Puppy classes

[hkallen]

Horatio is 10 weeks old, and I am just wondering when I should enroll him in classes. Are puppy classes a good idea or should I wait until he's a little older and just do obedience classes? We live in the Boston, so as far as socializing, I can't take him outside without running into dozens of people that want to say hello, and any sound you could think of. He's slowly progressing on the idea of walking on a leash (although, if people walk by he will sit and expect them to pet him). He knows "NO" and "sit" and we are still working on "come" ( it only works sometimes as he has no attention span). He's also fully crate/ potty trained.

So... basically, whats my next step?

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

Well I will say that no pup at 10 weeks old is completely potty trained, it simply isn't possible. Crate trained maybe, potty trained no.

Puppy classes purposes are more to socialize with other dogs rather than people (although people are part of it too), so I would say get him in as soon as your local classes allow. Most have vaccination requirements and they vary from location to location. Some don't allow it until 4 months, some allow as early as 10-11 weeks so it just depends on the establishment. If you have friends with dogs that can come over and play then this can be accomplished via that method as well it doesn't necessarily have to be a puppy class, just LOTS of socializing with other dogs and playtime with other dogs so he learns how to properly play as well (which obviously cannot be accomplished on walks).

Sounds like you're off to a great start, but don't be fooled either, at only 10 weeks you still have a good 12-15 months of training to go.

Good luck!

 

[whiskers]

Well, they're certainly not a necessity (then again, no obedience class is really necessary). For financial reasons I didn't do a puppy class with Juno, and she turned out fine, the class didn't really include anything that I couldn't do on my own. Having said that, I still think the classes are beneficial, and my future pups will be enrolled in them.

I think that if you plan on doing obedience classes anyway, you might as well start now when he's young. They will help get him familiar with paying attention to you and working with you even when distractions are present. He'll learn how to play appropriately with other dogs. It's just a fun way to spend time with him once a week.

I would also rather be disappointed in a class, as opposed to later on regretting NOT taking it. Basically: you have nothing to lose by taking a puppy class (besides money ), but you could miss out on some things if you don't. It's really up to you to decide how confident you are in doing it without a class.