Dog Training In Phuket

[Bonita]

I was in HomePro Village in Chalong on 24th December and there was a guy doing some dog training with someone. I should have thought to ask at the time what his details were but didn't. Would anyone know who this was, or if it was you, please contact me as a friend would love some lessons for their dog.

[MisterMan]

Perhaps it was Russell..

Heard good things about academy already.

http://www.tk9a.com/

[DougLee]

There is only one that is known, its in phuket town(or koh sirey) in the complete middle of nowhere... Gotta drive like 25km in the jungle from phuket town center..

[steelepulse]

I've taken all my dogs to the phuketdogschool.com in Koh Sirey which is run by K Vichai. Some like their style some don't, but I've never had a problem with them. Nice to know there might be some competition, but looking at the mentioned website they could put up some more info about their facilites and location. Without this info, it appears that he is just doing outcall training and doesn't have a facility. Some local recommendations would also be nice, but when starting a new business, you have to start somewhere.

[canineworld]

I've taken all my dogs to the phuketdogschool.com in Koh Sirey which is run by K Vichai. Some like their style some don't, but I've never had a problem with them. Nice to know there might be some competition, but looking at the mentioned website they could put up some more info about their facilites and location. Without this info, it appears that he is just doing outcall training and doesn't have a facility. Some local recommendations would also be nice, but when starting a new business, you have to start somewhere.

Hi All,

Let's see if I can answer some questions for you! Firstly I do have a training facility based on Kwaang Road for my in kennel programmes, but I also run training programmes all over the island for private clients. Whilst I do a fair amount of training at my facility, I also like to get dogs out and about with their owners in "real" situations. It's great to have a dog that sits in your kitchen, but it's a even better to have a dog that will sit outside with you when cats, kids and bouncing balls are flying past.

I've been working with dogs for over 15 years and last year spent 8 months in the US studying canine psychology and training with some of top trainers in the world and am certified in AKC obedience training, as well as scent detection and search and rescue training. As a certified canine behavioural psychologist, I also work with clients to help counter unwanted behaviours - as well as general training.

If you have any questions or queries - please feel free to get in touch, either here by PM, .....

Thanks!

Russell - CTBS

Edited December 28, 2010 by LivinginKata
email removed as per forum rules

[Igaar]

Russell is good. He has my vote

[katabeachbum]

I've taken all my dogs to the phuketdogschool.com in Koh Sirey which is run by K Vichai. Some like their style some don't, but I've never had a problem with them. Nice to know there might be some competition, but looking at the mentioned website they could put up some more info about their facilites and location. Without this info, it appears that he is just doing outcall training and doesn't have a facility. Some local recommendations would also be nice, but when starting a new business, you have to start somewhere.

Hi All,

Let's see if I can answer some questions for you! Firstly I do have a training facility based on Kwaang Road for my in kennel programmes, but I also run training programmes all over the island for private clients. Whilst I do a fair amount of training at my facility, I also like to get dogs out and about with their owners in "real" situations. It's great to have a dog that sits in your kitchen, but it's a even better to have a dog that will sit outside with you when cats, kids and bouncing balls are flying past.

I've been working with dogs for over 15 years and last year spent 8 months in the US studying canine psychology and training with some of top trainers in the world and am certified in AKC obedience training, as well as scent detection and search and rescue training. As a certified canine behavioural psychologist, I also work with clients to help counter unwanted behaviours - as well as general training.

If you have any questions or queries - please feel free to get in touch, either here by PM, .....

Thanks!

Russell - CTBS

happy to read you like to get dogs out and about with their owners.

while its easy to train a dog to do stunts in a closed environment, its actually the dog owner who needs to be trained to communicate with his/her dog in all kind of environments. When they both can walk through bangla road or a gang of street dogs still doing stunts, dog and owner have come a long way

[F1fanatic]

Russell is good. He has my vote

And mine!

We visited Phuket Dog School once, looking for a place that would help us train our 'soft' dogs. Our visit was entirely unexpected (we just turned up), and were horrified to find all these dogs chained to posts whilst one dog was being trained.

Having said that, I'm sure they're great if you have a dominant dog (or the normal breeds that can cause trouble - rottweiller, German Shepherd etc.).

We decided it was entirely wrong for our dogs and a few years later I heard about Russell.

He was great and I thoroughly recommend him.

[steelepulse]

Nice to hear the recommendations about Russell and I wish he would have done some more promotion to announce an alternative, but what do you propose a kennel does with dogs besides either have them leashed outside or kenneled inside. I'm no expert but I highly doubt you can let 50 dogs run around freely in an enclosed pen.

