Trainer thinks we need a behaviorist...

[hmeadq]

Thanks everyone.

We made an appointment for a "private lesson" with her as she has a lot experience in training Rotties and other dogs (through a local Shutzhund club I guess.)

So I think it will be useful to get her opinion on him and how we can work with him, if we are doing everything right and all that. But when I spoke with her she thought that what we needed was more training. She is going to pull out a couple other dogs for him to interact with, but does not think, based on what I said that he has agression issues. She also said he is an age when Rotties can start to show a stubborn streak, she said there are some things we can do help him and us through them.

You are right, I cannot wait for March to come! I'm sure that he will do fine. My fiance' told me the other day that in the next couple years he would get me a dog I could "do all that stuff with" (meaning CGC, Rally, CD, agility, ect) because he did not think Doc was it. But I have not given up on him yet. He's just started his training, and so have I.

Thanks for your support everyone!

[Judi W]

Good heavens. I am actually startled by this. Why couldn't Doc do these things?

[hmeadq]

I think it just seems like a very long path from where he is now to get to that. But I look at how he is for an almost 8 month old, and he is by far the best behaived puppy I've ever had, and better then most I've known.

I think he would be close for his CGC now once we can get him to not bounce in front of people so worried about wether or not they will pet him! He also still occassionally jumps up, but a lot less.

I haven't given up on Doc getting these yet! I know he can do it, at a minimum CGC and Rally Novice.

[Judi W]

I thought perhaps he was crippled or something.

Any dog you get is going to need training and time to grow up and learn just as Doc does. Unless you get an already trained adult, the path is the same. Doc is not slow. The training however has indicated unrealistic expectations by putting him in a position of being asked to do things he is not ready for. That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with Doc, but that the training is a bit screwy. You would be seeing the same results with any other dog that you are seeing with Doc with this jumping ahead too quickly. Relax, trust your dog will get it with proper teaching from you. Stop asking him to know more than he does. He's just learning the alphabet and certainly not ready to read War and Peace.

[2rotties2luv]

Oh my gosh. If I had been told that about my male rottie, Jazz, when he was a pup, I'm not sure what I would have done! Jazz was very slow to mature, both mentally and physically, but mostly mentally. I learned very quickly from a wise trainer to be patient with training him and not to expect more than he could handle at each level of training. I used lots of positive rewards, with my words, attitude and voice, as well as treats. I truely believed (and I still do!) that he is the best dog in the whole wide world, and he really responded to that! We repeated beginners, advanced beginners, and intermediate obedience classes SEVERAL TIMES each until he learned everything at those levels. Then we started on novice classes. I had him in training classes continuously until he was almost 4 yrs old, at which point he had mastered all of the novice exercises. As an adult, he is well trained, well behaved, freindly, intelligent and has impeccable manners. He has worked for almost 6 years as a therapy dog. Yes, it took a long time and it was a lot of work, but I could not imagine a better dog.

Do not give up on your pup. Take it one step at a time and be patient. If you believe in him and let him know it, he will keep trying to work harder and he will love it. If you punish him for not learning or remembering what he is not yet ready to master, he will only learn to hate training and obedience classes, and that would be to the detriment of both of you.

[LynnS]

I totally agree with Judie and 2rotties2love. I have thought once or twice that if I knew how much time and patience was involved in training a dog to a competition level I am not sure I would have ever started LOL - Now I am hooked but it is a journey you and your dog undertake together and it is unfair to the dog to have expectations that are not realistic. Especially with a puppy.


The joy really is in the journey though and I get tremendous sense of accomplishment in seeing the progress we make though it is not a linear progression.