[Roxy]

How many have been to Obedience classes with your dog? Did you take your puppy to puppy classes to be socialised?

I didn't take Roxy for any training till she about 16mths old, so her training is so much harder, but worth it. Marlee started puppy classes at 12 weeks, and she is doing great.

 

[Kasco]

We took all of ours to puppy class for socialization. It was alot of fun. I wish I had continued. I'm looking for a good trainer for Chops right now.

 

[i love remy]

I took Bella to obedience class for 4 weeks when she was 6-7 months old. It was an 8-week class, but she had surgery on her paws halfway through and couldn't attend classes for a couple of weeks, so I pulled her out before she got a chance to graduate. I haven't put her back in. I wasn't impressed with the class at all, though. This was a "leash jerk" class, and I'd rather have a more positive class; I don't like correcting a dog that doesn't have a solid grasp of a command. That class is supposed to be "the best in town," and that has gotten me really discouraged as far as our training options around here go!

 

[attitude]

my first dog, Bo, never had any formal obedience . chance started ob classes when he was 7 months old more for me to learn than him. willy was, more or less, trained at home. altho i did "steal" mat time at local training faucilities for the distraction aspect. izzy has been home schooled, :lol: , since the day she got home at 8 weeks. we do train ob at the field but again that is, more or less, to proof for distractions .

 

[Zoe'sMom]

We started Zoe at Petsmarts puppy class, but were very unhappy with it. Their sites says that they socialize the pups, but during the entire class they were never able to touch or socialize with one another. We then moved her to a different puppy class and we loved it. It was very positive, there was lots of treat based commands, then after each exercise the pups ran around (leash attached, but dragging) and they all played together. The instructor was very careful to ensure that none of the pups were scared (hiding under a chair) or that there was nothing too rough going on. The dogs loved it and the owners did too. Was a good balance between instruction and play for short attention span puppies.

We are now in a obedience class. There are a lot of dogs with "behavior challenges" in the class, so the instructor is much more on guard and it is not as much fun.

 

[Roxy]

I took my GSD to one of those 8 week cousres, during which time she was attacked twice! This is why I didn't rush Roxy into training. Some Trainers do not have enough experience to teach.

This class I'm in now, there is no time limit, there are advance classes. There is no hardship if you can't show for a few weeks. Membership was £20 and £5 per lesson you attend after that. Not bad, plus the instructor gets to belittle you when you do something wrong....bless him lol

 

[Diane-n-Ana]

We take Ana to puppy socialization 1 to 2 times per week. I have so much fun there, I'd go even if I didn't have a puppy, LOL! And at $5 per session, how can you beat that? She's learned quite a bit, too: she started out being scared of all the other pups, and now she gets right in there and plays with everybody.

When she's old enough, we'll take her to obedience classes, too. I think I'd like to put her through every class they have, especially the more 'fun' classes like flyball and one that teaches them to find stuff using their nose.

 

[Roxy]

We take Ana to puppy socialization 1 to 2 times per week. I have so much fun there, I'd go even if I didn't have a puppy, LOL! And at $5 per session, how can you beat that? She's learned quite a bit, too: she started out being scared of all the other pups, and now she gets right in there and plays with everybody.

When she's old enough, we'll take her to obedience classes, too. I think I'd like to put her through every class they have, especially the more 'fun' classes like flyball and one that teaches them to find stuff using their nose.

Flyball was something my trainer suggested, but I took a look at it and thought to myself 'Roxy would go demented after a few session at that :lol: So instead I've opted for strong stays and nice neat close work.

I'm enjoying puppy classes, Marlee is quite bold and I'm so glad of the advice my trainer has given us, I ask him random question of things marlee does, which I wish I had when Roxs was little

 

[newpitowner]

I'm taking Sam, tomorrow will be her second day. I'm not sure how I feel about them, (the trainers) they seem nice enough but aren't familiar w/ Sam's breed. Trying to find someone I could get to in a reasonable amount of time AND that I could afford was difficult. There was a member on the board (name slips my mind but he's got the Kung Fu avatar) gave me a name and number and I'm definetly impressed but she lives so far away and is rather pricy. So I thought I'd go w/ what I've got now - $45 for 4 sessions? - and if I'm not pleased I'll look into finding a way to work w/ this lady. DH will FLIP when he hears about how much $$$ it will cost, but I really really want a well behaved dog - one that will put everyone at ease and LISTEN when spoken to. Hey, everyone has their hobbies right? Make fun of me if u will (which my family goes to great lenghts to do :roll: ) but everyone else around me is getting a degree in something or just working their minds while I stay at home, in a trailer w/ four children under the age of 7. Forgive me for wanting to DO something that has some challenge in it.

