Now that I'm mobile after all this time I'm now brave enough to venture out with Glazby to do some obedience training.  I've been on the APTD website and found the details of a lady on there who's not too far away from me.

I've emailed her to ask her if she does any regular classes but was wondering if there were any particular questions I should be asking if she gets in contact? 

Also, being new to the training classes thing - Glazby is friendly with other dogs when off his lead but can be a bit jumpy when on his lead.  Is this something that I should point out and should I perhaps take him along to a class to have a look before signing up?

He's got basic obedience: sit, laydown, stay - sometimes!! and recall when he feels like it!!  We really just want to brush up on these elements and then maybe think about doing something like agility perhaps in time - are boxers good at this type of thing?  I think he's fairly intelligent and would love it!!

Any thoughts, comments or hints greatly appreciated!!

Hayley & Glazby xx

I advise anyone that contacts me about dog clubs to go without the dog so you can concentrate on how the dogs & handlers are trained & whether the methods are kind etc

If you are thinking about agility having his hips x rayed is a good idea, one of my BC's(now my sole one)looked promising for agility as a puppy but before training started I had him X rayed & he has severe HD which made him not suitable-he is a good obedience & tracking dog tho'

My Boxers love agility! As a breed they are not as fast as some others but they do enjoy it. You need to make sure that your dog is in really good health before you undertake agility as it can be hard on the joints and gets the heart working hard.

Thanks both of you!!  I think we'll undertake the obedience training first and then before moving into any other field I'll make sure that we take Glazby in for a full MOT at the vets!!

Definitely go and watch a class before signing up. Find out how many dogs to a class, have a chat with the trainer. I spoke to one lady who was probably perfectly competent but I was petrified of her so didn't opt for her class - in our first conversation she told me off for what I was feeding and said I hadn't socialised Leon soon enough and thus had ruined his chances of being a nice dog. Humph. I think he's very nice, thank you!

Whole heartedly agree with what people have said here.  Pop along and have a look.  Make sure it is reward based training and that the people appear to be enjohying it.  I went to one where it was reward based training but was like an army training camp.  I found a new club 18 months ago and have never looked back.  In fact I now help out with each class so cant be bad.

Good point, dvnbiker. Dog ownership is meant to be enjoyable. If training classes aren't fun (for both owner and dog) then they're not doing it right.