classes at the same facility from time to time. Sometimes even with the same teacher(s).

Long story short, if you liked the PetSmart classes, I think you’ll be happy with the St. Hubert’s classes, too.

Enjoy.

One difference between Petsmart and St. Hubert's is that St. Hubert's does not allow interaction between the dogs. Our experience at Petsmart included some downtime with the dogs playing. At St. Hubert's, the dogs are enter one at a time and there is always lots of space between dogs. We liked both programs.