Training classes now or....

[Ritz459]

I've gotten more comfortable with Chloe and knowing her unique body signals and sounds and I feel that we are both ready for an obedience class. I think it would greatly benefit her and it would teach me how to use a clicker. Her leash reactivity has gotten much better, so I don't think she'd be freaking out around all of the other dogs either.

The local kennel club is starting up their fall sessions at the end of September and they are starting to register now. It is $80 for an 8 week session, purely positive clicker training, and I like the sounds/looks of the trainers they have on hand. If Chloe passes the beggining obedience class, I can also start doing agility with her there as well.

Now here is my question. I've just started my college classes and I'm not sure if I'm up to adding yet another thing to my schedule. I could do it, but it would consist of me getting home from my class, grabbing a rushed bite to eat, and then heading back into town again with Chloe in tow. The gas prices alone are making me flinch just thinking of it.

If I hold off and wait for their summer classes, would I be missing a "prime time" of Chloe's age to get her into an obedience course? Right now she is a 1 1/2 old and is still very much a puppy (sadly ). I've been working with her at home and she knows sit, down, stay, and we've finally mastered heel, but we haven't done any distraction based training at all and no training around other dogs. She did go to a puppy kindergarten class when she was younger.
If I hold off on a training class and wait until she is about two years old, will that make an impact on her socalization and training?

[Rivsky]

I honestly don't see how 6 months would make a huge impact so far as missing a prime time. I think the most important socialisation period is when they are still young puppies.

If it were me I wouldn't stress too much about putting it off until the summer sessions if that means it's going to make things easier on you and probably gives you a bit more time to work through some of her issues before putting her right into a class environment.

At the end of the day though you know Chloe best and if you think she's ready for it now and it's worth all the extra rushing around you'd have to do then go for it!

[britishbandit]

Originally Posted by Rivsky

I honestly don't see how 6 months would make a huge impact so far as missing a prime time. I think the most important socialisation period is when they are still young puppies.

If it were me I wouldn't stress too much about putting it off until the summer sessions if that means it's going to make things easier on you and probably gives you a bit more time to work through some of her issues before putting her right into a class environment.

At the end of the day though you know Chloe best and if you think she's ready for it now and it's worth all the extra rushing around you'd have to do then go for it!

Well said!

[Carrie]

If I were in your shoes, I might skip the obedience classes because you can work on those things at home. However, I would NOT skimp on continued socialization. That is still very important. Dogs, that don't continue to meet and greet new dogs, kids, grown ups and see all kinds of environments often will revert to their default setting of caution as all animals do. From birth to 4 or 5 months is critical for loads of socialization, but it doesn't stop there. It may not need to be as saturating but I personally would do everything I could to get that dog out and into the world a little bit every day or almost every day. It sounds like you're going to be very busy. Good luck.

[Ritz459]

I'll most likely wait until the summer then. I don't know...somehow I think of a one year old dog as a puppy, but a two year old dog as all grown up. LOL Easier to train a young dog and all of that jazz (although that isn't true). I just over analyze things at times, I suppose.

Carrie - Chloe gets out quite often and loves doing it too! She's actually very well behaved when out in public (besides jumping...now if anyone has any tips on how to stop a hard core jumper, that would be welcomed...) and takes most things in stride. Compared to how she was when she was younger, she is an absolute angel.

[Carrie]

That's great that she loves getting out and about. Oh, don't they all have something that they need some sprucing up about? If she's well behaved besides that, then you don't have much of a problem.

Here would be my tips: Just keep her from being reniforced for jumping... even if you have to use a leash to turn her away from the person she is all eager to meet. That's one method. Everytime you are approaching someone and she's excited and jumping, immediately turn back the other way. Give a no reward marker first, like "woops" (you just missed out on something you like girly) Then try again. Repeat over and over and make that negative reinforcer (removing the good thing: meeting the person) immediate and decisive. (not harsh, angry or jerking)

Ask everyone who is about to interact with her if they'd help you practice or better yet, set up some "on purpose" scenarios with a few friends who are willing to help you out..tell them to turn their back and ignore until she sits.Then quickly they should squat down and give her attention. And if she starts pawing or jumping, immediately/quickly they should stand and turn away....no attention at all.

