Starting Puppy Classes tomorrow ........

[sootysox]

and nervous.

Taking my 5 month old Lhasa Apso Digby.

What should I expect ? He will actually be in the class just above puppies because of his age. I got him late at 14 weeks.

I'm having limited success with toilet training atm, as I am not as vigilant as I should/could be. I have been walking him tho'.

Thanks for any advice/thoughts.

[wildfig]

We started puppy class a fortnight ago with our 5 month old and the first session was basically a lot of sniffing and making friends. Everyone had to handle their pup as a vet might - ie, checking teeth, playing with feet, handling ears - and then the pups were passed clockwise around the circle so the next owner could do the same. Most of the 90 mins was about letting the puppies potter about and meet new people - you won't be asked to run Digby round an assault course...

And don't worry about wees; if it's anything like the classes we go to, there'll be someone on hand with a bucket and mop. All the dogs there will be at slightly different stages, but what's really reassuring is that you'll find pretty much everyone will be having the same nightmares as you when it comes to Simple Solution addiction, chewing laundry and so on.

Is lots of fun and really good for you and him!

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

I've been to two very different ones with my 5 month puppy who we got at 16 weeks . The first was great, they got to play off lead at the beginning and end then we did recall, watch and sit using clicker training but using the word 'yes' instead of the clicker. This has been really helpful and I've been able to use the technique a lot since. Most of them went to the toilet over the floor.

Unfortunately I could only make that class once and have swapped to another for puppies age 3 to 6 months. First week was a talk on being a responsible dog owner. Then we took the dogs last week. Class started straight away, no playtime involved. First thing we had to do was walk the dog round two orther dogs in a figure of 8. Then recall, sit and something about walking through the door before your dog which we did with some chairs and also tried to get them to lie down. It lasted 45 minutes and I felt like I'd been to the gym afterwards trying to stop her jumping. I'm going to try again tonight but if it still feels like hard work I'm going back to the first lady as her classes were good fun.

I'm sure yours will be fine but if you do feel you're not keen then look around at other classes until you find one you are happy with .

[alysonpeaches]

I went to dog training classes with my previous dog and at first it is a lot of practice with handling and socialising and finding out who does or doesnt get on. There is usually a mop and bucket on hand too, but I had a naughty boy who thought it was his job to do a poo around the time of the class. That was sort of embarrassing the first time. The second time I anticipated it and when he started to squat I dashed outside with him, but my jumping up and dashing caused another accident - I tore a disc in my back!!! I didnt complete the classes because of this.

I would speak to the class trainer, ask her what you need to take along and what she wants in respect of collars and leads. I remember having to change our dogs collar for some reason, I also remember having to take a little tupperware container of treats for training rewards! But the trainers rewards tasted better than ours apparently and she could do anything with him.

[sootysox]

Thanks so much for your different experiences. My mind has certainly been put at rest. The class trainer sounded very approachable when I spoke to her on the phone.

She said there was fun and teaching so it sounds positive and she teaches on a reward/ignore basis.

She told me to take some strong smelling treats like cheese/liver (cooked).

I will also take my poop scoop and loo roll.

I'm getting excited now !

I'll let you all know how it goes, and thanks muchly again

[alysonpeaches]

Another thing that is worth mentioning is this. I couldnt complete the classes because of my back, and our dog did have behaviour problems. But the trainer did home visits and one to one sessions (at a price admittedly) but its worth mentioning for anyone who cant make classes. She came to our house and brought her two very placid labradors along in her car. The dogs joined us for part of the session and helped "put him in his place" a bit.

[Stayingsunnygirl]

Our puppy classes involve a lot of walking round in circles, getting the dogs to walk at heel, and sitting on command. Also passing other dogs without having to make contact. They've progressed to getting the dogs to lie down and stay whilst the owner walks round the hall - this is pretty much the only bit that our chocolate lab is any good at!

She's worst at the end, where we walk the dogs round the hall, and on the command to sit, the first dog sitting gets a biscuit and goes home, then the walking recommences, and another sit command sees another dog get a biscuit and leave - and so on, until our dog is literally the last one left standing!! Even the tiny chihuahua, who didn't even know the sit command in week one routinely beats our pup now!

I wanted classes that were far more like Wildfig's or Wynkyn's - the thing I really need her to learn is coming back when called, and I'm teaching her that myself without any help at all from the class, using a whistle and treats. In fairness, she is now much better at walking on the lead, and does understand what we mean when we tell her 'leave it!!' (the command to get the dogs to ignore eachother or anything else they're not allowed to touch).

I have fallen in love with another puppy at the classes - a brown labradoodle, who is like a huge, curly-haired teddybear, and I want to just cuddle her to bits!

[sootysox]

Hi, yep, Ssg, my class sounds very similar to yours, walking on the lead, 'stay',coming to heel, weaving in and out of each dog etc.....

Digby did pretty well considering it was the first time. I found that there was a bit to much teaching packed into the half hour and not enough time to assimilate each task before going on to another one. But that could be because it was my first time and found it a bit of a shock ! (I think I was more tired than Digby at the end of it)

The other dogs were mainly bigger and rather more boisterous. About seven dogs altogether. (5 min play at beginning)

But I'm sure good will come out of it so I will persevere.

[sootysox]

too even