Hi all,
Just a quick question, when I get my new baby, will it be worth me going to training classes as i know what I am doing now and for the socialisation front I know dogs/puppies what my new arrival can socialise with! Just wondered if it is still worth paying out that money when I know what I am doing?

I guess if you do know what you are doing and have lots of dogs your pup can socialise with, it's not really necessary to go - but you'd have to really make sure your pup does meet lots of new dogs (not say, the same 3 dogs but lots of different dogs) and also people :)

I like going to classes for the socialisation, but each to their own :)

Lindsay
x

I suppose it could depend on when you last had a puppy. If it is the same breed or breeding?. They are all different in their make up. :-) Things change very quickly on the dog front. New ideas etc. Always nice to see what else is around and how well they are behaved, especially the owners. :-)

My boy I have now Jim buck will be 1 on 13th June so not too long since I had a small pup. Yes the lines and breed will be the same so probably not alot different to the first time round!

I'd agree with Lindsay - I still take all mine to socialisation and training classes throughout the first year of their livesl, even though I know what I'm doing with the training.

I've had dogs all my life, and my mother before me. I used to do obedience 25+ years ago, then moved into breed and now agility. I've always had at least 3 dogs at a time so I would say I know what I'm doing with a puppy. Every time I get a new puppy I take it to training classes, usually just the first few weeks. I think it's absolutely vital to get that sort of 'intense' socialisation that you just don't get meeting the same dogs every day on a walk. Just my opinion but I would say go :)

Socialising can take place in all sorts of places, most of which we can arrange ourselves with a little thought - but IMHO classes provide the extra advantage of often being inside (most doggy meetings take place outside) and also ask that the puppies learn to pay attention to their owners even when there is the huge distraction of other puppies around.

It does not matter how much you know what you are doing the classes are, for me, not places I go to be taught what to do, or how to train my dog, but opportunities for me to train my dog with lots of distractions.  I start this off with my pups from day 1.

Also, no matter how many dogs you have of your own, your dog still has to learn how to behave with strange dogs as they provide novelty, whereas the dogs you own do not.

I used to ring up clubs with my previous pup and ask if they minded me coming and doing my own thing as long as what I did did not interfere with them.