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04-13-2006, 11:03 AM | #1 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Idaho
Posts: 16
| Obedience Class (Mortified) In early March I decided that Odie needed obedience class. He was not jumping on people (except our laps when on the couch), not pulling on the leash(he walks great on the leash and on my left side, he loves that side), has no barking problems and he is not aggressive towards other dogs. The main reason to enroll him was because he likes to steal food out of my hand if I am eatting on the couch and occassionally he does not listen to me and then will do the complete opposite of what I told him to do. So I enrolled him in the training. I did not even think about how other peoples dogs would behave. Last night was the first class of the 10 week course. I could not believe my eyes. The other dogs in the class were absolutely CRAZY. I am not just saying this b/c Odie is my baby, they were nuts. They were pulling their owners around, jumping on people, not listening, barking, growling, digging. Acting completely nuts. I look down at Odie (on his leash) and he is sitting next to me looking at all these dogs probably thinking "Mom, what are you doing to me." He was so good. Never barked at the other dogs, never pulled on the leash (he never does anyways), he obeyed himself so well. I was very proud. People were asking me "Does he ever bark?" (he does when people knock on the door and step on our lawn), "Why are you here?", "He does so well on the leash." I have come to the conclusion that Odie does not belong in that class (it is for nutty, huge dogs). I do not know what I was thinking. I thought it would be better for him. I guess I was wrong. I think all he needs is some one on one training with me. No intense training but some maybe from a book. So after the class (my husband works nights) my husband called and asked how it went. I was balling my eyes out at how I thought I was being cruel to Odie. To sum this long blabber up, I was mortified at what I saw and to think that Odie needed help, I think I am the crazy one. If I had a dog like the ones that were in that class I would be there too, but I don't. I am currently waiting for the trainer to call me back to talk with her about the refund policy. I will let you all know what happens. Another thing, I have also come to the conclusion that some of those dogs probably act this way b/c they are chained up in a back yard all day and rarely have human interaction. I am not saying ALL but maybe some. Anyways, have a great one and give all your babies love from me. |
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04-13-2006, 11:14 AM | #2 |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 4,347
| Awe, that was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sweet!!!!! Sounds like you have an AWSOME baby on your hands!!!!! Also sounds like he should have been TEACHING the class! One on one is ALL YOU NEED. You have a great little boy there! The class was not "useless"....you learned a LOT! |
04-13-2006, 11:22 AM | #3 |
Donating YT 10K Club Member | Spoken like a true mother My nephew once got caught out "after" curfew. As part of the punishment, he had to go to a class for delinquets w/ his parents. My brother and SIL said after they saw and heard how "bad" those other children were....their's was an angel Btw, you're right....big dog puppies are nuts. No offense to big dog puppy people...it's just their bodies have grown faster than their brains
__________________ Deb, Reese, Reggie, Frazier, Libby, Sidney, & Bodie Trace & Ramsey who watch over us www.biewersbythebay.com |
04-13-2006, 11:22 AM | #4 |
YT Addict Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New Jersey
Posts: 328
| I think it was good that you went to this class. It makes you appreciate even more how good Odie is. Debbie's bad habit is the screaming when the car is stopped and she is excited to get out and get going. She too rarely barks. I took her to the PetsMart puppy classes which were a pretty big waste of time. She was young and she was only about 2 pounds then. Even though the others were small breeds she still spent her time trying to be inconspicuous. She already responded to her name and knew how to sit. I still can't get her to lay down but why bother? She's real close to the floor anyway. Sometimes it's good to attend these classes for the socialization aspect. It sounds like these dogs aren't very good examples for Odie to follow. I hope you're able to get your money back. For anyone else considering group classes, they should try to find out what other breeds will be attending and try to find one for smaller dogs. It's not as scary for a little yorkie that way. I think you'll be able to break Odie of his food stealing habit, but it might be hard if you continue to feed him table food. Those that have NEVER done that seem to have no trouble with begging. |
04-13-2006, 11:37 AM | #5 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: TX
Posts: 2,799
| Yes, we seemed to be "out of our element" when Tatum and I went to obedience class too because she was so well behaved next to the others BUT we did come away learning a few things. The trainer was able to show me how to train her on certain things better than I think I would have gotten from a book. When I first showed her Tatum walking on a leash, she was shocked that Tatum did so well right off the bat. I think it had a lot to do with taking her to the ballpark so much. The trainer said that Yorkies are usually not that calm (Tatum is naturally pretty calm though) and well behaved and that she had grown up around a lot of them. The best thing I came away from those classes with is that Tatum learned "come". I just couldn't master that on my own. Maybe you should try to find a class with more advanced trained dogs or one with small dogs exclusively. We don't have much choice around here but maybe you could search for something like that.
__________________ ~ Angie |
04-13-2006, 12:45 PM | #6 |
YT Addict Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: florida
Posts: 348
| Sounds like odie taught his mom a thing or two . Maybe he is just letting his "guard" down more at home, kinda like we do. I think with a little patience he will not take food anymore. My little girl will not take food but she will sit next to you, my little boy (rather new to our home) is in the process of learning not to approach people with food. He sounds wonderful though, and do not feel bad. We all want the best for the yorkies we fall in love with and sometimes what we thought was going to be great for them turns out not to be needed after all.
__________________ Yorkies are |
04-14-2006, 11:36 AM | #7 |
Yorkie Talker Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Idaho
Posts: 16
| Oh yeah THought I would let you know that obedience teacher was extremely nice and understanding of my situation and refunded the full amount. She wants me to be comfortable to ever call her or stop by when I have questions and work on the specifics of what I would like to teach Odie. All is well. |
04-14-2006, 12:00 PM | #8 |
No Longer a Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South Florida
Posts: 8,577
| Odie Well, what do you expect from Odie..after all he is English!..and the English know their manners. |
04-14-2006, 12:07 PM | #9 |
Waiting for my Little Girl Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: miami, florida
Posts: 1,313
| it probably worked out for the best. be thankful your odie doesn't act like those crazy dogs. he sounds like an angel to me, so maybe you need some one on one training with him. at least the dogs didnt hurt hime either.
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04-14-2006, 12:35 PM | #10 | |
Donating YT 9000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: North Carolina :)
Posts: 10,616
| Quote:
That's great news! Yea, Odie needs one on one, not a class full of nuts!!!! Yep, Deb is right, their bodies grow a lot faster than their brains. I know, we found that out with Mandy, but they do learn Now if I can just get her to understand she's over 100 pounds, I can't pick her up like Princess
__________________ Friends are God's way of apologizing for our relatives. "Love & Support Our YT Members" Gina & Princess Member of the SSLS | |
04-14-2006, 06:38 PM | #11 |
Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Denver
Posts: 48
| I enrolled Sasha in a little dog training class- we -our local yorkie club- found a great lady who would teach just our little ones. It worked out really well! Some of the new puppies were a little bouncy- but the training was really great and the little ones were not intimidated by a bunch of big dogs! Just a thought!
__________________ Sandy |
04-14-2006, 08:49 PM | #12 |
Donating Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Alberta, Canada
Posts: 338
| I'm so sorry to hear that you both had such a bad experience with obedience classes.....I was talking to my vet recently about that , She told me that I should start out with the puppy manners class, (he is 4 months) it concentrates more on the minor annoyances... and then move up to more intense training...She recommended a training class to me that has only a few puppies at a time....maybe you could check and see if there is such a thing in your area?....Good Luck.....
__________________ "To err is human, to forgive, Canine." Proud Mom of Bailey and Copper |
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