Sarah

PS Yes children are challenging however the results from such an endeavor are more like 20 - 30 years in the making, a dog you can see some results in a much smaller span of time IMO. Sorry for the vent, it just came out.

 

[Roxy]

I'm taking Sam, tomorrow will be her second day. I'm not sure how I feel about them, (the trainers) they seem nice enough but aren't familiar w/ Sam's breed. Trying to find someone I could get to in a reasonable amount of time AND that I could afford was difficult. There was a member on the board (name slips my mind but he's got the Kung Fu avatar) gave me a name and number and I'm definetly impressed but she lives so far away and is rather pricy. So I thought I'd go w/ what I've got now - $45 for 4 sessions? - and if I'm not pleased I'll look into finding a way to work w/ this lady. DH will FLIP when he hears about how much $$$ it will cost, but I really really want a well behaved dog - one that will put everyone at ease and LISTEN when spoken to. Hey, everyone has their hobbies right? Make fun of me if u will (which my family goes to great lenghts to do :roll: ) but everyone else around me is getting a degree in something or just working their minds while I stay at home, in a trailer w/ four children under the age of 7. Forgive me for wanting to DO something that has some challenge in it.

Sarah

PS Yes children are challenging however the results from such an endeavor are more like 20 - 30 years in the making, a dog you can see some results in a much smaller span of time IMO. Sorry for the vent, it just came out.

I'm with you on the training, I love my saturday mornings with just me and the dogs! We go to the park cafe after and have a brunch. I'm also entering my gilrs into some fun competion soon for staffys. She will probably enter in the fancy dress part, but next time it will be for OB.

And children...I have two teenagers, One I offered anger management, he said it would do me good ! and my baby of 19mths old is a challenge, but there is no reward, whereas with the dogs they love the lessons and rewards is having a dogs I can trust and they show me respect!

 

[Lisa]

Puppy socialization classes I have never done. I feel if you find it important to socialize your puppy with other dogs (which I don't anyways) you can do this for free by walking them through Petsmart.

With Rosco I went to 3 or 4 different "OB classes" before I joined my first Schutzhund club. 2 of the "instructors" (there is a reason why I put the word in quotes) were a complete joke and did not know what the hell they were doing at all. One was a total fraud and the the other had just got an inheritance and bought a home and kennel from a well respected local trainer. He went from being a student in the mans class to running the show. Unfortunately I did not find this out until after I completed the course. All he did was stand in the middle and tell us "forward" and "halt" etc. He did aboslutely nothing to help teach us as handlers. The last ob class I attended was led by a retired Schutzhund trainer. It was better and at that point I finally started making some progress. I don't go any more really since I go to the club instead and his classes are now on the same day as the club, but on the odd occassion I will pop in and train my dogs there so I can take advantage of the different distractions.

Smooch was pretty much home trained. I did all the training myself although I did bring her to that ob class a few times and of course I get a little help from my trainer but for the most part all the training she has so far was done on my own.

I think ob classes are very important for novice trainers, however finding a qualified trainer can be tough since there is really no governing body. Anyone can run an add or make a flyer advertising their services as a "trainer" (beleive me I found out the hard way). Some teach only using positive some using only negative which obviously is not good since you need a balance of both.

I have spent my share of time taking these classes and did benefit from a couple of them but from this point on I will train my dogs myself. If I run into difficulty I have the help of my trainer at the club. The club I train at currently is actually the only place I have went that I feel has the perfect balance when it comes to training positively and negatively. I really wish I would have found these people sooner. I really wasted the first 2 yrs of Rosco's life working with crap trainers.

