Too Excited??

[MyKieraGirl]

Kiera and I are currently enrolled in puppy kindergarten, we have gone to our first two classes, and I have been learning alot... Kiera on the other hand... Well dont get me wrong, she has learned the things we were taught... but when we are there she is soooooooo excited to see the other dogs she wont concentrate at all, (give or take a few moments of brilliance when she does exactly as shes supposed to! :P) But it is really hard, and almost frustrating when we are trying to do what the trainer is asking of us and she is pulling so hard on her collar, and will not stop. All she does is pull and pull and pull, shes not aggressive whatsoever, but all she wants to do is play! I bring her out to my parents to play with their older dog, and she is usually ok after the first few minutes, but I'm having such a hard time at this puppy kindergarten. When we are at home I will go through the excersizes and she does just fine! I'm just not sure what to do anymore! I try to distract her with treats, praise... I'm running outta options! haha I am going to try the harness so she is not pulling all on her collar so she doesnt choke, but I'm just wondering if anyone has anymore advice on socializing? Like I said its not like it is the first time shes seen another dog, but she is just so excited and happy to see everyone. I usually get there early so she sees everyone come in, and gets to say hi... but she just doesnt know when to stop... help? haha

 

[gmacleod]

It's probably not what you expected to hear - but what you describe is pretty normal, and it's what puppy kindergarten is for YOU learn how to train the dog (which you do at home initially, gradually extending that to outside the home) and she gets socialisation and playtime. There is little chance at this early age that she's going to turn down all that in order to do boring old commands.

Don't be discouraged by it. Boxer puppies are always (or nearly always) the class clown. But as above, the major benefit of puppy kindergarten is socialisation (new experiences, new people, new environments) and giving the pup the enormous advantage of playing with puppies of her own age. The training can wait. In fact, throughout the dog's life the VAST majority of training is going to take place outside of class. The main purpose of the classes is training you, and ongoing socialisation for the dog.

As for the harness though - yes, if she's pulling so hard she's choking, then she may do herself some damage (the trachea is quite vulnerable). A harness probably won't stop her pulling, but at least she isn't likely to come away with any injuries from it.

 

[Madea]

What work for me, was to make sure Tyson got a lot of playing and running before class. We had class every Saturday at 6p.m. I would take him to play with my sister's dog at 4 and i wouldnt leave until 545. He was so tired when we got to class that the other dogs didnt matter to him. He did really good..The other classmates wanted to know what i had did from the first week of class. I told them and they also started doing the same thing...Good luck with training..

 

[johann]

Another thing that helped Johann (in addition to lots of exercise before class) was to remove him when he got too excited. As soon as he started to react/bark/get crazy/be boxer-like.....I would take him in to another room (no other dogs or people) or take him away from whatever was exciting him. With a 10 week old, you could pick him up and walk away (no risk of neck injuries), with a 10 month old...I'd just say "Lets go!" and turn and walk the other direction. In a puppy class though, the focus is much more on socialization than obedience....so this probably wouldn't be appropriate.

A harness (or no pull harness) would help Keira not injure her throat/trachea while she is learning to not pull.

 

[whiskers]

Exercise is a good idea but be warned: if they're too tired to care about playing, it's entirely possible they'll be too tired to care about training. This happened with Juno on a few occasions when we started going to a later class. She was fine with the 7-8pm class but when we started going to the 8-9pm class, she wasn't as into it, it was during her bedtime haha. And that was without exercise!

I think it's something that comes with age and also something she'll realize on her own after getting used to classes. The first few times Juno went to class, she was quite a nuisance. I couldn't get her attention at all, she tried pulling me towards everything and she thought we were at a dog park, she wanted to play with the dogs soooo bad. But she eventually settled down and realized that we were there to work, not play. And once that happened, she was PERFECT! She was still a monster at other places, but at class, she was a star student.

Obedience isn't usually the focus of puppy classes anyway. Personally, I would just grit and bear it during class, and work on the training at home... it'll be easier for both of you!

 

[MyKieraGirl]

...thanks everyone!!

It's actually a bit comforting to know that Kiera isnt the only one!! She does the same as Jaxon, she does soo well at home, and as soon as we go out. oooh boy! :P I just got her a harness, so we shall see if that helps her, I was worried about her hurting herself, so hopefully it helps! I would love to take her out and play with her for an hour or so before we go to classes, but I only get off work at 5:30 and dont get home till about quarter to six, and her classes start at 6:30... I have enough time to get home, change and get Kiera ready to go, and drive there with about ten minutes to spare before the classes start!! so that doesnt give me quite enough time to wear her out first! haha but it seems as though she is still recovering from her trip to my parents acreage and playing with their dog this weekend, as she is passed right out on my arm as I am trying to type right now! :P maybe she'll still be worn out a bit for tomorrow (our next class) haha... alright wishful thinking! :P Thanks everyone, like I said before glad to hear that it is not just Kiera and me that have gone through, or are going through this... excitement!!

 

[MyKieraGirl]

Getting Better!!

Just an update!!

The very next class we went to after I started this thread Kiera was a little angel! haha She was a totally different puppy from the weeks before, In fact the class we went to last night she had everybody "wowed" at how well she ws doing!! I was SOOO proud!! :D
We even switched puppies to make sure that they would listen to others and she walked and stayed and sat so nicely for everyone!! They were all very impressed!! :P
I did go and bought her a halter and it works so much better than just the collar! Well I just had to brag a little that she is doing so much better! Thanks for all the support guys!!

 

[rrboxer]

We experienced that very same problem with Lacy. She pulled constantly on her 1st day of puppy class and she was coughing because she was pulling so hard! The very next day we got her the gentle leader headcollar (which she hated) then I got Premier Easy Walk Harness which worked like a charm. She just had her 4th puppy class and we have 2 more to go. I make sure to take her out about 20 min before we leave for puppy class to try to work off a litte energy but nothing strenuous. Last week we got a compliment that she was obeying very well and she has settled down alot. I think you'll enjoy the results with the Easy Walk Harness. Good Luck!!