hi people, sorry its been so long since last posted but been having huge problems with the computer. so back and hopping you are all well. anyway on asking for advise and to have a general moan so hear goes. my gsd is 23 months old and as a rule a lovely chap, friendly and out going. he does however suffer with lead aggression, although this is getting better. we have been going to our local dog training club to do our bronze kc award and i am afraid to say his behaviour since going there has deteriorated, when the room is full of dogs he gets very vocal and rases his hackles, all this has happend in the space of three weeks. i am very concerned at the trainers approach to things and have decided that this is not the club for my lad to go to. he was attacked by a dog he knows very well a few weeks ago, this is when his behaviour changed re lead aggression etc and when i asked the trainer for help he just said boys will be boys and left it at that! i have met up with the head trainer this morning and she amediatley told me off for having fred on the lead down the lane (granted it is extreamely quiet only 5 houses and a dead end) i said he was on the lead as i could see her comming and i new her young retreiver ( who was running of lead free) was in season to which she replied oh she is alright nothing can happen as yours has been castrated, to which i replied yes i know but she is also running around with a bone in her mouth, then told that i am far to soft with him and let him rule. totally unfounded and unneeded comments i feel. yes i aggree she has been a dog owner/trainer for 30 years but i have not, i went to this one as it is kennel club acredited and in my honest opinion a load of s***. is there no govening body over dog training schools? looking back from the first week i went only been 6 times it has lost a dog a week,or am i just being over senative?. in my opinion trainers should have abit of behaviour training as well and surly they should be able to help the more sensative and challenging dogs. out of the 10 dogs there as i am lead to understand only 5 are going next week to try for there awards.sorry to have meger winge on first time back but just needed to get it out of my system.

It is the club that is licensed by the Kennel Club, not the trainers. Anyone can instruct whether or not they have the required skills, knowledge or experience.

At the moment in the UK there is no standard criteria which has to be met by any instructor; there are many differing bodies offering all sorts of initials after one's name, however that, IME, also does not necessarily qualify some of those I have met to even train clematis up a trellis.

One needs to shop around, go and sit in classes without a dog and really watch what is going on and why.

It is also illegal to have a dog off lead on the public highway in most councils - normally it's a district council level ruling.

totally unbeleavable that clubs and not the trainers are kc regestered, what an abserd way of doing things!. i am not a novice owner, but freddie is a very highly strung and sensative young man who has had more than his fair share of illness over his short life. and as abck9fran said i also thought it was unlawful to have dogs unleaded on roads, let alone a bitch in season. thome are you barneys owner by any chance?

Registered training classes probably differ from each other as much as any other club that comes under an "umbrella organisation". In other words, certain common factors will have to be observed but usually these tends to be administrative and not cultural. I'm reminded here of the Playgroup Association which, many years ago when my sons were small, was the recognised registration body but which by no means reflected the actual culture of individual playgroups. And certainly round our way, every single registered playgroup was vastly different. As will be every "registered" dog training class, I suspect!

It's the attitudes of the people that run training classes that sets the culture of them and I think it is very easy for novice owners in particular to think that the trainer knows best even when they are uncomfortable about the methods used. Experience isn't always everything I'm afraid. Especially if that experience comes with a closed mind and absolute certainty that there's only one way of doing things.  I don't personally see how you can ever get the best from a dog or its owner at training classes if humiliation plays a major part in the training and I would politely withdraw from a class if I found that this was part and parcel of the experience.

Whereabouts are you, as maybe someone could recommend somewhere else?

You can try www.apdt.co.uk to see if there is a member near you. They are kind, fair and effective although as in any organisation, experience will vary as some will be new trainers and others will be highly experienced.

Lindsay
x

hi all, thanks for your replies, nice to know you lot are not going to slate me. must admit i am very protective over my dog, but know that he is a sensative character who has become more nervious over the past weeks. have just come back from my walk and luckly did not see this trainer this morning so no confrountations today thank god. i think what really hurt the most was that she really took the pxxx about the way i call my dog back to me, which i suppose in high insite only reinforces my point about bad training school. she also brought up another personal matter which was very below the belt, just wish i could warn other people to stay away from them. answer to your question lindsay i live in west sussex and have provisionally booked to attend another training school after easter, but to be perfectely honest dont think i can face yet another chance for someone to put me and my dog down. we where going to get a puppy this summer but she has even made me cancel plans for that. oh god just winged again, sorry all

Can I make a suggestion?

I think you should go along to the new dog club on your own and sit in on a class before committing to taking Freddie. This will also give you a chance to talk to the trainer and explain the difficulties you are having. That way you can form an opinion on whether you like the training methods and whether you feel confident that Freddie would benefit from going along.

It may be that one-to-one training may help alongside the group training.

Don't give up on training all together, I'm sure Freddie will benefit over time. Your decision to delay a puppy may be a good thing though. It's probably better to get Freddie's behaviour sorted out before introducing another puppy otherwise he/she may learn bad habits!

have explained all to the new training club, it is one me and fred attended when he was a pup, but at the time what with a demanding teenage son who needed taking here there and everywhere on that night (football ), then me tearing my tendons in right foot and freds numerous illnesses we sort of just drifted away, now know bad mistake as nice trainers, one of them very expereanced with gsds. put it this way head trainer gave a big sign when i said where we had been and offered to have freddie back, they also offer one-to-one so think i might ask if they are willing to do a bit of one-to-one with him and me, thanks for that malakai