Does anyone know of any training classes in the Wigan area. Today we took both our BTs to the vet and Rags who is 9 months old was a little terror my husband had to stand outside with him till we were called in, he made such a fuss in the waiting room everyone was looking at us and he was barking and howling at all the dogs in their. Can anyone offer any advice please.

I wouldnt have gone outside, i would have stayed in and tryed to calm the dog down. Hard i know my cleo doesnt like the vets she is ok in the waiting room but not in the vets room. goodluck and hope you crack it. debbie

Debbie,
Sometimes the problem doesn't remain with your (generic "your" here ;) ) dog but spreads to others. A vet's waiting room full of other dogs isn't the best area for serious training.

About a 6 weeks ago, I was waiting, seated with Chienne on my lap in the waiting area. The vet's cat had decided to lie next to us and go to sleep :rolleyes: :D There was a woman with a Peke, another with a young adult GR, and a man with a Border Collie.
Everything was fairly peaceful....until a woman walked in with a (18 month old Lab). She had a 'pinch collar' on him, and 'tried' calming him down. When she sat down, he just started panting, jumping, pulling, whining, and trying to get at the other dogs. Chienne started getting nervous because he was only 3 feet away and not settling down. (very small waiting area)...

She kept reasurring us he was friendly. (yep, he was..but I was having severe back pain and didn't want an 90+ pound dog on my lap 'visiting'). Eventually someone else with another dog (bandaged up) came out of the examining room, her Lab lunged to go see him, and the injured dog snapped at him.

All hell broke loose then. I think there was a 3-4 way dog fight. I just shrunk back and tried to keep my legs up and out of it. Amazingly, the cat slept on :rolleyes: I just twisted Chienne around to see how relaxed the cat was and she didn't 'freak'. Within a minute it was over and I don't think anyone was hurt....but it was something we ALL could have done without. :rolleyes: :( :(

Vet clinics are areas where sick, elderly, young, and injured animals gather. Stress of an illbehaved dog is not needed or wanted. If I knew in advance my dog had problems behaving, I would talk with the vet about coming in during non-client hours to just sit, relax, and work with training the dog to 'wait'.

But when the dog has a problem with general manners and their owners realize this ....I, for one really appreciate it when owners remain outside until they're ready to be seen. I've thanked some for doing just that :) :)
regards,
toodles

Trying to calm a dog in a vets surgery can result in them being rewarded for just the behaviour you want to eliminate unless you plan it very very carefully - so best not to..

Hi Lainey
Just depends what type of training you are looking for, if it is obedience there is Wigan Alsation & All Breeds Training Club(Sorry no contact details to hand at the moment)
There are quite a few ringcraft classes in and around that area where you could socialise your dogs.
Wigan Canine Society( no details to hand)
Leigh Canine Society 01942 497463
Merseyside G.D. All Breeds Ringcraft 01704 893128

I`ll look the other contact details and post them hopefully tomorrow.
Regards Carole

thanks for that Carole i will try to contact some of those ones.
Kind regards Lainey