As some of the members on the board may be aware Morgan (cocker spaniel) is coming up for 8 months. We have had him since he was 8 weeks. As soon as Morgan had his last jab (mid August) I phoned up our local contact for puppy training/socialisation classes to enroll him. Unfortunately there were no classes planned for the rest of the year - we live in the Western Isles (Scotland).
We worked on socialisation and some basic training and Morgan is getting on fine although he is stubborn at times.
The local club has now scheduled classes to start tomorrow and I plan to take Morgan.
Living where we do we have no opportunity to visit different classes and choose a suitable one. I'm sure, as with everything else in this world, there are good and bad trainers and classes. What should I be looking for tomorrow night?
Thanks in advance
Shirley :-)

We too start our puppy training classes this week. Pup is now 12 weeks old .
When we enrolled the trainer came to the house and asked how pup was, what he could do etc. She asked all about his history etc .
She seems really nice and I feel more confident and at ease when we go . I have heard all the storeis of horrible trainers too . So fingers crossed our mad pup is finally going to learn how a dog should behave !!! :)
Lel

Hi
I think you will know when you get there , if you feel comfy with the way they handle the dogs and if not then speak up or leave .But most of all you should enjoy it ( to a degree :D ) and so should your dog .
Good luck
Liz :)

Thanks Liz and Lel for the responses. I am quite nervous about it as Morgan is that bit older. At 12 weeks your pup is really a baby and any misbehaving can be explained as his/her age. With Morgan being 8 months I'm a bit worried that the trainer might expect more of him than he is capable of. To me, he is perfect and I suppose I'm worried that the trainer may not share my opinion. He can sit, stay, come, lie down and speak but in a room of other dogs I doubt that his mind will be on any of these things :-) I'm probably worrying about nothing.
Will let you know how things go tomorrow night.
Shirley :-)

Don't worry - I started taking my Battersea mongrel to training classes when he was about 18 months. Apart from being able to sit, he couldn't do anything. He also barked continuously at any person/dog for the whole 45 minutes (this lasted for at least a year - he still barks occasionally three years later !). Lots of people go to training at different stages for a whole range of reasons -people understand :) :) It is the personality of the different dogs/trainers that makes it so much fun. Just enjoy it !

Daisy

I feel it is almost certain that Morgan will be pretty distracted with new surroundings, new dogs to meet etc, but this is normal and a good instructor will help you (and him!) feel at ease :)

When i took my pup to socialisation and training, she was brilliant at home but had the attention span of a gnat at classes - not untypical for her breed. Canbe disappointing though when you see all the others doing well and your pup appears totally bonkers/deaf/crazy :D

She is so great to train now, so what i am trying to say is, relax and have fun, and enjoy meeting everyone else. Let us know how it goes?

Lindsay

Hi All
Well we went to the classes and everything was just fine. Everyone was really friendly and didn't mind the way Morgan constantly pestered their mature dogs :-) The instructors comment about being there to train the owners and not the dogs made me feel a little inadequate but I suppose he is right!
Morgan did behave quite well for most of the time but by the end he was getting tired and started acting the fool. I got a fit of giggles and was given a roasting for embarrasing my dog by laughing at him!!!(oops):(
Anyway we didn't get expelled for that and we're staring the KC Good Citizen Puppy Training next week, by which time my left arm may have regained some feeling after spending an hour checking Morgan for pulling on the lead last night :D. Looking at the list of things he must be able to do at the end of the eight weeks is quite daunting - if I can get Morgan to 'Walk in a controlled manner' I will be a happy lady :-)
Overall, I did enjoy the experience and I think Morgan did too.
Thanks for all your help
Shirley and Morgan (more obedient than my boyfriend, at least!) :-)

Shirley,
Glad you enjoyed the class, stick in it will get easier,
Anne :-)

Shirley,
That's wonderful news :) :)
Don't worry.. he'll do fine. In fact, things will cement better in his mature mind and since you're already dealing with adolescence, you won't 'freak' when it hits unlike a very young puppy that you've been accustomed to complete obedience ;) :D

As far as his age, it seems that UK starts formal dog training younger than I'm used to... or it could be just that times are a-changing all over.
Puppy classes were held 4-9 months (more fun, socializing, some behavior stuff...but a relaxed atmosphere). And formal obedience training started at 10-12 months.
So you're a leg up on what I've done in the past. So don't worry :) He'll have fun and learn. Just remember, everyone has something with their dog that isn't 'perfect'; otherwise they wouldn't be there in class with you :P :D :D
have fun practising :) :)
toodles

Well done Shirl I'm glad it went well :)
Eog made a good point though about the adolesence thing -our murph was sailing through the classes and had been invited to stay for intermediate and a couple of advanced obedience classes -six months hit and BANG it all went out the window ,he went deaf :D
so at least you've got it all rolled into one !!
Don't worry about laughing at him ---I do it all the time ( to cover my embaressment :D :D )
liz

Really glad it went so well for you and Morgan, the worst bit is now over!!! ;)

Lindsay

Classes should be geared to the trainer not the pup really. When we had our older dog, although he was 18 months we went to the 'puppy' class - I was the 'puppy' :D . By the time pup came along and I had been doing classes for over three years, we skipped puppy class completely and went straight into the older dog class even tho' she was only 12 weeks and some of them were seven years. Pup wasn't expected to do everything, of course, but I was more advanced :) :) As Shirl was rightly told - it is training the trainer, more than the dog. Training of the dog is done mostly at home :)

Daisy

Thanks for all the encouragment. We have been practising walking on lead for 5 minutes a day (as per instructions) but just round the livingroom as the weather here has been particularly bad over the past couple of days.

I have another question for you all. Do any of you use treats at training classes. I've used treats to teach Morgan everything he knows so far (ok so it could all fit on the back of a postage stamp but at least we're trying :-) ). Nobody in the class has been using treats and I'm a bit scared to ask the trainer if he minds. Just wondered how things worked in other places.

Also has anyone tried clicker training. I bought one the other day. Don't know why, was in the petshop, saw it and decide to buy it in case I decided to use it! So shoot me, I'm a shopaholic!! :D

Sorry if any of this has already been covered on another thread.

Shirley :-)

Hiya Shirl
if you want to use treats use em -as long as your not waving half a pound of liver round in front of the other dogs noses it will be fine ,Don't be frightened of the trainer -you are paying her/him.You'll probably find that people are using treats but very discreetly .
Anne Cava uses a clicker -she says it works well so it may be worth a chat with her ;)
hth
Liz :)

Shirley,
I use a clicker and really like it, don't have time to reply now but will do a proper reply later
Anne

I use one too :) and it works really well, but you have to understand how it is used and when to use it. There are plenty of good books around now to explain, I would rrecommend Karen Pryor's latest one from Pets at Home.

I use food rewards but there is a bit of an art to using them correctly,if you learn to cllicker train you will learn this anyway :)

I often use toy rewards too :)

Lindsay

Shirley,
I use clicker and really find it works, but I would suggest you either find a class or buy a video as I found it quite hard to take in from a book. It was actually far easier to pickup when I went on a course than it seemed in a book.
There is a good site for books and videos Here

There are also a couple of sites which I posted on here for clicker training.

Hope this helps
Anne :-D