does your furbaby lose patience?

[JennieWI]

I've been taking Gunther to obedience classes. He does very well during the first half hour, but during the last half hour he gets very impatient. He will stare intently at me as if to say "lets go now, Mom". He whines, quivers, and breaks his stay. We are working on off leash training so the last few classes have had a lot of down/stays and I know that can be boring. But Gunther clearly doesn't want to be there that last half hour. Our next class assignment I'm expected to keep him in a down stay for the entire hour without saying a word. How do I handle his impatience?

 

[Eleanor]

Patience

I am no expert, but I REALLY think an hour for a down stay is stretching it!!! And this baby isn't that old yet.

Also, how long are your class sessions and is there play at the end/beginning?

 

[JennieWI]

yes. I think the hour down/stay is expecting alot. The instructor said that the average number of times needed to correct a dog who breaks the stay is 8 times. And this lesson is done in the same room while other people are going through their group lessons, in addition to the six cats that lounge around. All lessons are 1 hour and there is no play time before nor after. It's a different set up from other training classes in the area as there are never more than 6 dogs and each dog in the room can be at a different level, practicing a different lesson. The thing is, I don't see the same "impatience" from most all the other dogs as I see from Gunther.

 

[gmacleod]

Hmmm. It's difficult to quite understand what your trainer wants to achieve with an hour-long down. IMO there's far better ways to train a dog than by boring it into submission. Training should be fun - for both you and the dog. There's nothing better than a canine partner who's eager to please. Well, you get that by making compliance with your commands a fun, rewarding and challenging activity for the dog... Have you thought of finding another trainer who's more into positive training techniques and rewarding activities for the dog?

 

[Cami]

When my girl was in training I was told up front that Boxers in general are very fast learners but tend to get bored just as quickly. I was given some lienency (sp?) with her. If we were working on a a down stay and after 3-4 attempts that she got right that I should go on to something else. Her attention span is so short....So, all the other dogs seemed fine to do 10 or so down stays and my girl would look at me like, "I already did that, what's next?" So we were able to go on to something else. This worked really well for her. Luckily we had a great trainer.

Even today at nearly 19 months old she will get bored quickly...with a toy, training etc....gotta keep her mind going constantly. She really thrives in learning new things or figuring out how to do something new.

 

[Eleanor]

Patience

Is there someone else that you could train with?

I'm probably in the minority, but I think you need to have an individual that understands the boxers' intelligence and the exuberance with which they approach most things.

 

[gmacleod]

I'm probably in the minority, but I think you need to have an individual that understands the boxers' intelligence and the exuberance with which they approach most things.

I don't think you're in the minority at all

 

[JennieWI]

thank you so much for your feed back. I only have three classes left, so I plan to see it through but will look else where for further training. This is the email response I received from the instructor when I asked him for the reasoning behind the one hour down/stay:"The course you signed up is designed to set you on your way to have a dog
"conditioned" like mine are. CALM and RELAXED and able to override their
own doggie instincts with pre conditioned obedience without the need for the
owner to constantly be involved. This lesson is a good indicator to me on
how much more work is needed and where that work should be concentrated." What are your thoughts on that? I'm not trying to slam my instructor as I have seen good improvement with Gunther's obedience.

 

[Eleanor]

Patience

Ok - at the risk of overstating the obvious....boxers aren't "like" other breeds. Your Gunther is capable of anything the trainer's dog will do. MAYBE not to the level of being catatonic in a down stay but he has the can do and WILL DO.

I realize you aren't knocking your trainer but I would be curious to know what breed he/has

My trainer recognizes Oscar's effervesence as a quality and we work with it not against it.