Sigh...

[BusyBee]

Well as I suspected would happen we were asked not to attend the final exam for Silver Award This is because Sam barks and whines through out the class and 'unruly dogs' are not allowed to take part in the come away from distraction part. I'm really disappointed because Sam is so good at all the tasks he can even do the come away from distraction, i am just unable to keep him quiet!

To add to my disappointment I have asked many times for the instructor to come and do 1 to 1 with us and show me how to control his barking but she just keeps saying that he'll probably grow out of it and just to keep socialising him with dogs and introducing him to new places.

So at a loss at what to do I had a behaviourist visit a couple of days ago, who said Sam had high level excitement coupled with an element of anxiety he suspects that the problems were probably caused by the training class!!! The class I went to did not allow the dogs to have contact with each other so Sam was getting more and more excited and the anxiety comes from me and my attempts to keep him quiet...like using the water spray (the instructor insisted that I used it) He did some exercises with us, like opening the door to visitors and stopping Sam from jumping all over them, basically trying to teach me to stop Sams excitement levels from getting too high. Worked marvellously while he was here but I haven't pulled it off since he left!

So feeling a bit confused about everything now... it seems I can't do right for wrong! And with all my best intentions I've actually created a problem! I was aware that doggy socialisation would be difficult for us which is why Sam has gone to class almost every week since he was 10 weeks old...now I discover it wasn't the right thing to do at all...

So I have booked another session with the behaviourist....my hubby would lay an egg if he knew how much I've spent on Sam luckily for Sam he is worth every penny

[jesterjenn]

I find when Jess gets yappy in class (I swear she's not a GSD deep down lol), I get her to watch, and that gets her focus on me, and keep treating and praising for quiet. She only normally yaps when she's bored though, so getting a toy out to play with her works as well

You could maybe try getting him to do little "tricks" (down, sit, paw, touch, watch etc) when he starts his noise so he has something other than the dogs to focus on (I don't know how you have been advised to handle it though, so sorry if you've heard it before)

[Stuart]

I can understand your confusion,..the instructor asked you to continue to socialise Sam with other dogs,....yet the class would not allow any contact between the dogs in the class.

This I cant understand, classes are not just to teach a dog to sit, stay and and be good,.. the class is also there to teach the dog manors when meeting other dogs,..our class had the first 10 minutes of dog play before any training began

I can well understand Sams frustration, he would soooo much have wanted to sniff around the others

[zetstaff]

Go to another training class Sally, not letting you take part is crap, our trainer + Gloria's actively encourage interaction with other dogs, in our class we all handled each other's dogs, all dogs got on well + we all passed

They're stealing your money + are scared of dogs interacting, you don't need to spend shedloads on a behaviourist, you just need a trainer who does what it says on the tin!!!!

Good luck hun xxx

[nisbreagha]

I'd try a different class. At my classes I do all the obedience stuff that is required for assessments etc but make sure we do at least 1 socialisation exercise per class so that the dogs learn to relax in class and be comfortable around other dogs and people. Make sure if you change classes that before you sign up you visit and watch a class or two. I encourage people to come along and view a class before joining so they are comfortable with what a class is like and our training methods, I also do an assessment on all new dogs over 6 mths so that I know that they are being put into the right class and so that I can figure out any issue if there are any and help them find some solutions, it also gives me time to talk about feeding, exercise and just their general understanding of what owning a dog means to the handler and the family. I've only been running the classes for a year and a half and it's a voluntary thing but one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done and I'm learning all the time and just about to finish my instructors course and hope to do further training so I'm always challenging my knowledge and understanding of training methods.

[jc24965]

The current training class doesn't sound very helpful in my opinion. I would definitely try a new class.

[gsdstewart]

...when Sheba was 6-8 months I went through the training dilema...the post will be on here...I went to one class and paid up front and got sprayed in the face by the trainer...say no more..I was battling with Sheba at this age.. she was defiant..I had taken her to training from the age of 12 weeks...mainly to make sure she was socialising with other dogs..after the final class I decided that I was happy to bypass the training classes as I was getting more stressed...as I couldn't find classes in my area that suited...so I will be revisiting and in the mean time I make sure that I keep on top of general commands and try and meet as many different dogs that I can and approach different situations as possible..sometimes things don't feel right..go with your gut feeling I say...You sound like you are already doing a great job...

[DelsMum]

Funny how people like different classes for different things. I am avoiding 'puppy parties' and the such like the plague as I don't want Jack thinking he can just go bowling up to every dog and they will be friendly. My trainers way of doing things works for me, different strokes for different folks etc but they put a lot of emphasis on obeying commands in distracting environments and using each other as the distraction. On one particular course I did with them the end test was my worst nightmare lol a practical walk round the grounds with booby traps. all the other trainers were everywhere with their dogs, one was even playing fetch across the flipping path. We had them on bikes, with push chairs, in cars stopping us to ask for directions, dressed in hi vis stopping for a chat.....you name it, it was in there and I had to keep JL under control on a long line. I'm still not quite sure how we did it!
In the basic classes we do things like meet and greet where you walk towards your 'partner' shoulder to shoulder with dogs on the outside and ask them to sit or down while you have a 5-10 second conversation. Very handy IMO if you can get them into that kind of thng really early.

[BusyBee]

I think it's the same class...as she does spray the owners too! and we are not allowed to speak to her in class only by email! As Sam is my first pup I thought that the 'no dog contact' in class was normal...grrr could kick myself

[gsdstewart]

[QUOTE=DelsMum;256451]Funny how people like different classes for different things. I am avoiding 'puppy parties' and the such like the plague as I don't want Jack thinking he can just go bowling up to every dog and they will be friendly. My trainers way of doing things works for me, different strokes for different folks etc but they put a lot of emphasis on obeying commands in distracting environments and using each other as the distraction. On one particular course I did with them the end test was my worst nightmare lol a practical walk round the grounds with booby traps. all the other trainers were everywhere with their dogs, one was even playing fetch across the flipping path. We had them on bikes, with push chairs, in cars stopping us to ask for directions, dressed in hi vis stopping for a chat.....you name it, it was in there and I had to keep JL under control on a long line. I'm still not quite sure how we did it!
In the basic classes we do things like meet and greet where you walk towards your 'partner' shoulder to shoulder with dogs on the outside and ask them to sit or down while you have a 5-10 second conversation. Very handy IMO if you can get them into that kind of thng really early...

...the training sounds great..I wish I had classes like that in my area...but hey..I do the conversation everyday with the lollypop lady...get Sheba to sit..as she hates gsds...she always remarks...hez getting bigger...and everyday I say its a She!..cannae be bothered with the chat but its good for Sheba to stay and sit...lol