I was going to post about the class not being quite what I expected (not necessarily a bad thing)
but then I spotted this sad sight - it was the pillow that got me!!
Last edited by _Lizzy_ on Fri Feb 13, 2009 8:31 pm; edited 1 time in total
Now....tell us all about your class and how it went?!
Becs and the Gang
..wee-eell......firstly it was in a park didn't see how they could be let off lead....and they weren't which was probably spot on for a first time with 7 unknown dogs. So actually not a problem at all. And it won't be there next time - it seems it was just so he could assess his group which was very wise of course!
I think I just had envisaged out in a field sort of thing, looking more like shoot terrain so it was a surprise.
He (Ray) was real old bloke, been at it for years and successful too at FT and Obedience. So I had the lugoles pinned back for the pearls of wisdom that I expected to flow from his lips
It was rather different from all the reward based stuff we (Kaya and I) had been used to - he showed us (the group) how to be firm and make the dog understand it had done it wrong if it wasn't sitting when told, or staying for a short while. I saw a couple of the dogs flinch as he growled/shouted 'Grr bad dog' at them in quite a ferocious way.
It did get an instant result though. He said he doesn't hold with the old method of beating them into submission but that a dog sometimes needs firm handling ( he described scruffing) in order to know what is expected from them, and that a lot of people confuse their dogs by not being clear in their instructions, either by voice or body language.
So whilst it made sense in one way, I don't really want Kaya to be flinching if I shout at her when she doesn't immediately get it right...or have I got it wrong and really it won't bother her, just help her understand and be glad that I am in charge? I have used a kind of growl when she does something, or more usually is about to do something, she shouldn't and that is effective in getting the point across 99.9% of the time.
I'm very happy to start making my commands firmer when necessary, and if she wilfully disobeys I can see the point of scruffing...but where is the line between 'still learning' and 'wilfully disobeying'?
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didn't see how they could be let off lead....and they weren't which was probably spot on for a first time with 7 unknown dogs. So actually not a problem at all. And it won't be there next time - it seems it was just so he could assess his group which was very wise of course!
