Obedience classes inevitable?

[badbl00d]

I'm new to the forums and just like to ask afew questions before I buy this gorgeous female rott I saw. Is it inevitable to send the dog to obedience training? Maybe I could train the dog myself? If the dog's going to be with me since its 8weeks.. it will learn all it can from me. And sooner or later, we'll be respecting each other and she'll learn to take commands from me. Is this possible? And why is bringing a dog to obedience classes still the best way? I'm not trying to defy anything.. I just want to know :) I'd appreciate your advise.

[miccmill]

Obedience classes serve a number of purposes.

You will be the trainer of your dog. The classes are actually for you.

Your trainer will teach you things about reading your dogs body language. He/She will teach you things about what YOUR body language means to your pup.
You will learn how to get and keep your pups attention and how to make "training" fun for your pup.
All excersices will be broken down into age appropriate pieces that allow you to always "succeed". The bond you build with your pup working like this will set you up for other things you may want to do together in the future.
You and your pup will also have the benefit of watching all others in the class receive instruction. Your pup will be around other dogs and people which is an important addition to the huge amount of socializion your going to be doing anyway.
Just the relationship you build with your pup through the experiences you have in a class will be worth going.
Good luck with your new puppy. Enjoy.

[RottiMomCT]

It's not inevitable, but it is almost always the wide choice to take the dog to formal classes.

I have trained Ben, thru classes, but would never think of using what I've learned to train Baron. I've used what I've learned to HELP me train Baron, but we're in formal classes.

A training class will also get you out of the house once a week - to a place where you can meet other dog owners, and your dog will learn how to pay attention to you and behave when other dogs are around.

Plus, training classes are FUN!

[Roscoe's dad]

I agree with the 2 previous posts, but my only question is, are there a lot of training facilities in Singapore like there are here?

[TrishB]

Obedience classes offer an environment that you cannot easily create at home. You need situations where there are other people, other dogs, noises, smells - all of these distractions so that they can learn to work with the distractions around them.

I know of people who have trained their dogs and very nicely I might add, without any formal classes. Either due to lack of availablility or transportation, etc. However you need to be very diligent on creating situations where the dog learns to be confident and trust in your judgement - regardless of what is going on around them.

Classes are a wonderful place - because you are surrounded by other doggy people with the same goals. So they'll understand if your dog is hyper at the beginning of class. Whereas strangers in a park might not be as understanding.

Positive Obedience classes are the way to go. All is not lost if you can't get to them - but your work load is much more difficult. There are many books (just do a search for books here on the forums) that can help you if you can't get to classes - please look them up!

Best of luck.

[badbl00d]

Oh that's cool. Singapore has very limited training classes. And they cost a bomb! I live in an apartment but its pretty big, not with a basement of a 2nd storey though but its alright. 3 of us in the family.. feels really lonely. So i thought why not introduce a new member to the family and show some love. lol, ;-) would space be a big problem? The house is big but not big enough for it to sprint crazily..

[Judi W]

I know the commercial training places would cost a fortune, but look around and see if you can find a dog club. I suspect there should be one and they might have some kind of training group and even if not, it will give you some contacts who are interested in dogs.

[Canadianrotti]

I am working with my 2nd dog now in formal training classes. I plan on having more in the future, and every one of them will go through classes. I always learn something new every class I take, even if I have done the class before. A couple of times now, I have repeated a class just so that I could get a better handle on how to do it right.

Dogs (Rotti's in particular) are very smart, and pick up on all kinds of signals that we don not even know we are doing. Having a person on the outisde looking in, helps to point out these things.

As for the space, I live in about 1,000 square feet (in a basement) with 2 large dogs. It can be done, but you will have to make a few adjustments, like daily walks and such.

Good luck, and keep us informed as to how it goes!!