I took Bailey to his first puppy class yesterday, and the whole thing left me a bit upset :(

  Bailey appears to have no doggy manners and humped evey pup in the class :( I can't believe that the one thing i really don't like with dog ownership, i got BIG TIME.
  It really was non stop, and yeah it was funny at first, but after a whole hour of non stop thrusting i really did feel like i would never be able to take him out :(

Whats more the lady running the class said he sounds like he has extremely dominant tendencies, with him always running in before doors before me, and he's not accepting me putting the lead on him or holding his collar because he doesn't want to be led by me etc. I now have to ignore him and can't put him on my lap for a cuddle.   :(

  I really am feeling what i call 'post puppy depression', it's so hearbreaking that i can't give him any attention when he comes bounding over to me with his tail wagging, happy to see me.

Has anyone else had any experience with this??

I haven't but i think the lady in the class is being a bit harsh, it's his 1st class for gawds sake!
My dog made me look a total pratt at my 1st ringcraft. There are subtle things you can do without taking away the enjoyment you like so much. I'm sure someone will know what i mean but i found that making my dog sit before everything changed her attitude e.g when feeding, putting on lead, going in the car etc.
There are more subtle tips but alas i'm 30 next week and my senior moments are getting more frequent :D
To me puppy months are the best so enjoy them, and good luck! :)

Hello,

No real advice just to say he's a puppy :) the world is exciting...don't panic enjoy your pup how about trying to keep the doors in the house closed and when you both get to a door have a titbit in your hand and get him to sit first give him the titbit, then graduate to sitting and you opening the door before he gets the titbit. then moving onto siting opendoor you go through then he gets the titbit!

Just an idea....if he enjoys cuddles (like all puppies) how about putting his lead on then giving him a lovely cuddle/spoil him then take him a little walk.

Karen

As the others have said don't feel too upset about it.  It was his first class everything was very new to him.  I too think the sit training will help, you need to keep him focused on you, it will come. 

I have to say I don't think much of your instructor if she allowed this to happen and couldn't show you how to focus your dogs attention onto you.  If she is no more help next week, have a look around for another club.

I don't think she means ignore him completely, just make sure he comes to you on your terms.  ie when he is settled call him to you quietly and praise and pet him then.

I went to my first obedience training day last month, went as red as a beetroot when mine pretended she had never done any training in her life.  It is all to do with new places and experiences.

Sandra (hoping this months training day is better)

I am puzzled, how come he was ABLE to hump all the puppies for one hour non stop?

Oh dear, I do hate this phrase "dominant tendencies"!  Does this mean that your puppy is plotting the overthrow of the civilised western world or just dogdom?  :D

ALL puppies throw a wobbly when holding their collars at some point for some time, and the lead; relax, they get over it and you just need to desensitise him to it.

As for running through doors before you (sigh) all my dogs have done this and so far they have not taken over the house :D

I wonder what your dog will do once you ignore him?  Probably what most puppies and children do, do anything they can to get some form of attention!

My dogs are my pets, and they do get patted and cuddled and not ignored in general; they do get lots of attention when they behave and ignored where appropriate if they do something inappropriate at an inappropriate time or place.

Puppies have to LEARN manners from each other, their dam and you.  They do not pop out of the womb "oven ready" so to speak! :D

Don't feel miserable, just work steadily and consistently away at rewarding and reinforcing the behaviour you want and not getting uptight about the setbacks, of which there will be many :D

The attitude of the so called trainer makes me so cross, the reason we take our pups to training classes is to get help in training them, there would be sod all point in going if they were perfect anyway.

First I would prefer a bold puppy that you can train to behave than a scared one that will not mix or socialise and would then be in danger of biting if pushed too hard.

Try and find another class where they will help you deal with calming your pup down, dominant, what tosh. You need someone to show you how to get the pup to sit, once you have a reliable sit you can work from there. The dog will then sit for you to do whatever, put collar on, open door, put food down. I use clicker training and after I had taught my pup to sit I taught him to leave, and it is a wonderful command, not only will he leave another dog when told he will also leave my best glass vase or favourite book, providing I am there to give the command. One word of warning do not use the leave command if the puppy already has the vase in his mouth and is making his way across the concrete. Glass does not bounce :(

providing I am there to give the command

A very crucial point in all dog/dhild/man training Jackie :D

:D :D I agree if i'm not there my husband tends to run riot and the dog? well she just sleeps through it all.

One word of warning do not use the leave command if the puppy already has the vase in his mouth and is making his way across the concrete. Glass does not bounce

This sounds very much like the voice of experience ?

If a pup/dog acutually has something in its mouth I prefer to teach them to bring it to me - the disadvange to this is dead rats!

Caleb 17 week old beag at his 2nd Ringcraft class pukked all over the floor and when I was busy clearing up the 1st lot, he did a finale and left a 2nd pile.  Boy was I red faced.....

But I bet they remember you and Caleb though ;)

Karen

Kerioak, defiantly a situation for the give command, and is a lesson on not shouting commands when you think you know what is happening but can't see.

wow, thanks all for your responses.

Tohme, the lady told me to let the pup get on with the humping and said if the other dogs don't like it they'll let him know. Literally he did not interact or run or play like any of the other puppies. If he was standing there was only one thing on his mind.
  One staff did have a go at him, but all Bailey did was end up humping the air untill he ended up humping the back end of another golden!!!!
  Should i stop him doing this then? problem is, he was so into it that nothing on earth would have got his attention.

