Puppy socialization classes

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

I'm in the process of getting Yeti signed up for some puppy socialization classes! I am very very excited but also slightly worried. As I have mentioned before Yeti is sort of timid when it comes to other dogs. I'm hoping this class will break him out of his cute little shell! After puppy socialization we will start CGC classes ☺️

Has anyone put their sort of shy puppy through socialization classes? How did it go? Any tips on things to do to prepare him or just tips in general would be greatly appreciated!

[Kaitlin and Ludo]

Ludo was a shy puppy (he was also somehow kind of a bully as a puppy at the same time) and we did puppy preschool (socialization), puppy kindergarten and Canine Good Citizen classes. It definitely took Ludo some time to learn the ropes of what is appropriate, but we had a trainer leading our group who watched the dogs, separated anyone (if need be) and gave a short lesson (like on grooming or training) each week.  The rest of the time was playtime. Ludo was more interested in the people and had a hard time finding a buddy who was evenly matched and not scary.  

How old is Yeti?  I feel like he looks like just a puppy. I'd want to help him learn the ropes of training through other group classes before I did CGC, personally.  Ludo went through it between the ages of 9-10 months and he was the youngest in the class-- just putting that out there :)

My advice to you is to try and remain calm at each class.  I believe they feed off our energy and know when we're anxious or worried and it throws them off. Just remember it's all for his benefit and even if things don't go perfectly, he's still your puppy and you love him anyway!

Lastly, for my timid Ludo, doggy daycare is what made the biggest difference.  I found a place (trainer recommendation) that had webcams where I could watch him play and more than that-- they evaluated every dog they let in and then worked with Ludo by hand-picking play groups and building up his confidence.  In just a few weeks, he was a brand new, confident dog!! 

Good luck and Yeti is adorable.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you so so much! Ludo reminds me of Yeti haha. Very shy around dogs but wants to maul every person he sees with love and kisses (and a couple of puppy bites thrown in there). He will be 5 months next week! We will be taking him to puppy kindergarten to get acclimated and I'm pretty excited for him.
The thing is, everyone we know who has a dog either has a full grown dog whom is WAY bigger than Yeti or has a puppy who is still way bigger then him haha. I want him to get comfortable with every kind of dog big small old or young. I know it'll take work and like you said he will need to learn the ropes.
He is really testing his limits at home right now so I'm hoping this class can start correcting some of that. I would love to send him to doggie day care but the only one in my area doesn't have very good word of mouth :(. Such a shame because I'd love to have him get that extra socialization time in.