can someone tell me what happens after puppy training classes at improvers?

[Owllady]

what sort of stuff do you learn? and can anyone join?

it's our last of a six week puppy course

we have learnt
sit
down
wait
watch
stand
come
release word
heel and loose lead
stay (though obviously that will take a while :o)
left, through, roll over paw
and grooming

I have a collie so she has done pretty well tbh and knows all of them apart from stay but obviously it's ongoing at home, ball play etc.

So what happens at improvers class? it's not a kennel club one, it's an independent positive training class and are there restrictions on how old they have to be?

would like to hear your stories/opinions etc! :)

[tabulahrasa]

It depends on the classes I'd think - with mine it's puppy classes till their 6 months and I've no idea what they do as we start tonight after him being too lame to do anything for 4 months... I suspect it'll mostly consist of stopping him bouncing at the other dogs,lol.

[Owllady]

have you got some treats ready like cut up hot dog sausage? cheese? liver cake? you need high end treats for training class. I spent the whole of the first class just trying to distract my dog so that she didn't bark at anyone elses dog as she went quite wild! :o

[Scuttlebutter]

The trainer we go to classes with usually runs his puppy class first in the evening, then the adult/improver class shortly after. Many of the dogs in the Adult/Improver class have already gone through the puppy class. A lot of the owners say it's helpful as it is good to have assistance during the difficult "teenage" years and to polish the basic skills learned.

We use clicker training a lot in our classes - so we get through lots and lots of small treats - things like hot dog sausages, cheese etc. Our teacher limits the number in the class to six maximum - that way we get a lot of individual attention which is nice. Because the class is small, there is sufficient flexibility to tailor the exercises to some extent to what people need or find interesting. Our teacher also explains quite a bit about the thinking behind what he is doing, which I find very useful and helpful.

Could you ask if you could go along to one of the classes (without your dog) to sit in and get a feel for it?

[tabulahrasa]

Yep hot dogs... We went to the puppy ones till Christmas and I've just been waiting for the vet to say I could take him back. He was a bit over friendly then, he's a complete lunatic now, it could be fun, lol

[Owllady]

This sounds the same scuttlebutter, it runs straight after the puppy class and is a small group of mainly border collies (does this tell you something? :o) I don't know whether to go for it straight away after this one, or whether to work on what we have learnt at home and also get her spayed (:() as she is about 9ish months now andthen enrol on the next one after that? i just find it so useful doing a class and learning the new things each week. Plus she watches you with things like heel training and tells you where you are going wrong etc (I am always okay though )

good luck tomorrow tabulahrasa :) hot dogs all the way

[Scuttlebutter]

Our teacher does blocks of six classes at a time, so you are only signing up for a limited number of weeks, and don't have too long to wait till the next batch come around. Norty Minx and I have just completed two x six week blocks though it took slightly longer because of Christmas and the snow, and we did a recall workshop on the weekend. We'll be taking a break for a bit to keep practising what we've learned and will probably go back to do some more, either with NM (who is showing signs of being a criminal mastermind) or one of our other hounds.

I like the fact we can dip in and out, or make it a very regular thing. Like you, I love going and find it so useful. Fortunately things like FB make it very easy to keep in touch with teacher and see what special workshops or class dates are coming up.

No BCs in either of these classes, though there were 2 gorgeous ones when I did my Gold GC in 2011. They were stunning and incredibly well trained. Their owner spent about 2 hours a day doing all sorts of training activities with them as well as straightforward exercise.