New dog owner - first obedience class

rwbmke · 08-02-2007, 07:22 PM

Hi everyone,

I'm a new dog owner and I had my first obedience class with my 7 month old puggle, Sophie, last night. We enrolled in the adult beginners class because she was too old for the puppy class. My question is this... She cares more about all the other dogs in the class than she does about listening to me and I'm wondering if anyone had any suggestions on keeping her focus on me. She loves to play with other dogs (which I like), but when she sees another dog she pulls like crazy on her leash. The instructor told me I should "up the ante" with the treats I bring to keep more of her attention on me. I brought some dry bite-sized treats that apparently aren't as good as the chance to smell other dogs. I did buy some new treats today (Zuke's minis, which she loves), so maybe that will help. I'd appreciate any suggestions for a newbie! I wanted to walk out of the class, because as we were all sitting down with our dogs, Sophie was pulling trying to get at the other dogs, while they all just relaxed on the floor.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

sydney-the-cattle-dog · 08-02-2007, 07:54 PM

I am wondering why the trainer leading the class isn't showing you how to deal with this. I think you should ask the trainer to demonstrate tecniques to get your pups attention on you during class.

Aside from that you should practice focus exercises while at home so that you can get her attention with all those distractions at class.

Take a yummy treat and hold it up by you eyes and say your pups name and say "look at me" when you get eye contact give your pup the treat. Keep this up until you can her him to look at you on command. Don't try to do this all in one session, though, maybe 5 mins at a time a couple times a day.

Maybe you can meet up with some of the other owners before class to let her and the other dogs play a bit before getting down to work.

lovemygreys · 08-02-2007, 08:20 PM

Maybe you could get her socializing with more dogs outside of class so when she sees them in class, it's not such a novelty?

Curbside Prophet · 08-02-2007, 08:20 PM

It sounds like you're in an odd predicament. You have a puppy in an adult training class. Is it possible that your dog is younger than everyone elses and she's had no formal training?

If so, you'll have to tone down the expectations some. Most puppy classes that I know are off leash anyhow. So it's probably very much a matter of timing, patience, and work. I'd definitely ask your trainer for tips on this, regardless of what's being taught, however, Sydney is pointing you in the right direction IMO.

rwbmke · 08-02-2007, 09:14 PM

Thank you for the suggestions... and in the defense of the instructor of the class, she did suggest the holding the yummy treat by the eyes thing. I guess I forgot about that with the distraction I had in during class.

I'm thinking that maybe she's a little young for this class (I do believe she is the youngest dog there).

She does get a fair amount of socialization with other dogs... there are plenty in the neighborhood that she gets to sniff/play with.

That brings me to my next issue. The instructor wanted us to work on "sneak aways" for our homework this week. That's where you have the dog on a 10 to 15 ft lead and walk with the dog until she gets in front of you and then you turn around in the other direction when she passes you (hopefully I'm explaining that correctly). Anyway, it's really hard to work with her where I live (I don't have a backyard, so I took her in a big grassy area near me). As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of dogs around here, so she is constantly being distracted. I really DO want her to become a good walker on her leash, but this seems impossible. Does anyone have any opinions on how effective this technique is??

Thanks again for your responses.

Dogstar · 08-02-2007, 10:03 PM

This technique can be REALLY effective- it's a variation on choose to heel, in some ways.

I think you need WAY better treats- I use stuff like cubes of cheese (about 1/4" bits, they're a pain to cut up so I do a bunch and freeze them, or better yet, steal them from my training partner, who cuts them smaller than I do.) or lunch meat.

opokki · 08-02-2007, 11:35 PM

I agree, you are likely to have better luck with higher value treats...cheese, hot dog, liver, or meat cut into pea sized chunks. Carry a variety of these so she never knows what she is going to get and doesn't get bored with the same thing all the time.

Quote:

Anyway, it's really hard to work with her where I live (I don't have a backyard, so I took her in a big grassy area near me). As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of dogs around here, so she is constantly being distracted.

Are there any less distracting areas for you to work with her in? How about the back of a big parking lot during non-business hours? Or in front of your house in the evening or anytime there are fewest distractions?

