ADHD kid and obedience class

IslandMutts · 06-08-2008, 11:24 AM

Hey all... I've been assisting an instructor with a basic obedience class. In this class, there is a high-strung boxer, who we've had problems keeping calm and quiet during class. The boxer is accompanied every week by a woman and her teenage son, who we suspect has ADHD. The problem is that when the dog is *finally* laying there calmly, the kid can't help but do something like tap his foot, crinkle a water bottle, tap the dog on the nose... etc. and then the dog gets all excited again. Another assistant sat with them the whole class today, and every time the boy would act up, she would tell him to stop, explaining why he shouldn't do that. But he keeps doing it anyway!

We think the son needs to be present for the obedience class, to learn how to better handle the dog, and since this is what the dog has to live with every day. But something needs to be done, because he's not listening to anyone and his mom is the nurturing type (not a disciplinarian). Any suggestions on how to handle this situation?

Dogstar · 06-08-2008, 11:39 AM

I'll be honest, I wouldn't let the kid come to class. The kid should come to a class down the road (a new session) after the dog has the behaviors well established at a lower level of distraction.

InverseLogic · 06-08-2008, 12:20 PM

Tell the mother to put her son back on his medication. There is nothing you can tell him that will make him stop his behavior. It's a medical condition that needs to be treated.

If they refuse, just don't allow them to attend any more classes.

IslandMutts · 06-08-2008, 01:49 PM

thanks guys...

we don't know for sure if this kid (who i think is about 16) was ever diagnosed or on any medication. we just think he's ADHD by observing his behavior. i think the instructor wants to avoid offending the mother... but i guess there's nothing we can do but talk to mom about her son's bad influence on the dog's behavior and hopefully she can find a solution.

Dogstar · 06-08-2008, 05:02 PM

Medication isn't necessarily the answer- it wasn't for me at that age- and that's definitely outside the scope of the trainer's responsbility. The trainer's job is to get the dog trained- and right now, the kid is making that impossible. If he can't keep his hands to himself and be still (on the sidelines)? He needs to not be in the class.

Annamarie · 06-08-2008, 06:34 PM

It sounds more like turrets to me. My SO's cousin has this and he is able to control it somewhat but there are times when he just has to leave the room to get his tics out in private. It's not something they can help for the most part.

IMO if the dog is going to be living with the boy he's going to have to learn to ignore distractions while training. Whenever the dog needs to be controlled there won't always be complete silence and stillness.

I'm not a trainer but I would work on desensitizing the dog before I started to work on obedience training.

JustTess · 06-08-2008, 06:59 PM

Here's an idea. If he's fidgety, give him something like a stress ball and tell him to keep it in his hands at all times. The energy gets directed to the ball.

You have to give them the end focus or result before you give directions on how to. For example, "the dog should do this" then model and give steps. If you give steps first ... they have a hard time remembering what the end result is suppose to be because all they remembered is step one or two....

I was curious about dogs who were trained to work with ADHD kids. Kinda interesting on how the dog helps a child learn to keep focus. I also kinda think my husky has the attention of someone with ADHD

BTW -- i don't know how to train people to train dogs but I do know how to teach ADHD children to read :P

Dogstar · 06-08-2008, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Annamarie

It sounds more like turrets to me. My SO's cousin has this and he is able to control it somewhat but there are times when he just has to leave the room to get his tics out in private. It's not something they can help for the most part.

IMO if the dog is going to be living with the boy he's going to have to learn to ignore distractions while training. Whenever the dog needs to be controlled there won't always be complete silence and stillness.

I'm not a trainer but I would work on desensitizing the dog before I started to work on obedience training.

The problem with this is that the dog is getting a chance to rehearse the bad behavior. This is never a good thing. (Especially isnce it's doubtful this family is going to apply any sort of punishers to then knock that behavior down.) And it's just plain WRONG to try and teach a dog something new when you KNOW you cannot hold his attention. It's just not fair to ask that of him.

IslandMutts · 06-08-2008, 10:15 PM

thanks again for your thoughts...

i don't think it's tourette's syndrome. these aren't tics, the kid just has a problem being still when mom is trying to listen to the instructor and the dog is finally calm... it's like he can't stand that no one is paying attention to him, so he annoys the dog. it's especially frustrating for us because this dog already has issues - the instructor was ready to tell them not to come back after the first class because the dog wouldn't stop yelping and whining. but the last two weeks they've exercised the dog before class and she has been much better with the whining and yelping.

we thought about getting him more involved with the class, to keep him busy, but he's really not good with the other peoples' dogs and doesn't take direction well. for example, we had him help us greet the dogs for polite sits but if the dog jumped on him, he'd pet it instead of walking away like we told him to. he seems like a really smart kid, just defiant, in need of constant attention and a little bratty. lol.

yes, usually he's just sitting on the sidelines - we have the dogs arranged around the room with barriers and he just sits in the chair in their 'station'. obviously mom wants him there for a reason, because he's definitely old enough to stay at home by himself. but whenever we practice a new behavior, it's never him doing it, it's always mom. so i'm not sure why he's there... he's obviously very bored.

the stress ball or something is a good idea... but really this should be the mother's responsibility. it's just really hard to to tactfully mention this to her... i'm glad i'm not the instructor. but i guess that's what's best for everyone, because i'm sure the kid annoys the crap out of the dog at home too. mom needs to realize this and do something about it.

sparkybeagle · 06-09-2008, 08:01 AM

Ditto on the stress ball...but maybe not a "ball" per say in a room of dogs. (too tempting to toss). My son has 'stress' star sqiush thing for school-he is figidty due to sensory issues, not ADHD (which to others it may appear to be). Having somthing to hold and fiddle with cuts down dramatically on interruptions. The mom probably has the kid there -especially a teen, to help learn how to work with the dog, responsibility , discipline etc.. It may be worth offering to have a private training session to work on desensitizing the dog so he will behave /follow commands with the distractions that most likely occur at home too. I wouldn't "diagnose" the kid, but say somthing like you can see that the dog is having trouble due to__________. I think most people recognize when there kid has issues and tactfully presented the mom may be very open to additional/private training.

wyx · 06-09-2008, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IslandMutts

yes, usually he's just sitting on the sidelines - we have the dogs arranged around the room with barriers and he just sits in the chair in their 'station'. obviously mom wants him there for a reason, because he's definitely old enough to stay at home by himself. but whenever we practice a new behavior, it's never him doing it, it's always mom. so i'm not sure why he's there... he's obviously very bored.

Why not let the kid handle the dog and let his mother sit on the sidelines? There are kids a lot younger than 16 in our agility class and they do just fine. If this kid is always stuck on the sidelines (in general not just dog class), no wonder he has issues.

IslandMutts · 06-09-2008, 01:01 PM

well we don't force him to sit on the sidelines... it's his choice or his mom's choice who handles the dog in class. there is girl in our class with a 'great saint' (saint bernard/great dane mix. read: horse) who is about the same age as this kid and she handles her dog just fine.

but yes i agree we should make more of an effort to get him involved. i'm remembering the orientation class when the instructor was explaining how to use the clicker and we used this kid as our 'dog' and he did really well and was happy for the attention. so next time i think we'll insist that he comes up to practice leash walking, instead of mom, who usually does it.