About Whispering Oaks AKC DOG TRAINING

Whispering Oaks is a boarding-and-training operation, and the format matters more here than it does at most places in the area: dogs come to stay and the training happens during the stay, in the trainers' own home rather than in a class you drive to each week.

What they teach

The published range runs from basic and intermediate work through off-leash advanced and e-collar training, with behavior problems and aggression handled as well. Temperament testing is offered. They describe using what they call Praise Motivated Dog Training, tailored per dog rather than a single program applied to everyone, and the site is pointed about it, saying every dog is an individual and that it does not use a one-size-fits-all approach to training.

Handover and the guarantee

The part of this that is unusual is the handover. The site describes a three-to-four hour session it calls Train the Trainer, in which the family is taught what the dog has learned before the dog goes home, down to children of five years old. It also publishes an unconditional guarantee, saying that if they do not train your dog you do not pay for the training. Boarding without training is offered only to dogs that have trained there before.

Where they are

Worth confirming when you call: its address is in Murrayville, while the site describes the training facility as 11 fenced and cross-fenced acres in Dahlonega.