I have a 17 month old male gsp and I sent him for one month with a local trainer when he was 15.5 months old. I was leary at first but I knew he needed some better whoa training then I was giving him. I already had him doing everything else but I was getting a little burned out and there is tons of stuff I needed to get done around the house. So I sent him to a gentlemen who I had already met with and sized up and he was exactly what I was looking for. He didn't sell me any BS and he believed in the slower approach vs. force/speed training. I was staying away from anyone who was going to put alot of pressure on my pup since TIME was not a concern to me as much as quality training and a happy pup. Well he did great and he got my pup started on whoa and now it is up to me to pursue it and add distractions to tune it. Also, this trainer told me right away that the first week with the pup will be bonding with absolutely no training, just fun (which I liked). I guess the main thing with me was not money but the well being of my pup which I am sure is everyones concern. My wife wasn't too keen on the idea at first since he is our child to us, but after I took her to meet the trainer and see his place she finally felt better. Now that we have him back we can see he did some maturing and self growth while he was there in that short time since he didn't have his momma spoiling him. It was definately a bonus and gave us sometime to breath. Hope this helps.