Starting Obedience classes...

[Brooke&Ryan]

Have a blast!!! :) Let us know how it goes.

:)
Brooke

[Luvs]

Have fun at class!! Let us know how it goes. :D

[i_love_my_rott]

Well we went to class... it was interesting to say the least. There were many more dogs that they first stated. we had the ones i said eariler but they added 2 goldens, 2 boxers, 1 king charles spanial and 1 german shepard. I am not to sure about some of the stuff they are teaching... They have us do submission training with them, where you stand with your dog between your legs and you wrap your arms around their front legs and lift them off the ground, and another one where you more or less knock the dog on its side and hold them by the scruff of the neck until the stay still. and the last one Which about got a guys face taken off by HIS boxer, you sit with your feet straight out in front of you and with the dogs head against your chest, roll them over on their back between your legs and hold them down till they give in, the male boxer wanted no part of that and was VERY close to taking his owners face off, they had him follow through with the exercise but you could tell it scared the crap out of the guy. Other than that it was fun, and Kumho even got to help demonstrate a little bit. They were very impressed with how easy going he was so that was a plus. So anybody have any input on these submission exercises?? I don't mind it with Kumho because he was very easy going with it, but they want us by the end of the class to have our dog hold the one where they are on their sides for 30 minutes to graduate :( i am not sure that is going to happen. The people have been training and showing dogs since the early 70's and i have heard from lots of people nothing but praise. So let me know what you all think. Thanks

[rottnkidd]

This sounds like a Household class to me. The "submission" exercises are sometimes called "leadership" exercises.
The Household class is fine for a dog to learn 'basic' manners, but if you plan to show in formal Obed., you'll need to look into those classes next.
Best wishes -
kathy

[excellrott]

Submission exercises sound weird to me. I don't think that I would try them with some dogs I know. There are better ways to get your dog to look up to you.

[DNeff]

I'd find another class.

IMO training should be about building a trusting relationship with your dog. Those exercises, can actually erode trust with some dogs.
It's fine to teach your dog to settle, etc... but the methods they are employing aren't the way to go about it.

Good luck!

Dawn + Osa
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[i_love_my_rott]

Thanks for the input everyone, I am going to give it a couple more classes and see how it goes, this is a class where no refunds are givin so i would be out 75 dollars, not that 75 would make up for the loss if my dog would no longer trust me but, we have a special bond and i can do ANYTHING to or with this boy, This sort of submission stuff i have done with him before when he was younger(at the time i didnt realize that is what it was) so he is very calm when it comes to that stuff he thinks its more cuddling time i think. This "school" does all of the 4-H training and they have a doggie drill team and such, i was trying to find a website but all i get is articles about their drill team and about the animal shelters they work with. ANyhow, thanks again for the input, i will take it one class at a time and see how it goes, Oh i have no plans on showing him in OB, but my daughter is going to get into 4-H when she is older and would like to use him for "her dog" . i just thought this was a start toward something special for me, my dog and my daughter to do together :)

[Cassandra]

Something to remember, you don't have to do anything you don't want to or don't feel comfortable doing while in a class. If you break your animals trust, it's so hard to get it back. No training session is worth that. If something doesn't feel right just sit that one out and watch.

[k&s]

Here's my take on this. It does not sound like a great class, but it sounds as if it is convenient for you to attend this one and you seem to have a handle on what is good for your dog and what is not. It is probably also good exposure and socialization for your dog. So, I would attend the class but have in your mind what is good for your dog and what is not, and trust in your gut if something does not seem right. Do the things you feel comfortable with and don't do what you think might not be good for your dog. If it gets to the point where they want to kick you out of the class for not going along, then fine. But in the interim, get what you can out of it, and focus on getting as much as you can from it for your dog's training.

[i_love_my_rott]

Hi everyone just wanted to update you all on how our training classes are going.....

Kumho seems to be responding very well. While at class he doesn't seem to want to pay attention to me but when working at home, its a whole other ball game. Does everything when told the first time. We are working on Sits and Stays right now. So far we have worked on controled walking which i have to say was a MESS lastnight. None of the dogs at class wanted to walk. He lost intrest in his treats about 10 minutes into the class. He had not been fed since 9am so i know he had to of been hungry. He was just more interested in the other dogs. They really don't have a pattern of walking we all just walk what ever direction we want so we are always crossing paths with another dog.

They got the tunnel out for agility lastnight..... Kumho didn't want to get out!!! Everytime we went past it, he was trying to go in. They finally had to take it down and put it away.
There are WAY to many dogs in this class i think, and only 2 instructors so you don't get very much 1-on-1 time. But they do work will all the dogs through the night. Even if its just a couple minutes.

The owner who had the boxer about take his face off, is still there. He and his g/f each traded dogs, the Male boxer responds better to the girlfriend than he did the the man. We haven't had any troubles with any dogs in class showing aggression, since the first night.

Well thanks all for the tips and such, I also told the instructors i WILL NOT participate in the submission stuff and they were fine with that, so we just sit down and watch everyone else. thanks again everyone for the tips