I personally am anti shock collar but thats a debate for another day.
Training the dog imho is WAY more about training you. Dogs respond to consistency.
We go to class every week and have for each dog while in early stages and do training every day. We do training with the dogs every day because its a mental exercise for them, and it reconfirms all the training we have done up to that point. Training each day is about 20-30 mins a day. Its always a positive experience, and they love it.
We are currently using http://www.posidog.org/ and i like it ther, but wish it was a bit more structured. Oddly, we have had great training at Petsmart, but we may have been a bit more focused there. They have done a great job with somethings we hadnt thought of before but something about it just doesnt strike me right.
They do have a Rowdy and Reactive group i have heard NOTHING but great things about from PetPromise Fosters though. Maybe the puppy group isn't the right group for us, but that has been historically what was used through our fosters
Our next round of training we may try another trainer who is also in hilliard, but i cant think of their name right now.
Congrats on the new dog!
The cats should be kept in a spare room till they are all acclimated to each other.
Feed the dog near the cats room door (in front if there is no reaction the the cats on the other side) Do this for a few days (introductions should be done slowly.. lots of patience) let them get used to each others smells in positive ways...
feed the cats near the door too.
If the dog is reactionary to the door where the cats are.. move the food and start over farthere away from the door.