Obedience School??
 

Has obedience school worked for any of you? I am really wanting him to be a well behaved puppy and I am having trouble with this. It's a tad embarrassing when someone comes to visit and little Chewie refuses to listen all the while jumping up on people. Thinking that this could be a good idea for my stubborn little guy. One thursday a week for 8 weeks is the schedule, is this average? Just looking for some more info :)

Yes Quincy is a totally different dog. Comes when called, sits and stays. He's more fun to be with now I mean he was fun before but now it's even better.

To me, obedience school for puppies at a basic way to learn obedience is pretty unrealistic as it is a poor learning environment to have a roomful of very excited, untrained dogs and owners around as you try to communicate a calm training interaction with your own dog. Trying to act as your dog's leader who is training him when distracted by the retail setting, other owners and their dogs and your own excitement, nervousness running down the leash to your baby is a very difficult way to establish a good working relationship with a puppy. I much prefer getting a good obedience training book from a well-known trainer and do the basics at home in a calm, controlled atmosphere where you can bond and train your little one in a more natural setting. In the wild or feral setting, a momma dog will train her pups usually only after she has run all the males and others far away from her and her litter, working with them in her own controlled area and without the excitement and distractions of other dogs interfering with these basic, often lifesaving lessons. You can do the same and train your baby in the early basics when you have your pup's full attention and the atmosphere is quiet and controlled.

Then, once shots and all that are done and you have a working relationship with your baby, enroll in Obedience Class and socialize your dog while working on him learning to do the already learned lessons in public and with lots of distractions. You and your dog will have a lot more fun and achieve a lot more faster this way. And I think you will have a less excitable dog as a result of how he learns his early lessons.

:thumbup: Great post!

My baby is 6 months old, with all of his shots and I have been working with him pretty consistently. The problem that I am begginging to get frustrated with is that he only listens when he feels like it. He knows what I am asking him 99% of the time, but he is very stubborn. He will only listen if I have a treat on me, and if I have visitors or I am taking him visiting somewhere else, he rarely listens. Sit only happens if I have a treat etc. Telling him no and not to do something takes a few repetitions, and a nudge so he pays attention. He has very selective hearing!

Heidi is the first dog I have ever done obedience school with. I now plan to always do it with any future dogs. Looking back, it really helped a lot with her viewing me as the leader.

Iv'e always thought I could teach Joel myself instead of taking him to an obedience class but then again i'm not having much luck with him lol but he is getting better:)

Dori has graduated from 4 doggie classes. Each was 6-8 weeks and cost about $125. I found the instruction valuable for ME to know how to get her to do what I wanted, when to withdraw treats, and how to be consistent. The classes were 1 hr. long with 5-10 dogs attending. It was a great socializing experience and she made new doggie friends for play dates.

Before we began the classes, Heidi already knew sit, lay down, several tricks, etc. Truthfully, we only took the obedience classes because it was required by the therapy dog group I wanted to join.

In my experience, even though she already knew the commands, with all the multitudes of things going on around, lots of other dogs to cause distraction, extended sits & down, heeling, obedience activities, etc. it made a big difference in the depth of what she already knows and teaching me how to be a good leader. It was a lot different than I thought it would be, as I had no knowledge at all of obedience shows.
I'm all for it now though, even though the obedience ring is not for me.