[katabeachbum]

Nice to hear the recommendations about Russell and I wish he would have done some more promotion to announce an alternative, but what do you propose a kennel does with dogs besides either have them leashed outside or kenneled inside. I'm no expert but I highly doubt you can let 50 dogs run around freely in an enclosed pen.

having 50 dogs chained to posts while one is being trained is excellent training. the dog being trained learn to focus on his tasks in a noisy and stressfull environment, ready for sukumvit or bangla.

and all the chained dogs are eager to prove they will be better when their turn comes up

obidience competition basicly work like this. one is competing, 50 are watching

[canineworld]

Nice to hear the recommendations about Russell and I wish he would have done some more promotion to announce an alternative, but what do you propose a kennel does with dogs besides either have them leashed outside or kenneled inside. I'm no expert but I highly doubt you can let 50 dogs run around freely in an enclosed pen.

having 50 dogs chained to posts while one is being trained is excellent training. the dog being trained learn to focus on his tasks in a noisy and stressfull environment, ready for sukumvit or bangla.

and all the chained dogs are eager to prove they will be better when their turn comes up

obidience competition basicly work like this. one is competing, 50 are watching

Don't mean to completely rain on your parade, as there is some truth in this - BUT the dogs needs to be gradually introduced to various levels of distraction - rather than "flooded" with it. Plus, dogs actually learn with pictures. So whilst they may over time learn that whilst chained to a tree, they can be calm and behaved whilst other dogs are running around - it doesn't prepare them for the different picture of being outside with an owner with other dogs running around!

Competitive Obedience training starts like everything else, at the bottom with basic training - one should start in a distraction free environment and build a solid foundation. From there, once the dog has an understanding, you can raise the bar and introduce various distractions, add distance and introduce duration.

[katabeachbum]

Don't mean to completely rain on your parade, as there is some truth in this - BUT the dogs needs to be gradually introduced to various levels of distraction - rather than "flooded" with it. Plus, dogs actually learn with pictures. So whilst they may over time learn that whilst chained to a tree, they can be calm and behaved whilst other dogs are running around - it doesn't prepare them for the different picture of being outside with an owner with other dogs running around!

Competitive Obedience training starts like everything else, at the bottom with basic training - one should start in a distraction free environment and build a solid foundation. From there, once the dog has an understanding, you can raise the bar and introduce various distractions, add distance and introduce duration.

agreed, basic communication and knowledge is needed before distractions are introduced

In a society like Phuket, where people from all kinds of cultures behave differently towards dogs, I find it important for dog and owner to meet as much people in different settings as possible

[BeckySuchner]

I like to share my experience with PIDS (Phuket International Dog School) in Koh Sirey.

We have to beautiful Goldeb Retriever girls and when they were puppies, we decided

they need some basic training. After searching and finding out there is only one place

to do so, we took them to PIDS. Since they were older then 6 month they were supposed

to stay for 3 month. It was hard to say goodbye, as we were a bit scared about all this

pitbulls, Rottweilers ect. being around them. But the owner said we could come and

visit them anytime and thats what we did after a week. We were shocked to find our

little once in bad shape. One of them is a very picky eater (unusual for Goldens, but thats

how she is). She was skinnier then ever and lost lot of hair. They seemed scared and

were overexcited to see us. So next thing we know is, that Dog (our second Golden) comes

walking over with her "trainer" on a choke chain (which we asked before NOT to use) and

sees us. She jumps up and down and is so excited and the trainer hits her on the head!

That was the second thing we asked them not to do, as we never hit them before and even

by now they are still scared, if you move up your arm like you want to hit them. We took them for

a walk and that is when we figured out Dog had a big wound on her back. We straight went to the

owner and "trainer" and asked what happened. Nobody could tell us what happened and we had

the feeling they didn't even see it before we showed them. Now the wound was all yellow and

infected, so it was not just happened, as one of the guys there said. We decided to take them

back home and went straight to the vet. They both had lost weight and the wound was either

from another dog biting her or from hitting her. Thats the information we got from our vet. It took

us a long time to get our dogs trust back and I do not recommend that place for family dogs at

all. I rather have a naughty dog at home (which they are not) then having them go through 3

month of horror. Our girls are now 2 1/2 and apart from digging holes all over the garden and

being overexcited if someone visits, they are the most nicest dogs ever. We love them!

[Igaar]

I like to share my experience with PIDS (Phuket International Dog School) in Koh Sirey.

