I hated puppy class...

[sandy's mom]

I had a bad experience at puppy class with Napoleon too.

It was obvious the teacher did not like boxers, especially stubborn ones, which he is. There was another boxer in the class, the teacher didn't have any good things to say about her either. He had been abused so I had to be really sweet to him, the tactics they were using were not mean, they just were not working with him. He would just lay down and look at me, and growl. I just quit going after he growled at the teacher and she told me I was going to have real trouble out of him.

I work with him constantly at home and it has really paid off.
I can not force him to do anything. But with a lot of love and treats he will now do just about anything. It has taken me almost 5 months to get him to listen to me, or even pay attention to me. Be patient with your baby.
Remember, they are only little for a while.

good luck!
Debbie

 

[Thomas Liggin]

Do not be discouraged. Group classes are more for you than for your pup. The trainer is, or should be, showing you techniques for training your dog.
Chloe is getting valuable socialization. And while it may not seem it at the time, she is picking up little tidbits of training.

Be sure to pay attention to the trainer.

Indy was much the same way. His first class was so so, but it went downhill from there. At times, we would just sit and watch since he got so exuberant.

Be diligent in your home training sessions. Once she gets the commands down pat, you will find her constantly improving around distractions.


Tom

 

[BeckyNC]

Some may disagree with me, but I'd stick with the puppy class, rather than having a trainer come to your house. It seems that at puppy class they learn how to listen with distractions.

I'm no expert on this, though, as Tae was 13 mos when I adopted her!

 

[rdldbb]

Practice Practice Practice Practice Practice Practice

One of the most valuable lessons I learned from going to doggy school w/ both of our dogs was the home training sessions - as others have mentioned. I can't stress this enough - you will see results if you do this and your little one will know what you expect when you are at school. Of course that doesn't mean that they will always listen, but things will be much easier. Hang in there.