1st puppy class... training

[dal]

Hi Everyone!  Time is flying - Cooper will be 14 weeks on Wednesday!  Anyway, he was a super crazy jumpy nippy new puppy and is still very jumpy.  Nipping has calmed down quite a bit.

I took him to puppy kindergarten on Saturday and we met with a trainer one on one right before the class.  The trainer told me I don't have much control over him.  She gave me some tips which worked really well Saturday afternoon and evening but I think he was also exhausted from all the excitement of the class etc.  My husband has much more control over him than I do yet I do 99% of the work?!  The tips she gave me didn't work as well for me yesterday but were still working for my husband.

The class went okay - he was definitely one of the more excitable dogs (maybe because he's a doodle?).  However, at the end, they split the dogs into two groups to play - the more tentative ones and the more excited ones.  They put Cooper on the excited side and he didn't want any part of the dogs.  He jumped on a few people then pretty much just sniffed around the walls.  So they moved him to the calmer side and he just crawled under a chair?!  Is this normal?  He was from a littler of only two but he did play with many adult dogs while still with our breeder.  Could he have just been so overwhelmed and tired from the one and one session then the class?  He was interested in the other dogs at the beginning of class - he would sniff their noses and such...

Just not sure what to expect since I've never done this before.  I am thinking of getting a private trainer to come to our house too.  The trainer Saturday made some comment about him being a great dog if we train him but if we let his behaviors go on, that's how aggression comes to be?!?!?  Is that true?  I have three kids, 6, 10 and 11 and her comment about aggression made me a little nervous.

I'm tired and frustrated today and I know this is a great place to come when feeling like that since you have all gone through this or are going through it.

Thank you all for saving my sanity during these early weeks!!

[Dexter Doodle]

I am no expert, but can tell you my experience with my almost 7 month old mgd. We started a private trainer around 14 weeks. I had the same issue where my little guy listened better to my husband and I was the one who spent most of the time with him and did most of the training. He is also very excitable and boy was he stubborn. Dexter did pretty well with his first lesson. I had great hope after the trainer left, but then that first week of training was rough. I was thinking he wasn't understanding and he was very vocal during training sessions. When the trainer came back she helped me realize the little stinker was just protesting. As strict as I thought I was already with him, he didn't like the new rules!

With time I gained even more confidence and I guess he realized he is not getting his way with me. The biggest mistake I made was thinking he was just too young to understand or do certain things. If he could do it with the trainer there, he could do it.

For me, that age was about the hardest time. I was really ready to throw in the towel those first few months. So many things have improved since then. I feel like I got my life back as silly as that may sound. He is still very excitable around people. He doesn't jump on them much, but looks like a crazy thing spinning in circles on his back trying not to jump and contain his excitement.


The training and time make a huge difference and it goes by quickly. That said, I vow to never take on another puppy!

[Dexter Doodle]

The first few months with my puppy was harder than the first few months with my son! Everyone I tell laughs at me, but I am so serious.

[dal]

I agree 100%!  This puppy is so much harder for me than any of my kids were.  With the kids, I think some natural maternal instinct kicked in for me.  I feel so clueless with my dog.

[Dexter Doodle]

Same thing I told everyone. I was a mom and school teacher and that was just natural for me.

The best story I could tell to explain this was when he was about 12 weeks old. My husband took my son for his lessons after dinner and I had a terrible headache. I had Dexter on a leash attached to me as I was trying to rest my head on the couch. Dexter settled down and fell asleep. I was resting looking at him thinking that maybe he wasn't so bad after all. He looked up at me lovingly (or so I thought) and I lowered my head toward him. Before I knew what happened, he bit my nose and his little shark tooth cut the inside of my nose. I was bleeding! I did what you shouldn't and smacked him on his nose not hard but just enough to make him think we were playing a game and the nap was over. When my husband got home I ranted and he said all the logically annoying things like I shouldn't have put my face in his and that he was just a puppy. I went to bed that night so disgusted with it all.

The good news is I write this as my bigger little guy is snuggling up next me and I have no fears of him nipping at me (well sometimes he tries to nibble on my hair or a string on my shirt still). They may initially be harder than babies, but the progression goes much faster.

[dal]

That is a great story and exactly how I feel my life is right now!  Resting with him tethered to me, my husband being all logical and me feeling totally disgusted with the whole thing!  So glad to hear this will pass!

[SoSa]

That is good to hear. :-)

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

I felt the same, Christina! The babies were a breeze comparatively :) I was literally shaking on Rip's first night home. I had a huge learning curve and was very hard on myself trying to train him perfectly. Not to mention training my family members, too for consistency. I felt like a nut! And I'll even admit, it took me a while to truly* love my pup, too. But now he is wonderful, we are all so in love with him, and we would never go back. All the same, I keep reminding myself how hard those first few months were, so that I will not do it again, lol!

[Gracie, Jade, & Barkley]

Lol. Ashley, I'm way older than you as my kids are grown and almost grown. When we first brought Gracie home, I thought what in the world was I thinking having another baby. I'm too old for this. ;) but, I can definitely see the similarities between puppies and babies and toddlers, etc... So, it will give you a great perspective when you do have children. Also, a great appreciation for diapers and no teeth. :D

[dal]

So true about the diapers and no teeth!!

[SoSa]

LOL!!!! I have twins, and I will tell you, I think this puppy thing is just hard if not harder. This is definitely our first and last puppy. We love him, but boy puppies are exhausting. Puppy madness is real, LOL!!

[dal]

That doesn't sound silly at all - I cannot wait to get my life back - that is exactly how I feel!!  And I, too, vow to never take on another puppy.  Ever!!!!  I think you are so right about the confidence - I think I am lacking confidence because I have never had a dog before.  I am hoping the trainer will help me with that.  Glad to hear at 7 months, you are already seeing a difference!  How many sessions did you have with the private trainer?

[Dexter Doodle]

We had a total of 5 sessions. One was more a puppy evaluation type and then 4 obedience lessons. I also joined her for 2 group pack walks which are free after you complete a class. I still have 1 lesson that I paid for, but she told me I could hold on to a bit if I want. Being that he is hitting that teenage time, I like having that security. Dexter also spent 3 nights with the trainer while i went away for my birthday. It was more of a play and board type thing, but I knew she would reinforce the rules. I never had a puppy or dog growing up. It was all new to me.

The difference is huge between 3 months and now. The fun now outweighs the work. For a long time, it wasn't that way at all for me. I probably sound terrible, but I'm honest!