We have to beautiful Goldeb Retriever girls and when they were puppies, we decided

they need some basic training. After searching and finding out there is only one place

to do so, we took them to PIDS. Since they were older then 6 month they were supposed

to stay for 3 month. It was hard to say goodbye, as we were a bit scared about all this

pitbulls, Rottweilers ect. being around them. But the owner said we could come and

visit them anytime and thats what we did after a week. We were shocked to find our

little once in bad shape. One of them is a very picky eater (unusual for Goldens, but thats

how she is). She was skinnier then ever and lost lot of hair. They seemed scared and

were overexcited to see us. So next thing we know is, that Dog (our second Golden) comes

walking over with her "trainer" on a choke chain (which we asked before NOT to use) and

sees us. She jumps up and down and is so excited and the trainer hits her on the head!

That was the second thing we asked them not to do, as we never hit them before and even

by now they are still scared, if you move up your arm like you want to hit them. We took them for

a walk and that is when we figured out Dog had a big wound on her back. We straight went to the

owner and "trainer" and asked what happened. Nobody could tell us what happened and we had

the feeling they didn't even see it before we showed them. Now the wound was all yellow and

infected, so it was not just happened, as one of the guys there said. We decided to take them

back home and went straight to the vet. They both had lost weight and the wound was either

from another dog biting her or from hitting her. Thats the information we got from our vet. It took

us a long time to get our dogs trust back and I do not recommend that place for family dogs at

all. I rather have a naughty dog at home (which they are not) then having them go through 3

month of horror. Our girls are now 2 1/2 and apart from digging holes all over the garden and

being overexcited if someone visits, they are the most nicest dogs ever. We love them!

Very scary stuff! Good that you got them out

[katabeachbum]

Very scary stuff! Good that you got them out

I am happy someone posts experiences on how training of dog and dogowners is NOT supposed to be done.

In my homecountry basic training is done by owners and dogs meet once or twice a week. One or two experienced trainers guide the others. Some dogs need to be isolated (around the corner) to be able to focus, and then gradually coming back to the group again. Group gradually needs new visitors (preferably other breeds), before dogs and owners are ready to mingle in new areas as "bangla road or sukhumvit"

[canineworld]

The only thing that 2 dog trainers will ever agree on, is what the 3rd one is doing wrong...

Anyway, whilst it's not my place to comment on the methods, or practices used by another training school, I would say that using a generic format doesn't work. All dogs have different personalities and temperaments, and whilst the learning theory is largely the same, the methodology may differ. Training dogs can be time intensive for owners, which is where in-kennel programmes can be beneficial, but weekly private or group classes are equally as good - just depends how much time owners can commit to a training programme!

Feel free to message me if you have any queries!

[katabeachbum]

The only thing that 2 dog trainers will ever agree on, is what the 3rd one is doing wrong...

Anyway, whilst it's not my place to comment on the methods, or practices used by another training school, I would say that using a generic format doesn't work. All dogs have different personalities and temperaments, and whilst the learning theory is largely the same, the methodology may differ. Training dogs can be time intensive for owners, which is where in-kennel programmes can be beneficial, but weekly private or group classes are equally as good - just depends how much time owners can commit to a training programme!

Feel free to message me if you have any queries!

anyone who can not spend an hour a day training/playing with his dog, should not have a dog

[steelepulse]

A very sensible post canineworld. I'm not supporting PIDS by any means,but 8 years ago I had two dogs go through basic and security training and I did not see any of the things that the first time poster mentioned in this thread. Two years ago I put one more dog through and I currently have another one in training. All have been doing great and the only reinforcement I saw at the school was positive reinforcement. Perhaps the disgruntled poster's dogs weren't the right temperament for the environment they were put into by their owners.

Canineworld I'll look forward to speaking with you about training in the future. Also canineworld if you could expand your website on services offered, prices etc. that would be beneficial for those looking for an alternative to PIDS.

[DougLee]

I like to share my experience with PIDS (Phuket International Dog School) in Koh Sirey.

We have to beautiful Goldeb Retriever girls and when they were puppies, we decided

they need some basic training. After searching and finding out there is only one place

to do so, we took them to PIDS. Since they were older then 6 month they were supposed

to stay for 3 month. It was hard to say goodbye, as we were a bit scared about all this

pitbulls, Rottweilers ect. being around them. But the owner said we could come and

visit them anytime and thats what we did after a week. We were shocked to find our

little once in bad shape. One of them is a very picky eater (unusual for Goldens, but thats

how she is). She was skinnier then ever and lost lot of hair. They seemed scared and

were overexcited to see us. So next thing we know is, that Dog (our second Golden) comes

walking over with her "trainer" on a choke chain (which we asked before NOT to use) and

sees us. She jumps up and down and is so excited and the trainer hits her on the head!

