Puppy obedience

[roxyluv]

Let me preface this thread by explaining that I am bit of a perfectionist when it comes to things, so I tend to get frustrated when I don't have control over a situation......having said that, Roxy (17 wks now) had her first obedience class last week and it was really discouraging! All of her training went right out the window -- all she wanted to do was play with the other pups and people.

This was actually the second class, but we were told not to bring Roxy to the first orientation class. Only three people actually followed directions though, so most of the other participants actually got to work on preliminary training that first night with the added distraction of the other pups around.

So back to our class: Roxy would intermittently pay attention to us and listen, but overall seemed more concerned with the other pups/people. And then the trainer would come over, say one word, and Roxy would immediately respond to her. We'd try the same thing and she'd ignore us. It was so frustrating. This woman must be some kind of dog whisperer :lol:

I would pull on her leash and harness to get her to come back over to me, and the trainer would say I need to get out of that old school way of training, that pulling her in the direction I want will not train her. I completely understand that, but she just WON'T pay attention unless she's facing me. But the trainer insisted that I must get out of the habit of pulling on the leash.

I actually got so frustrated at one point, and since I couldn't pull her toward me with the lease, I kind of swung her around with my foot to get her to focus on me. The trainer saw it, and said I can't ever do that again either. :lol: I was very gentle about it, but in retrospect not the most logical thing to do. I just wasn't thinking logically at that point.

My boyfriend thinks I'm overreacting and thought my frustration was hilarious (because it's so out of the ordinary for me). He thinks Roxy did great in class given the circumstances, but I feel like she should have done better. And now I've got a dog trainer who must think I am totally incapable of handling my dog.....

When I think about the situation with a level head, I realize that Roxy is just a pup, and that all of the pups in class were probably doing the same, and that everyone gets discouraged from time to time. But then the perfectionist in me comes back and wants desperately to get Roxy to follow all my cues and commands, like she does at home. I realize that this is MY problem, not Roxy's problem. And I want this class to be a great learning experience for Roxy.

For any other overachievers/perfectionists out there that have done obedience with their frenchies -- what helps keep you grounded when you're frustrated? Is it normal to get discouraged if she isn't paying that much attention to me right now? Does everyone feel frustrated in classes at first, or am I just a maniac? :eek: I would really appreciate some feedback.....

[roxyluv]

Thanks for your guidance! I am a new mom, and I want everything in Roxy's life to be absolutely perfect, and I know I sometimes get a little too carried away/nervous/worried. I want to make sure she is well socialized, trained, and completely happy and healthy, and it is my responsibility to do this as her "mom."

I can't even imagine what I'll be like if/when I have a child of my own....I'm bad enough with Roxy :D

[gmacleod]

I wouldn't be in the least worried, nor discouraged by that. In short, her behaviour is absolutely normal for a young puppy. Puppy kindergarten classes do not exist for the purpose of really training your pup. They are for the primary purpose of socialisation. And that socialisaton is absolutely invaluable at this age - so don't worry that she's not paying much attention to you, be more concerned that she gets an opportunity to interact with other puppies. That is the value of puppy classes, and it's something difficult to replicate. The secondary purpose is teaching *you* how to train your pup ;)

99.9% of the actual "training" is going to take place out of class. The trainer will give you lots of helpful hints on how to train your puppy, and can let you know what you're doing well, and where you're going wrong. And that's great :) Take the knowledge on board, and apply it in short training sessions at home. But don't worry if you have trouble getting your pup's attention in class - that's normal. It's a big wide world for a little puppy, and new people and other puppies are more interesting than you are (sorry ;)).