AgilityK9trainer · 08-03-2007, 01:10 AM

It sounds to me like your trainer is doing a good job. You might be expecting too much, too fast from your pup. It takes time to train, and things like learning to walk on a leash and attention can take many weeks to train, especially for new dog onwers. You've gotten some really good advice so far on treats, etc.

As far as your dog being to old for adult basic obedience, she is not. You don't want a dog off leash in a training environment after the dogs reach sexual maturity, which is at about six months old. Most puppy classes that are held by those who know the developmental stages of dogs will have them for pups five months or younger. After the onset of sexual maturity, the incidences of dog fights and dog aggression begins to rise, making it more risky to have dogs a trainer does not know off leash in a hyped up play environment.

Keep working with your trainer, and follow what she is telling you. And, have patience! These things will come. Do get some better treats, though, and if treats aren't working, consider other motivators like toys. And do find a less distracting area to train. Lots of good advice to follow from posters above.

sydney-the-cattle-dog · 08-03-2007, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rwbmke

Thank you for the suggestions... and in the defense of the instructor of the class, she did suggest the holding the yummy treat by the eyes thing. I guess I forgot about that with the distraction I had in during class.

I'm thinking that maybe she's a little young for this class (I do believe she is the youngest dog there).

She does get a fair amount of socialization with other dogs... there are plenty in the neighborhood that she gets to sniff/play with.

That brings me to my next issue. The instructor wanted us to work on "sneak aways" for our homework this week. That's where you have the dog on a 10 to 15 ft lead and walk with the dog until she gets in front of you and then you turn around in the other direction when she passes you (hopefully I'm explaining that correctly). Anyway, it's really hard to work with her where I live (I don't have a backyard, so I took her in a big grassy area near me). As I mentioned earlier, there are a lot of dogs around here, so she is constantly being distracted. I really DO want her to become a good walker on her leash, but this seems impossible. Does anyone have any opinions on how effective this technique is??

Thanks again for your responses.

Good to hear that your trainer is offering advice I was just worried that she was leaving you to figure out how to focus your puppy while she carried on with class because unfortunately that was how my first obedience class went.

I have a similar situation with a puppy in a regular obedience class right now as well. My puppy, Lily, is just 4 mos. old and class can be a struggle some times but she is starting to focus for longer periods in class and my instructor has been a huge help in this area.

As for the walking technique, it sounds like a variant of the heel technique we are practicing. It should be very effective for training your puppy to walk with you. Another idea for a low distraction practice area might be a school if you have one nearby. Depending on your local schools start dates you should have at least a couple of weeks before being filled with children again. The schools near my house are deserted when school is on vacation and a great place with low distraction for my dogs.

Habs_fan1160 · 08-03-2007, 04:47 PM

I took my pup to obedience class when he was 7 months old and had the same problems.
He was very focuses on other dogs. How I solved this problem was taking a treat, putting it to his nose and then make him follow it to my eyes while saying "watch me".
We worked on this outside of class, so when we were in class and I'd say watch me, he'd immedatly look to see what I was doing. It was a good way to try and keep his attention focuses where it needed to be focuses.
Mind you we had on and off days - our off day was on graduation day with the testing. He was on his worst possible behaviour. We still passed but had the lowest mark in the class.

I didn't have the option between puppy/adult obedience there was only one class, he was the youngest in the class and several of the other dogs had already gone through it once.
I still think he may have been a little young for the program as he was still in his puppy stage of "what's this? Where does this go? What's that smell? Who's that lady?" etc. lol

FilleBelle · 08-03-2007, 09:19 PM

Nah, not too young for training. Too young for this particular class, maybe, but not for training. Puppies as little as three or four months can (and should!) start learning their basic obedience routines.

I'm on board with the "watch me" or "look at me" exercise and the fantastic treats. Experiment with your dog. Sometimes they love strange things. I trained my Dobie using cat kibble

If you want to up the impact your treats have, you could skip whatever meal comes right before your class. If you wait and give her dinner after class, she will be more responsive to the treats during doggie school.

Make sure she's getting some exercise right before you go to class, too. Not playing in the backyard, but a nice walk so that she can burn off some of the energy that otherwise has her wanting to go play with the other dogs.