I have taken Max to puppy then Bronze now silver classes we pay £50for 8 classes his lead work is not very good (my fault) but he can do lots of things his lead work is good in class.
I am going to differ here what I like is the waiting in between we are a class of 5 so not to bad but what it means is Max is learning that not every outside time means he will be occupied he needs to learn patients harsh I know but if I learn him young he will get it.
We do lots of activities with other dogs present very close which learns him to concentrate only on what I am saying to do what needs done with distraction
It is your personal preference I am also taking him in feb to a 1to 1 trainer in Hexam for his lead work and to help on a few other things which I think we need.
Max sees dogs every day he plays with them walks way from grumpy dogs Recall is 99% 100% if no dogs about the times he has not come back he goes back on the lead end of walk.
He is coming up 8months and still has a long way to go in my opinion (but I am HARSH ) :)he is a good dog and is in the silly stage of life but we will get through it .
We must meet up some time to let Seb have some playtime with Max
This is just my opinion it is up to the individual I guess and what you want from your dog but I know that I need a well behave dog especially when I am out with my son who has special needs I need him to come back when he is told and to do what I need him to do without the big chase off so I have went this route hence why I need patients from him
Cheryl
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Max my shadow
Luther 1994-2008 I will see you at the bridge sweetie
One life Live it
Just from another perspective, as a trainer, I cannot tell you how many owners genuinely believe their pup knows sit, stay, recall heel etc. And they do. At home. And in familiar places, but with company and distractions it all goes to pot. the most common phrase I hear in some puppy classes are 'but he can DO all this at home BEAUTIFULLY hes just trying to make me look stupid!'. And no he's not. he knows all those things in the peace of his own garden. Kitchen. driveway etc. But mix in real life, IE other dogs, people, treat bags, squeaky toys etc, and they turn into a puppy that does NOT know even the most basic commands.
I'm not saying go to the classes, or don't. What I am saying is you can get a VERY distorted idea of what a youngster genuinely knows by training at home and then just doing a few sits etc on a walk. Its not till you get into a controlled but massively distracting environment that training REALLY comes into play. I always advise my puppy owners to do one course of lessons. Even if it is just to teach them how to troubleshoot when it goes wrong. Sometimes the most obvious thing doesn't occur and a problem develops and we just can't work out how to fix it. Classes are excellent for that. But i would always say, go watch a class first. If there are more than 6 or 8 puppies absolutely topps it will be boring and too longwinded for a puppy. If they encourage lots of galloping around and playing, its not right for most puppies. Find a calm, controlled class where they are happy for you to sit in and honestly, it can, as a first time owner, or even tenth time, be a HUGE boon. If its not, its a rubbish class. Quality Puppy training classes could teach the most experienced of owners something new to try, every time.
Di
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The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
I've take all of mine to puppy classes, and will continue to do so (maybe even this year ) . Yes, a lot of the stuff is boring, and you're perhaps not teaching anything 'new', but you are practicing those commands in totally new, probably noisy, and really exciting (often chaotic!) situations. This is crucial for me because I hope to show mine, so getting their attention in very doggy environments is vital
Thank you for all of the responses! There's plenty to think about there.
I might still take him as I am so inexperienced with training dogs that just because I think I'm doing it correctly, doesn't mean that I am!
There's a maximum of 7 pups in a class and the first week is a seminar for the humans only so they can explain techniques etc. which seems reasonable to me. If all else fails and he's not getting anything out of it at least he's had a little ride in the car and we won't go back
I'd always take all of my future pups to training classes (with a good trainer and not too big a group) even though we have been training the basics from the day pup gets home Honey is only my 3rd puppy so Ive only done this bit twice before with totally different breeds of dog a GSD and Labbie so how they learn and behave is totally different. I've just finished off a 6 week puppy good citizen with Honey my 6 month old working cocker we started going when she was 15 weeks old she could already do the basic sit, down, paw, touch a target, come back to a whistle, 1 min stay etc at home but I wanted to make sure wherever we are and whoever is there she can still do it and being a working breed Im very aware of what can happen if their energy isn't put to good use (recalls the hole Bella made in the living room wall or the living room carpet Henry ripped a hole in the middle of ) . We where luckily in a small group of 4, 2 of us had been training at home before classes as have had previous dogs and we are friends hoping to do agility with the pups when they are older so need them to be able to work along side each other without getting distracted, the other 2 owners hadn't done anything as it was their first dog. We where all able to progress the exercises at each dogs own pace helping them with the distractions of working in a group. As Ive been clicker training Honey from the start it was also great being able to carry this on at classes with the advancing exercises as it ensured how I train at home is the same as at class. I think good training is worth its weight in gold getting the foundations right from the very start saves you a headache in the long run.
Well Tucker is going to Puppy/Bronze KC classes at the moment with me and I luuuurved the time I spent with him so much that I missed doing the same with Luna! So although Luna has already achieved all her awards she's going along to the silver/gold classes! When Tucker graduates then Luna will take part in the lower class to allow Tucker to progress. I extend things for Tucker while others are working and we are waiting - we practise PAW, OFF, FIND IT, SPIN,...... lots of things as well as just to chill out, relax and watch while others work. I find classes useful for both my dogs to practise doing nothing in around other dogs - not playing, not focusing, just nothing!! It is THE hardest thing I can ask them to do and they find it exhausting
Blue was Mr Know-It-All at a very early age - yet I believe that the puppy classes we went to were absolutely invaluable. What your dog does at home can be oh so different to what he/she will do in a room full of other, soooooooo exciting potential new friends. As far as I'm concerned it's teaching them to concentrate and focus in the face of all these distractions that is the real challenge, and it feels so good when they do/
I don't like the sound of those costs though - I pay £3 a week for 2 dogs to attend 2 separate classes.
We pay £60 for a 6 week course which is pretty normal for good citizen training around here (tho there are some trainers who I'd never pay a penny to go to you really have to go watch a class to make sure it feels right and chat to people there)
We're the same, £60 for six weeks with Frank for KC Good Citizen. And I can absolutely vouch for what Di says; Frank forgot ALL his good manners and training when we got in the class, it was a real eye-opener. He spent most of the time trying to snaffle the other dogs treats or staring at the trainers beautiful long-haired GSD bitch in adoration. Unfortunately I was ill and missed 2 weeks, so we didnt complete. So we're on the list again for March.
I've been to good classes and bad ones; and I absolutely agree - make sure you have no more than 6 dogs per class. I went to one over Winklebury way and it was horrendous - this was with Rosie and there were over 40 dogs in the class, it was a living nightmare. We couldnt hear anything we couldnt see anything, and I spent all my time watchin that Rosie wasn't bothering the other dogs or that the other dogs werent bothering her. There is a limit to how much distraction and noise both you and your dog can take
____________ Jane - Rosie, Frank, Suki, Lily, Lewis
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) . Yes, a lot of the stuff is boring, and you're perhaps not teaching anything 'new', but you are practicing those commands in totally new, probably noisy, and really exciting (often chaotic!) situations. This is crucial for me because I hope to show mine, so getting their attention in very doggy environments is vital 
) . We where luckily in a small group of 4, 2 of us had been training at home before classes as have had previous dogs and we are friends hoping to do agility with the pups when they are older so need them to be able to work along side each other without getting distracted, the other 2 owners hadn't done anything as it was their first dog. We where all able to progress the exercises at each dogs own pace helping them with the distractions of working in a group. As Ive been clicker training Honey from the start it was also great being able to carry this on at classes with the advancing exercises as it ensured how I train at home is the same as at class. I think good training is worth its weight in gold getting the foundations right from the very start saves you a headache in the long run.
