Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 10:25 am Post subject: Puppy class - is it worth going?
Hello everyone,
I have been looking at enrolling Seb into some sort of puppy class mainly because I was thinking that meeting new people and dogs would be beneficial. However, when I've looked at the course he can do almost everything they teach. He's obviously not perfect but that will only come with practice and not just by visiting classes anyway.
The course I have looked at is £75 for 7 weeks and they teach you how to do the basics too (sit, stay etc.) but he can already do these so all that he would really be getting is some additional socialisation.
So, I guess my question is do you think talking him on walks and letting him meet other dogs and people would be sufficient socialisation for him? I deliberately take him to a heavy 'traffic' areas where we meet a dog or two each time we go out. On Sunday morning we even managed to get into double figures I've also started to re-train him outside with all of the basics so he can start to learn to ignore distractions.
I don't mind enrolling him in an obedience class when he's a bit older but I don't want to take him to something which would have little benefit.
It sounds like you've pretty much got everything covered anyway, so I wouldn't think you'll gain much from going to this class.
These sort of classes are ideal for complete newbies to dogs, or people who haven't got the opportunity to meet up with other dogs, or don't realise they have to practise everything outside the home as well as inside. You seem to have your head screwed on straight though.
Thanks Jules. Seb is my first dog so maybe I'm just being a bit paranoid.
My OH has had a dog before when he was younger and thinks I'm loopy and it's a waste of time and money. However, I don't think his dog was socialised very well (went for other dogs, wouldn't get in the car etc.) so I tend to ignore him
Just take him out and about to as many different places as you can imagine. Get him on buses, trains too, if you think you might ever use one when he's older.
Just try to think about all the things he might need to experience, see and do when he's older and try to expose him to these while he is still really young. They don't tend to question things/react to things so much while they are little.
Gradually build up the distractions while training him too and try not to set him up to fail (such as, don't try to recall him as he is running away from you straight towards his favourite buddy) and you should be fine. Then when you want to take his training further, you can enrole in a class when he is about 6 months old.
Hi
I am only an owner in waiting (just over 3 weeks to go) and I very much hope to be in a similar position to you in respect of training.
However I have already booked us in for classes as I intend to go through as many if not all of the Kennel Club badges. So I have found a trainer who does the puppy foundation and bronze.
She is a bit further way from me but only charges £70 for 10 sessions and includes a harness which she fits.
She not only teaches the commands but also does stranger handling (for vet visits), and health issues plus emergency care.
So in my humble opinion I would suggest maybe a different course/trainer would be better to match the work you have alreday done.
I was a 1st timer dog owner last summer, and had a similar train of thought to your own.
I took Milo along to a few sessions, the playtime he really enjoyed, but waiting around watching other puppies do tricks we'd already trained him in seemed to bore him to tears, and he didnt mind letting us know quite vocally what he thought of being sat on his lead in this huge field with 6 other puppies all ready to play with!
I tried to socialise him with as many other dogs as possible etc. At 8 months, he's still intrigued by other dogs and people we see out walking,as in he'll say hello when we cross paths, but I found it as easy to go out walking with peope I knew than to pay for the privilege of puppy classes which he wasn't really gaining all that much from.
I hated going to puppy classes, i and the pups found them a real bore. Like you, mine already had most of the normal sit, stay things if not perfect then already well on the way. It infuriated me that other owners hadn't even started teaching these things until the trainer suggested it We then had to sit around whilst others were being taught and on our turn they did it straight away and the trainer moved on to the next person/pup.
Good socialisation doesn't have to happen at puppy classes but you have to put alot of effort into making it happen. Get out and about meet people and dogs and maybe get some one to one training or move up to a more advanced class, but puppy ones are for real real beginers with very little idea on what to do with a puppy.
Good luck with whatever you decide to do with your pups, it won't do any harm to go but you might not get much from it.
I'm with Jules reply, if you are managing the basic's and can meet with other people on your walks, then at 6 months training at a good class is the advice I was given by a trainer when we were at your stage.
I also went and observed the class's with Mischa for quite a few weeks before starting, it helped a lot for her to lay and watch all the dogs working and was a calming influence on her when it was her turn to start the class's. You can then see if it is the right class for you before paying.
A good class will not object to this if they are confident their training of us and the dog is up to scratch , it was one of the trainers that suggested we do this when I made enquiries, we used to see him with his dogs on our morning walk.
I'm with the others on this, if you are already teaching Seb these things at home then a puppy class is not the right place to be going. We live a few miles from you and have an 11 week old pup at the moment. We're fortunate to have a 4 year old lab as well and the best socialisation Hollie has had is going out on walks with her big sister - Lillie is such a sociable dog that Hollie is getting introduced to all sorts of dogs, adult humans and child humans. Like you, we're teaching her at home and she's already pretty much at the point of being able to pass Puppy Foundation Good Citizen without ever having been to a puppy class. Hollie and I will be starting some proper gundog training soon which I think will be much better for us both than puppy classes.
P.S. I don't know if you know it, but Malton "picnic area" just off the A691 east of Lanchester is good for socialisation as it's very popular with dog walkers. We are there almost every day with both girls as Lillie loves to swim there and she meets her boyfriend Bailey there as well.
but only charges £70 for 10 sessions and includes a harness which she fits.
Did she say what sort of harness? It's just that some body harnesses sort of allow the dog to put it's weight into pulling, much like a Husky does and others tighten around tender parts of the body, causing discomfort. Personally I wouldn't want either on my pup. I do also hope they don't mean to supply you with some sort of face harness, as these can press on young delicate face bones and may damage them.
To be honest, I can't see why any pup needs anything other than a flat collar and lead and I certainly wouldn't be happy if a trainer was advising using Gadgets before I'd even had a chance to teach the pup to walk nicely without them.
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I've also started to re-train him outside with all of the basics so he can start to learn to ignore distractions.
We then had to sit around whilst others were being taught and on our turn they did it straight away and the trainer moved on to the next person/pup.
, it was one of the trainers that suggested we do this when I made enquiries, we used to see him with his dogs on our morning walk.
