What should I expect from training classes

[WeAllHaveWings]

I have a nearly 5 month old black lab. Got him when he was 12 weeks and not vaccinated so we only had 2 puppy socialisation classes before he was too old.

Booked into training classes (£40 for block of 4); the trainer was recommended by family friend and also breeder. She does agility training/competitions too. I have been to 3 classes so far and I'm not impressed.

There are 8 dogs in the class. It is held in a large unit which is well fitted out for training.

The classes consist of 4 of the dogs walking up and down and us saying heel, heel and treating. We are all too close to each other and the dogs basically cant concentrate on the training as they are too interested in each other, so lots of pulling (dogs and us). We go up and down the room about 4 times and then the next 4 have a go while we try to keep the other dogs apart while we are waiting for 10 mins for our next turn.

Trainer has not given us any advice to distract/train the dogs to ignore each other.

We then each have a go at a bit of sit/wait, but it is disastrous. As soon as the lead is let go they run to sniff/play with each other. The only advice the trainer gives is to not treat when they do this. There is a 2 year old collie there that constantly barks and lunges at other dogs through the whole hour (I am a little scared of it).

She says pup is doing really well, but I don't see it.

Is this the norm? I am working with pup myself and he is getting better and can ignore dogs at other side of road and is getting better at doing a quick sniff and moving on when passing, seeing much more progress out on walks than through the classes. He is getting better at walking on a loose lead. I can let him of the lead in a quiet field and he follows closely and I'm working on recall. In the class he just pulls about like all the other dogs there.

I am trying a different class next week; this one sounds better to me as the first session is without dogs so they can talk through their methods. Its a 6 weeks course.

What should I expect from a good class? Or am I better reading books and practicing myself? (any good books recommended?)

[Floralnomad]

TBH it sounds like a bit of a crap class and I think I would be less than impressed in your shoes . I would look for a class that is just for puppies although that may mean that yours is older than most that attend. It is a bit of trial and error to find a trainer that suits you ,the one that gave a talk at our vets puppy parties put me off in the first few minutes of being there. I ended up only doing about 8 weeks of classes with the trainer I eventually found as I found that my puppy was much better behaved at home and the class was a tad repetitive for me ,also it was apparent by then that my dog just doesn't do other dogs ,he is more of a people person.

[WeAllHaveWings]

I'm thinking something similar, pup does much better out and meeting the occasional dog (maybe 4-5 each walk) than in a confined space with lots of other misbehaving dogs.

The ones he meets out on walks are generally well behaved and a better example to him on how to behave.

Also he's a lab and an hour of him pulling is back breaking! He doesn't pull like that when our walking.

[Scuttlebutter]

Honestly, a good class/tutor is worth their weight in gold and your training will come on in leaps and bounds.

Our trainer is v strict about not having too many in class, and he insists we are all spaced right out so the dogs can't distract each other. We do a variety of different exercises in each class, so we are not bored, and neither are the dogs. He breaks it into small chunks so the dogs don't get tired or bored. We take it in turns to practice stuff. He gives us lots of individual attention and will praise/suggest improvements. Quite often, he will take a basic exercise that we are working on and then if there is a problem show the rest of the class and use it as a teaching aid, and quite often will suggest a new exercise or variation to illustrate the point. As well as doing the basic exercise, he explains the thinking behind what we are doing (basic learning theory). I like the fact that he respects the types of dogs we all have - for instance I go with a greyhound so he never insists on a sit. With collies and labs he suggests games or exercises that play to their strengths.

I did my KC Bronze, Silver and Gold with another trainer and although she was good (positive, v thorough) the classes were huuuuge (about 15 in the class for Bronze) so much less individual attention and we didnt' use clickers. This time, using clickers has completely made me rethink training and it's just so much easier. Learning that, I've really benefited from someone watching and critique-ing my timing,cues etc - you just can't get that from a book or a website, though I use both very enthusiastically to learn and understand more of the theory etc.

For me, it's been money well spent.

[WeAllHaveWings]

Scuttle, that sounds like a great class. I guess I knew the one I was going too wasn't quite right. Was considering some one to one training, but think group classes do have some advantages (some distraction is good).

I really Hope tonight's class is better.