But look at it from the pup's point of view - she knows you. And she quite likely knows "sit" too. So that's boring now - while the new person or puppy just over there are very exciting. It's the same for all of us - and quite demoralising when a bit of paper blowing around, or a spot on the floor can capture the attention of your pup, despite the lovely hotdog you're waving under her nose. But don't be discouraged by that - it's actually a good thing. Let your pup take in all the new sights and sounds and smells, and interact with the others. Keep up her training at home, and in time you'll be able to get her attention in class too :)

[FrankEinstein]

My wife and I had a very similar experience with our 4 month old, Sugar. It's not exactly that we're perfectionists, but Sugar actually picked up worse habits, like begging for food, from her puppy manners classs. We weren't overly impressed, and most of the time during class was spent on socialization. Sugar already gets that for free in the small dogs section of our local dog park. We also noticed that the trainer used every other dog but ours for examples. We would have liked to see her get Sugar to come, sit, and lay down! At one point, the trainer berated this other young woman for not feeding her dog before class. The poor woman had been told conflicting information from her breeder about feeding (i.e. that you should not feed a puppy at regular times if you are not going to later have a set schedule). The young woman nearly broke down and said that she didn't even want this puppy, that someone had given it to her because she had just recently put down her longtime Malamute companion. I can just say that we were glad that we weren't paying for the lessons (they were gifted to us).

Overall, the trainer wasn't bad, despite her abrupt manner, but we saw no benefits to the class, and Sugar would come home with an upset tummy from all the treats everyone would feed her, despite our protests. The other owners in class spent the whole time petting Sugar and saying how cute she is, and meanwhile our puppy wasn't even getting a chance to socialize. We would definitely like to find a better trainer in Seattle, so if anyone happens to know of one, please let me know.

Frank

[ev960d]

Last Sunday, we attended our first obedience class. Surprisingly, Cola who is almost 8th mth did quite well. Honestly, I was the one who wanted to chicken out from the class in the first place. :lol:

There was a schnauzer in his class who can't stop barking...OMG, I suspected Cola picked up the bad habit :eek: ...he doesn't bark usually, but last night, when my husband left him alone at home, he started to scratch door & bark & bark... :mad: We decided to do a test and leave him in e house after his walk. We hid at the corridor..and there he started to bark again! ahrr~~~so naughty!

I'm getting worried abt our neighbours...I don't want to receive warning letter from AVA (Agri-food & Veterinary Authority of S'pore)...Any advise on how to deal with barking?

Esther

[Roland]

I know this thread is old, but I must say thank god I am not the only one experiencing this frustration! Yesterday was B.B.'s last day of puppy kindergarten. We had to demonstrate everything she'd learned in front of the class, and we completely blew it! She'd had it-I guess. She didn't want to "down" on the cold tile even though she "downs" pretty good now. My young niece has even gotten her to "down" for her at the dog beach with lots of distractions all around. But yesterday she simply wouldn't perform. I guess she didn't want to do it. She was too distracted and she just plain didn't want to do it.

[Netty]

Loui is attending training classes as well and I must honestly say that he has the ''sit" command to perfection and he is a pro with the "come" command. We are now working with the "stay" command and "heel". Although he is a little behind than the other pups in class, I know that with consistency and patience he will get the hint.

He will definitely not do the "lay" command at all, probably because he figured that he is short enough so Why do it? :rolleyes:

[noelle]

netty! i'm in the same boat with the biscuit. "come" and "sit" are good. "stay" is great for a short period of time (like 20 sec. max). "heel" he seems to understand.

"lay down"/"down" is another matter entirely. i think it requires two people: one to hold the treat, the other to put him into position. it's so tough! if anyone has tips for "lay down", bring em on!

[roxyluv]

Roxy will only do "down" when she is on carpet or grass. She doesn't like the cold tile on her belly. She NEVER did it in puppy class, until I told her trainer, who then whipped out a small piece of carpet for just the occasion. And right away, Roxy did it. So if you haven't been trying on carpet/warm floor yet, that's what I would recommend while you work on the command. Roxy will do it now on tile, if she really wants the treat I have.

On another note, it's been awhile since I was able to post, but Roxy graduated from puppy class....I had trained her to sneeze on cue for her graduation performance, but something in the store spooked all the dogs right before they went and all of them were completely distracted. At least it wasn't just Roxy. She ended up doing "sit pretty," though, which everyone thought was great too.

Puppy class was a great experience though, even when Roxy was distracted by the other pups and wouldn't listen to anything I said. :o