Help with new trainer

[Dogfolks]

We live in Costa Rica and have 6 dogs - our newest is Linda the Rottie. She is now 3 mos old and FANTASTIC!! http://www.rottweiler.net/rottie/biggrin.gif

I imagine she gets plenty of "dog socialization" with our other family members and she is with us at work and around other people all day. We located a trainer who I instinctively liked and we are taking her there when she is 6 mos old. He would like her to stay there without any visits from us for the 1st 3wks then after that we can visit as much as we like. I have a few questions:

1. She sleeps with us right now is she going to be traumatized staying in a strange kennel for 3 wks? No warm "mommy and daddy" to snuggle with?

2. Has anyone heard of this method before?

Thanks!


[This message has been edited by Dogfolks (edited September 08, 2000).]

[Ladybeth1]

How long is this training program? I don't like the idea that you can't go and visit for 3 weeks?? That just doesn't sound right to me. The training programs that I've seen where you leave your dog, you are able to visit as much as you like.

May I ask why you selected this type of training. No offense, but I just wondered if you thought of training her yourself, with a private in house trainer. In this program, the trainer comes to your house, and trains you to train your dog. That way the dog learns to take the commands from you, and you learn how to control your own dog. Does the program you selected train you how to give the commands after they've trained your dog?

I can't answer about how your dog will feel after being with you, then being away for three weeks without seeing you. I would imagine she might feel abandoned, but as I'm no expert, I can't say for sure, just my opinion.

[suzanne611]

I would never leave my dog for training with anyone for that lenght of time(unless I could figure out how to hide a nanny cam on him) The only place they stay when we are away is at my vets where all the staff knows and likes them. Even then I call.

[Judi W]

I am very suspicious of a trainer who is going to be doing things with your dog that he doesn't want you to see. Please refer to Augustus's Mom's posts regarding sending a young pup off on such a program. If this is such a fine trainer, I am sure he has a program where you come with your dog and have training sessions. You build the relationship with your dog and your dog learns to work with you, not a trainer. You are the one who is responsible for your dog's behavior and well-being. In the meantime, get some books and read, read, read on dog behavior and on training so that you will have some understanding of the process and the dog. You are concerned about whether she will miss sleeping on the bed. That could be the smallest of concerns. Again, please look at Augustus's Mom's posts.

[Augustus`s mom]

PLEASE don`t leave your dog with a trainer. You don`t know what goes on when you`re not there, and even if the training goes well, your dog won`t know that YOU are the leader. He will think of your trainer as the "alpha" leader. The only way is for both of you to train together. That way your dog learns that your his master, and you`ll learn how to give the commands etc. Believe me, I`ve been there.

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[Dogfolks]

May I ask why you selected this type of training.

Living in Costa Rica we don't have as many trainers as in the US. We do plan on asking him if he has an option to train at our house or if we can bring her to him daily.

Do you (or anyone) know how long typical training sessions are? ie. If she needs to be there all day is it every hour for 10 min or does this depend on the trainer?

[Dogfolks]

Thank you all for your advice. My husband and I don't feel entirely comfortable leaving her alone, especially after spending so much time on this forum and reading many many books on the subject.

I think the ideal situation would be to have the trainer train US and Linda at the same time.

[Judi W]

Good plan. The dog is your responsibility and should remain in your keeping. Learn as much as you can about training so you will recognize what the trainer is trying to do, and also recognize when something might be counterproductive. You are the one who is going to be living with this dog for the rest of her life, not the trainer.

Remember this is a very young pup. Make sure the training meshes with her temperament and age. Good luck.

[Dogfolks]

Today we are just going to let Linda meet the trainer and discuss our options. The actual "real" training he said would begin when she's 6 mos or ready to begin. He actually seems very competent. He believes in positive reinforcement, I like the training methods we discussed when we first met him the only thing I did not like was leaving her. If anyone is interested he has a site www.losgandules.com

Thanks again for all of the input! :-)

[Dogfolks]

We just returned from the trainer - who isn't even actually the person who trains, he is the owner. We happened to arrive during a training session and the "handler" was yanking constantly on the dog's leash - I have read about leash correction but this looked pretty extreme. So after seeing this and after reading your comments(especially all that happened to August's mom) we decided to continue our search for a trainer that will work with us.

So anyone out there know of trainers in CR let us know. :-)

[Ladybeth1]

I'm glad you trusted your instincts and made the decision to look for another trainer. I realize training methods differ in each country, but I just felt something was not quite right that you could not visit your dog for 3 weeks. You would have no idea what they were actually doing with your dog during that time, and that's pretty scary.

Good luck on your search for a trainer. Until you find one, you might think about reading some training books, or purchasing training videos, if you haven't yet done that. Let us know how it goes.