Beginner Obedience Class Ends on a Sour Note

[mamamia1]

Tonight was Kali's graduation from Beginner Obedience. Kali has done very well throughout the 8 week course and has proved herself to be very steady even at her young age. We practice what we learn daily and are always trying to keep her attention as consistent as possible for a 20 week old pup.

I haven't been very impressed with the class in general but I don't really have a lot of other options where I live so I try to make the best of it. The trainer suggests a lot of old school techniques like ear pinching and rolls for the dogs that are out of control. Thankfully that was not Kali. There was an 8 month old German Shepherd, and a 2 year old Great Dane. Both of which were hard to handle but the Dane was totally out of control throughout. The owners were inconsistent and wish washy at best. The only good part of all this was that while the GSB and the Dane were trying to attack each other I had lots of time to proof Kali's stays.

Well, to make a long story short the trainer was handing out the certificates and the Dane lunged at her and landed one right on the trainers eye. Her eyelid was cut, with blood vessels broken and she had a huge bump started above her eye, black eye for sure. Needless to say that was the end of class, no party, no games.

I can't believe what idiots the owners are for allowing this dog to be constantly out of control. To be honest I do place some of the responsibility in the trainers hands. What a terrible way to end a class.

[Shane]

Wow! Was it an aggressive "attack" kind of bite or a ridiculously out of control dog just jumping up and incidentally injuring the eye? Neither one being good.

Yeah, I'd have no faith in that trainer either.

[mamamia1]

I'm not sure how aggressive this dog really is, but this particular incident was much more "ridiculously out of control" than aggression. This Dane is over 2 years old and still not fixed, and they wonder why they are having troubles "all of a sudden" DUH! I think she was actually coming into heat.

Throughout the classes the trainer never even greeted the dogs once, not one touch! I've been through classes with great trainers who aren't afraid to teach by doing, epecially when the owners are so completely clueless.

I sure hope I can find another class in my area.

[Cdn1050]

Doesn't sound like a very fun class, especially the graduation day. That's the most fun because you do a lot of neat games, and it gives you ideas of things you can try at home in training sessions. I wonder if the trainer gave the owners of the Dane ideas on how to manage this dog's energy. My dog gets excited to go to obedience class, so I start it off with 10 minutes of playing fetch. Since the obedience school moved closer to my home (down the road from me), on days where the weather pemits, we walk to class. When we get there she's slightly tired but still happy and not overly excited to get down to business.

[Obelix]

[quote=mamamia1;821141]I'm not sure how aggressive this dog really is, but this particular incident was much more "ridiculously out of control" than aggression.

This Dane is over 2 years old and still not fixed, and they wonder why they are having troubles "all of a sudden"

Fixing want solve anything.A good consisting training program,people who know how to handle a dog, a lot of training,patience and time will be a greater benefit than fixing.


DUH! I think she was actually coming into heat.

Throughout the classes the trainer never even greeted the dogs once, not one touch! I've been through classes with great trainers who aren't afraid to teach by doing, epecially when the owners are so completely clueless.

I sure hope I can find another class in my area

[fbkeays]

Being intact is NOT the issue. The factors that are relavent is a 2 year old being in a beginer's level. 2. The owners are inconsistant and wishy-washy. An older dog, that hasn't been to training, and owned by people that don't have a clue are the ingredients of the disaster, not being intact. But if you want to blame being intact as the source of the dog being out of control, go right ahead. Keep the urban myth that being intact is the root of all aggressive behavior alive and not the real factors which are idiot owners.

[mamamia1]

My comment on the Dane not being fixed was meant to be more of a reflection on the owners lack of responsibility for the dog and the breed in general. What I didn't mention is these people's intent to breed her, because they want another puppy. They are back yard breeders in the making! As soon as the trainer heard this she was totally shocked. She began to explain to them the that to be responsible to the breed, they need to get their dog hip certified etc. before even considering to breed. They also had no clue that keeping a female intact without breeding increases many health risks.

I am by no means saying that keeping a female intact is "the root of all aggressive behaviour". I don't have the experience or knowledge to make any such statement. I did say that this dog's actions were much more out of control than aggressive.

Just a question, since I don't have the experience myself, wouldn't a dog coming into heat react differently to two other bitches, one of which, the GSD with whom the lunging and barking was happening with, is old enough to be in heat herself?

[Gudrun's Mom]

Sorry to hear about the unhappy ending to your obedience classes. It's hard to train your dog with the aggression going on with other dogs in your classes. I too have had some less than positive obedience classes recently so I can relate to your problem. Like you, we are very limited in this area to obed. classes but I'm seriously thinking of driving to a larger city where I can get more accomplished teachers.

[debbiej]

I have decided that the level of obedience of the dogs in a class is directly proportional to the amount of control expected.

an example; the other night a man brought his dog to training for the first time. he wanted to work on his behavior around other dogs. none of the problems he was experiencing at home surfaced at training, his dog was very well behaved. walked among the dogs doing long downs, stayed in a long down himself while other dogs did obedience. I said to him, perhaps the dogs in your neighborhood are out of control. he said, yes they were. so the dog didn't have to worry about the well behaved dogs, and could be well behaved himself.

a dog does need to get used to distractions, and I suppose you could use the class for that, but too bad the instructor is so ineffective.

[mamamia1]

Found a new trainer!

After such a negative experience with our last trainer, I set out on quite an exhaustive search for a new trainer. Not very much luck, then I got a reference from a couple people for a trainer about a 1/2 hour out of town for a lady who does no advertising at all. I went out to watch the class last night and it was exactly what I'm looking for. YAY! Since they were more than half way through this session, she wasn't going to let Kali in but I discussed it with her after class, and she said that I could bring her early next week so she could have a look at how well she works, and if all is good we're in. I'm so excited,as I'm sure all of you well know, these dogs need to be working or they can be a royal pain. We've only been out of class for a couple weeks, and I can already see her behavior starting to slide a little.

[brunie's mom]

So glad you found another class!
Believe me, I know how hard it is to find good training in small towns...I've done the run around, and driven long distances to get good classes.

One thing to remember, is that even if you are not in classes...start doing obedience everyday with Kali, don't slack off. Try doing 5-10 minutes twice a day....usually in different areas....work in the backyard, work in the front yard, work her in the park,etc.

Let us know how the new class goes.

Gina

[mamamia1]

Thanks Gina!

We do at least 2 small training sessions daily, but it is too easy to get caught in a rut doing the same old things, classes keep both of us a little sharper. I have to work a little harder to think of new things to do around the house to prevent boredom, because BOREDOM = COO COO PUPPY.

[Shane]

Congrats on finding a new trainer and thanks for the update.

[debbiej]

good deal! it can be very hard to find good classes. sometimes the "group energy" is out of control! glad you found what you are looking for!