That was the second thing we asked them not to do, as we never hit them before and even

by now they are still scared, if you move up your arm like you want to hit them. We took them for

a walk and that is when we figured out Dog had a big wound on her back. We straight went to the

owner and "trainer" and asked what happened. Nobody could tell us what happened and we had

the feeling they didn't even see it before we showed them. Now the wound was all yellow and

infected, so it was not just happened, as one of the guys there said. We decided to take them

back home and went straight to the vet. They both had lost weight and the wound was either

from another dog biting her or from hitting her. Thats the information we got from our vet. It took

us a long time to get our dogs trust back and I do not recommend that place for family dogs at

all. I rather have a naughty dog at home (which they are not) then having them go through 3

month of horror. Our girls are now 2 1/2 and apart from digging holes all over the garden and

being overexcited if someone visits, they are the most nicest dogs ever. We love them!

These are the most beautiful goldens i have seen in thailand, i sure wish you had one for sale for my little boy and to torture my cat

[canineworld]

A very sensible post canineworld. I'm not supporting PIDS by any means,but 8 years ago I had two dogs go through basic and security training and I did not see any of the things that the first time poster mentioned in this thread. Two years ago I put one more dog through and I currently have another one in training. All have been doing great and the only reinforcement I saw at the school was positive reinforcement. Perhaps the disgruntled poster's dogs weren't the right temperament for the environment they were put into by their owners.

Canineworld I'll look forward to speaking with you about training in the future. Also canineworld if you could expand your website on services offered, prices etc. that would be beneficial for those looking for an alternative to PIDS.

Thanks for that - am in the process of updating info and pictures for the website to launch for New Year so will keep you posted. Appreciate your point about previous posters dog not being the right temperament for the training they were enrolled in, however, the owner should be expected to know that. It's the job of the trainer to assess each dog and identify the best way to work that dog, to get the most out of it and keep it motivated to learn. I find it interesting here that they are "security" dog courses. Pet owners do not need specialised protection dog training, or it they feel they do, then the owners need training in how to handle the dog properly- otherwise it can be dangerous! Most people just want a dog that will bark and notify them if people are at the gate, or jumping over the fence.

Anyway, thank you for your comments and suggestions, likewise I look forward to speaking with you in the new year!

[F1fanatic]

I like to share my experience with PIDS (Phuket International Dog School) in Koh Sirey.

We have to beautiful Goldeb Retriever girls and when they were puppies, we decided

they need some basic training. After searching and finding out there is only one place

to do so, we took them to PIDS. Since they were older then 6 month they were supposed

to stay for 3 month. It was hard to say goodbye, as we were a bit scared about all this

pitbulls, Rottweilers ect. being around them. But the owner said we could come and

visit them anytime and thats what we did after a week. We were shocked to find our

little once in bad shape. One of them is a very picky eater (unusual for Goldens, but thats

how she is). She was skinnier then ever and lost lot of hair. They seemed scared and

were overexcited to see us. So next thing we know is, that Dog (our second Golden) comes

walking over with her "trainer" on a choke chain (which we asked before NOT to use) and

sees us. She jumps up and down and is so excited and the trainer hits her on the head!

That was the second thing we asked them not to do, as we never hit them before and even

by now they are still scared, if you move up your arm like you want to hit them. We took them for

a walk and that is when we figured out Dog had a big wound on her back. We straight went to the

owner and "trainer" and asked what happened. Nobody could tell us what happened and we had

the feeling they didn't even see it before we showed them. Now the wound was all yellow and

infected, so it was not just happened, as one of the guys there said. We decided to take them

back home and went straight to the vet. They both had lost weight and the wound was either

from another dog biting her or from hitting her. Thats the information we got from our vet. It took

us a long time to get our dogs trust back and I do not recommend that place for family dogs at

all. I rather have a naughty dog at home (which they are not) then having them go through 3

month of horror. Our girls are now 2 1/2 and apart from digging holes all over the garden and

being overexcited if someone visits, they are the most nicest dogs ever. We love them!

Your experience is precisely what I feared when visiting the 'school'.

As I said in an earlier post, owners with a breed of dog that needs a lot of control would probably be OK - but I wouldn't have left my 'soft' whippets there!

[BeckySuchner]

These are the most beautiful goldens i have seen in thailand, i sure wish you had one for sale for my little boy and to torture my cat

Thanks for the compliment and they are indeed very cute. Maybe one day we will find a "partner" for them and if we ever

have puppies, I will let you know. Gotta go, as the 2 are going bananas on the neighbors cow ;-) He puts the cow next

to our house on a field to eat and my 2 girls don't like it at all.

[tolsti]

I have heard nothing but good about Russell.... and as an extra service he will play a dedication on the radio to your dog !!!