Puppys first day at school

[sayitwithsam]

I'm taking my very lively Shichon puppy to his first puppy training class next Thursday. I know he's going to love it but I'm a bit nervous. I'm the one that's not great socialising, he loves everyone and everything...sometimes a little too physically if you get my drift
Hope it makes him happy and he'll come to my call more.
Anyone had experience of these classes? We've got a man who seems very nice who trains police dogs for a living.

Take lots of treats with you - with dogs bribery gets you everywhere! Dogs are a great way of breaking the ice so don't panic about having to be sociable, it will happen without you needing to make a big effort.

I'm currently attending puppy classes and it's going really well. There are 7 of us in total so not too many.

We spend most of the time working with the pups so no need to panic about socialising. We did the initial introduction of ourselves and pups, after that all talk is always pup related. So, as long as you have a pup (which of course you do) I'm sure it will be fine

Can I ask a stupid question here - what do you learn at puppy school? I'm training my goldie at home and so far she's doing really well. We meet other dogs every day so I'm not worried aboout her not being socialised.

I live in Holland so any puppy course would be done in Dutch (and my Dutch is still rubbish which puts me off!!) My dog can do lots already at 14 weeks - sit, stay, lie, usually comes when called, roll, paw and lots of other tricks so I guess I'm looking for justification here . Is a puppy course ABSOUTELY necessary?

To be honest if I you feel that your dog is doing well and you dont think that you need to socialise it then you could possibly not worry about taking her.

BUT, I have always taken my dogs to classes with varying success, but I enjoyed it and felt that there was someone there who could help with any problems that you might have, it's kind of your call at the end of the day, some people love going, some dont bother with it.

I am going sans puppy on thursday to have a look at our local one, will take her next week if it's ok, i am nevous as well, no idea what to expect.

Oxocube you are very lucky! My last two dogs didn't go to puppy classes either, they were very chilled out and well behaved dogs. But they were a different breed and every single dog is different.
My pup needs a bit more guidance and isn't learning as quickly as they did. I see it as if you had a child that needed some extra help you'd get them a tutor, that's all he needs. I'm looking forward to seeing him play with the pups. He's a nightmare to get to walk, he just sits on the floor and refuses to go for ages. But he runs like mad when he see's other people or dogs. H expects love and adoration from every one he meets and as he is so cute he's never disappointed. What a life!

. There is definitely room for improvement with my pup as she's not so keen on the lead although she will walk a little way. Fortunately, we are a 2 min drive away from nice woodland so we do that twice a day and she loves to run off the lead. Let us know how you get on. I am ever-so-slightly puppy obsessed at the moment

what breed is your new puppy sayitwithsam? Mine is a golden retriever and I've heard they are pretty easy dogs to train.

sorry - just read OP properly

We are home, and so tired, but I am the proudest woman in Kent tonight. He was so well behaved! It's amazing how quickly he learns when treats are involved.
He was by far the smallest dog there though so when we had to let them off the lead to play at the end he ran around the hall for a while then hid behind the chairs...then my husbands leg!
There was one bit where the trainer took him to one end of the hall and my DH called him from the other end. And everyone went "ahhh" as he trotted over to him.
He's now flopped out in his bed...and so is the dog.

Well done sayitwithsam, that sounds excellent, glad it has gone well. I've taken note that the classes are wearing out your DH as well as the dog and thinking that maybe my DH should start doing the classes from now on.

I think that's more to do with the two of us being so unfit these days! The pup is so hyper that we take him to the park every day now for an hour to tire him out. Hopefully it will do us good too.
The man doing the classes is a police dog trainer so I was worried he'd be really strict but he's very nice. And he said Bertie was a great dog smug. Just one class and there's already a change in him. I think it's true that they need to know who the boss is and that makes them feel secure. It's giving my hubby confidence as well.

Does anyone know of any puppy play dates in Kent? My pup loves the play bit at training but the rest seems a bit pointless. He cracked the exercises in the first week and we do the same things each time. But I don't want to stop going or he'll miss out on playing with the puppies.