  I have found another class but to be honest i'm dreading having to go through the whole thing again.
 

Jasmin how old is the puppy. As far as the new class is concerened I would tell them the problem and ask for help. If you stop him or not is up to you, if you don't like it then yes I would stop it, just as you would any other behaviour you did not want.

Jasmine, try the other class.  The trainer should not be saying let him get on with it.  Yes I would definately stop it, it is unacceptable and unsocial behaviour, which might seem funny in a young pup, but certainly won't later on.

Hopefully you will find a sensible trainer at the other class.  Forget the 'dominance' bit, looking at your other post he is only 10 weeks old.

Sandra

Jasmine you really need to find another class - if this instructor is allowing your dog to behave like this to other puppies regardless then she is not taking their future socialisation onto account.

wow i'm really suprised that i should have stopped him humping :( I'll definately be taking him to the other class.
  I'm really suprised as the lady sounded like she knew what she was talking about and recommended i buy the Dog Listener by Jan F (can't remember the name right now!)

  Its a shame i don't know any other dog owners :(  I really feel Bailey could do with the extra socialisation. It's strange that the other pups didn't do anything though (apart from a staff which gave him a good old telling off :D )

It is normal for pups to do this but if you don't like it then of course you should stop it. They do grow out of it but then start again when they get to the teenage stage, so if you stop it now it will help at the latter stage when it is the sex drive at work.

I think in this case it's more of a case that the puppies in the class aren't socially aware enough to stop another puppy doing it to them, but he then learns it's acceptable canine behaviour and will find out the hard way when he does it to an older dog.  At the same time it's not giving the other puppies a very pleasant experience of puppy classes :(

As for 'sounding as if she knew what she was talking about' - unless you also know what she is talking about - how can you tell??  It's a bit like being bamboozled by a double galzing or second hand car salesman.  Hope you haven't already spent your money on Ms. Fennells book - far better spent on someting like Think Dog by John Fisher or Dog Behaviour explained by Peter Neville....

I agree with Digger about the book. An interesting comment made my John Bowen in this Months Dog Today magazine about the obsession with dominance; particularly by one or two recent authors he did not name :) 

Anything by John Fisher, Ian Dunbar or, what I consider to be THE dog book, The Culture Clash by Jean Donaldson, who is not into "labels" or "boxes" and is very down to earth, and funny.

Unfortunately there several hundred people training dogs/owners all over the country who have no business doing so as thre is no requirement for them to be qualified, experienced, literate, kind or knowledgeable!

Have found in the years I have been involved in dogs that there are those who seem to become fixated on some aspect of canine behaviour in the wild.  It is important to study and as far as possible understand the behaviour and pack organisation of the wild dogs but not to lift the ideas you get from that study and apply it to the domesticated dogs, who have now been bred so far from the wild that only the remnants of their original behaviour remains and even some of that can be easily amended by human contact.

No dog is the same, even within the same breed, and a trainer who treats a whole class of youngsters the same, is not a trainer at all. IMO their job is to talk to the owner find out what that owner expects from their dog and help them achieve it, not to preach some little understood theory that, in most part, will mean nothing to the new and novice dog owner.

Have a feeling dogs are not stupid and will manipulate any given situation to their advantage, so as we have the larger brain we have to use the dogs need for food, comfort and an easy live to our advantage and how to do that is what a trainer should try and do, in other words, train the handler/owner not the dog.

Well said Jackie, I couldn't agree more.

I haven't read the aforementioned book in it's entirety, just bits and also caught a glimpse of the T.V. series through a grimace.  As with any book I'm sure there are some useful tips to be gleaned from it.  However, the dog owners who take her word for everything run the risk of ending up with a very depressed dog. 

Can I also add that I would definately walk away from a puppy class that allows pups to hump each other for an hour. 
Sally

Did you actually do any training in this class? If your puppy was allowed to hump another constantly, I don't see how there was any time for it!

A lot of people mistakenly label mounting behaviour in puppies as 'dominance', when they just haven't learned the correct way to play yet. If your previous trainer was basing her dianosis on that, it can be safely ignored.

If you know any calm and sensible adult dogs, it may be worth introducing your puppy to them. They wont tolerate the humping, but wont be aggressive about it. A well socialised dog can get the message across in no uncertain terms without hurting the puppy or terrifying it.

Getting him fixated on you and a toy might help, it will mean he's less interested with dogs (which will make control easier when he's an adult because you're more exciting than all the distractions) but he will need to learn the polite way to play.

I hope you have more fun in your other class, if you are very nervous about going, ask the instructor if you can come without your dog for the first week, or go to watch another class before you pay your money. You'll be able to see how all the other owners are treated, nobody should feel embarrassed about their puppies behaviour, and if the trainer is any good he/she will make a real effort to make the owners and the puppies feel relaxed and at ease.

good luck,

Jo

Hi! i really just echo what the others have said! from your other posts as wll as this Bailey sounds abit of a handfull & a real little monkey, so the KIND but VERY firm approach is going to be the way to go. keep him happy but set him very clear boundries.
most of all enjoy him they grow up really quick!