If you can intercept her before she's about to jump, at the first muscle contraction and cue her to sit, then reinforce, you'll be ahead of the game because she will not have had an opportunity to be reinforced for jumping. If everytime you or anyone interacts with her always cue for a sit or better yet, just wait until she does, then reinforce with attention and even a treat, she'll get onto it. Consistency, as always is vital...is the deciding factor between training or not training.

It's always best if you can set up the environment so that it is easier for her to succeed, (maybe just a couple of people at first in a calm environment)so she is more apt and more able to give lots of correct responses that she can be reinforced for before you get her into a big throng of people where it's very difficult for her to pay attention.

After she gets onto this better, it's nice, if you've been cuing "sit," to fade the cue and just wait, wait, wait until she does (and she will if you are silent and ignoring her) it will become the default behavior for her to automatically sit anytime she would like to meet someone or have attention.

Remember, if this has been working for her for a year and a half, it may take a little time for her to give up the ghost. She'll probably get worse before she gets better. Stay with it and be consistent. Be precise with your reinforcer....the very instant she stops jumping and sits (or is on all fours, whichever you are going to teach) you must reinforce. Not just praise. Give her something she'll tell all her friends about if you want to speed things up. Make it so she can hardly wait to comply with your wishes. (of course, she has to learn that first. lol)

[Ritz459]

See, with Chloe, she's a little brat. I can get her to sit nicely for a person to approach, but as soon as that person starts petting her she'll jump up. At that time it is hard for the person to back away and I don't have good enough reflexes to turn her around. Perhaps downing her would help? Right now I step on the leash so she CAN'T jump and I'll also hold her around her chest (kind of like grabbing someone's shoulders) to keep her from jumping up too. She'll try to jump a couple of times and when she realizes she can't, she'll sit "calmly".
But then, even when she is "sitting", she will put her two front paws up over the person's arm and just sit there. She isn't jumping, but she doesn't have four on the floor either. I personally don't mind it, but not everyone she meets thinks so (especially kids and the elderly). I have NO idea how to train her out of that one. She's been doing that since she was a wee little thing.

As for her out in public, she used to...not do so well. She'd freak around cars and motercycles, would spook at inanimate objects (like firehydrants), would pace when in the car, was leash reactive around other dogs, pulled on a leash, was a butthead for grooming, was toy possessive, etc. She was my problem child.Then it was like once she hit a year old something clicked and not much phases her now (thank God). I used to have a prong collar for her because of her pulling, but now I can walk her with her normal collar and she does fine. She'll sit and down amid distractions and her leash reactivity towards other dogs has gotten LOADS better. The other day in at Petsmart she tried to play with an American Bulldog and always before if they sniffed noses she would have growled and lunged. I think having her have regular playdates with our neighbor's Cattle dog has helped loads.

[Juliana]

nice training . i also want teach your dog to drop with some tips:-
* To teach this training tip, your dog should has mastered the sit command.
* With the dog steady in the sit position hold your hand with the reward slightly below your dog’s nose.
* As your dog reaches for the food, slowly move your hand with the treat straight down and then forward along the ground.
* Most dogs will go down and crawl forward on their front legs to take the reward which is now at ground level.

[Juliana]

Originally Posted by Juliana

nice training . i also want teach your dog to drop with some tips :-
* To teach this training tip, your dog should has mastered the sit command.
* With the dog steady in the sit position hold your hand with the reward slightly below your dog’s nose.
* As your dog reaches for the food, slowly move your hand with the treat straight down and then forward along the ground.
* Most dogs will go down and crawl forward on their front legs to take the reward which is now at ground level.

in these days i am collecting another tips fro you,