 

[PaulaEdwina]

All my dogs have been through obedience with the exception of Nandi who came to me (a return to rescue) at age 9 and a little timid. She sits, downs and walks on lead. That's good enough for us. My other dogs have all got their CGCs. Amrika has no training other than she's learned sit/stay for meals. But she is very smart and I would love to do agility with her ultimately. I'm going to start her off at PetSmart most likely since it's a great socialization place because it's so busy. I've trained many dogs so I don't really need the trainer to be obi wan kenobi or anything - I'd be using the class as a regular practice and socialization for her. I'd like to do a cgc on her and then, like I said, agility.

Paula

 

[Roxy]

All my dogs have been through obedience with the exception of Nandi who came to me (a return to rescue) at age 9 and a little timid. She sits, downs and walks on lead. That's good enough for us. My other dogs have all got their CGCs. Amrika has no training other than she's learned sit/stay for meals. But she is very smart and I would love to do agility with her ultimately. I'm going to start her off at PetSmart most likely since it's a great socialization place because it's so busy. I've trained many dogs so I don't really need the trainer to be obi wan kenobi or anything - I'd be using the class as a regular practice and socialization for her. I'd like to do a cgc on her and then, like I said, agility.

Paula

What is CGC ?

 

[Broadband Bully]

I'm looking to put Gemini in some classes, so if any1 can recommend any in central Jersey it would be appreciated

 

[Lisa]

A CGC is a Canine Good Citizen test. It is through the AKC. It is VERY basic obedience. I went through the paces with Rosco a couple years ago. It really is ob in its most basic form and quite truthfully anyone who owns a dog should be able to pass it.

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm

 

[PaulaEdwina]

A CGC is a Canine Good Citizen test. It is through the AKC. It is VERY basic obedience. I went through the paces with Rosco a couple years ago. It really is ob in its most basic form and quite truthfully anyone who owns a dog should be able to pass it.

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm

I don't really see it as very basic obedience and that anyone who owns a dog shoudl be able to pass it for a couple of reasons:

It is true the leash walking and sit/stay stuff is very basic, but you have to be able to leave your dog with a stranger and go out of its view for a period without the dog fussing, you have to be able to meet someone with another dog without the dog fussing, a stranger has to be able to handle your dog, and your dog has to be able to tolerate distractions like a person in a wheelchair or on crutches withotu much fussing.

All those are personality proofs that not every dog with obedience training can do.

Paula

 

[Roxy]

A CGC is a Canine Good Citizen test. It is through the AKC. It is VERY basic obedience. I went through the paces with Rosco a couple years ago. It really is ob in its most basic form and quite truthfully anyone who owns a dog should be able to pass it.

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm

What age would you expect a dog to pass this? Say if you had bought an 8 week old pup.

 

[PaulaEdwina]

A CGC is a Canine Good Citizen test. It is through the AKC. It is VERY basic obedience. I went through the paces with Rosco a couple years ago. It really is ob in its most basic form and quite truthfully anyone who owns a dog should be able to pass it.

http://www.akc.org/events/cgc/training_testing.cfm

What age would you expect a dog to pass this? Say if you had bought an 8 week old pup.

Yoshi did his at 9months, but in all fairness his personality wasn't really established. I should have done it later since it is a good personality test. Mine were the culmination of an obedience class.

Paula

 

[Lisa]

I agree with Paula. I think there should be an age limit. Say 18-24 months or somewhere in there. That way the dogs true temperament is establsihed and any faults/issues the dog has in terms of its temperament will be exposed. (fearfulness/shyness).

That being said, I probably could have done it with Smooch when she was 6 months old or so. Obedience wise she was ready, its really a piece of cake . You don't even have to "heel" your dog so to speak, just have the dog walk close to your side. I think you have to put your dog in a very short sit or down stay then either go pick it up or call it to you. The dog must be able to walk past another dog without acting aggressively and remain with a friendly stranger without freaking out while you are out of sight for a few minutes. It is obedience is the most basic form and any dog with a sound, stable mind should have no problem passing it.

 

[PaulaEdwina]

"dog with a sound, stable mind "

That's the key. I like the CGC for that. It is not as much a test for obedience as it is for mental soundness. I think it's a good precedent if you ever have an issue with your dog (a run in with someone or someone's dog) to say that your dog has hsi CGC.

Paula