training a puppy

I should call.  I DO know that they have obedience courses available in my area, but I have not called any yet.  Cost is not important to me, really. I mean, it can't cost TOO much but I am expecting to pay a good amount for good training.  Obedience training is very important to me as I see that my mother's dog SOOO needs training.  He tears her house up if she doesn't crate him before she leaves.  He goes MAD and chews the wood trim around the doors, chewed the metal door knob up on her front door, chewed through her metal blinds, chewed through her vetical blinds AND chewed through his first crate (and he's only a bearded collie).  Anyway, I don't want my dog doing that stuff. 
I keep telling her she needs to either get her dog some training or make the decision to give him to a bearded collie rescue.  <---the last part I say because she has medical issues that doesn't allow her to have the energy to take care of the dog (in my opinion, I know, I probably sound mean) the way he should be taken care of.  I know that sounds awful for me to say, but I really take getting a dog seriously.  If I were to take in a stray, if I couldn't afford to take care of him, I'd give him to someone who could.  She doesn't abuse the dog and he doesn't go unloved, but he has anxiety issues and needs training and she keeps putting it off.
 
 

I don't really understand this trend of taking very young puppies to training classes. Dogs, particularly very young dogs, learn best in very short training sessions conducted in very quiet and non-distracting environments. A one-hour training class with fifteen squealing puppies does not meet these requirements. I've always found it worked much better to teach the dog all of the basic commands at home, then work on proofing them in more distracting environments like the park and the pet store, and only when the dog was around six months old, has basically mastered all of the basic commands, and has learned how to pay attention, focus, and work, is it a good idea to go to a formal class. The dog is ready to be successful in such an environment.
 
You do realize that even if you do go to a class, most of the training will be done at home, by you? it's much cheaper to buy some good training how-to videos and books than to pay for a series of classes.

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

I don't really understand this trend of taking very young puppies to training classes. Dogs, particularly very young dogs, learn best in very short training sessions conducted in very quiet and non-distracting environments. A one-hour training class with fifteen squealing puppies does not meet these requirements. I've always found it worked much better to teach the dog all of the basic commands at home, then work on proofing them in more distracting environments like the park and the pet store, and only when the dog was around six months old, has basically mastered all of the basic commands, and has learned how to pay attention, focus, and work, is it a good idea to go to a formal class. The dog is ready to be successful in such an environment.

You do realize that even if you do go to a class, most of the training will be done at home, by you? it's much cheaper to buy some good training how-to videos and books than to pay for a series of classes.

 
 
I do realize that I would have to work with my puppy at home.  But I didn't think about really buying training how-to videos and books.  But, that is why I am in this thread.  To learn about these things.[]  Which do you recommend?
Being a first time dog owner (not counting dogs I had as a child as they weren't really my responsibility), it's important for me to learn everything I can so that I can do things as appropriately as possible.
 
oh, and I just read on a breeder's site that in order to get puppy to stop biting, bite its lip back until it yelps.  They said that it isn't cruel to do that to a puppy since the mother bites puppy when it gets out of line.  Well, maybe not bite, but nip.  Whatever, same thing.  I don't know about all of that...what's your guys' thoughts on it?