Im apprehensive of going to my doggy training class.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

I am worried about Sunday's up and coming doggy training class. Yesterday was the 2 hour intro class without the dogs by the "Certified Master Trainer". The gist of it is they dont believe in treat rewards. The dog is trained to do what it is expected to do by the leader of the pack, and it does it because we expect it to , not for a reward. The reward if there is one being a pat or a kind word. Collars are mandatory for training classes either choke chain or prong collar. They brought their dog, a German Sheperd, who was in the crate the whole time till it was time do "demonstrate" The dog was on the ball alright, it responded immediately and impressively to all commands but he was in a semi slink position the whole time with ears flat and tail low. To me it looked the dog was scared sheetless to get anything wrong. Didnt look like a proud regal, tall postured GS at all. Is this what well trained dogs look like? Are they supposed to look scared? I dont want to judge beforehand and feel like they are hardasses...but should a dog look like that? Walking low in slink/crouch, flat ears, tail low, eyes on master???

Some weird homewrok consists of spitting in the bowl before I feed the dog, which I am to feed only after I eat myself. We dont do this at all. We have 3 free grazers. I just fill them in the morning and they graze here and there during the day. I refill at night.

How am I going to deal if she expects me to yank my dog harder than I want to etc....

[Caroline]

Hi,
I found a lot of the Ian Dunbar training books really useful in helping to train my 7 month old doodle. It is based on positive rewards training (food/affection/praise- whichever works best for your individual pup), and building trust between yourself and your dog. He founded the Association of Pet Dog Trainers - who share the same philosophy. You can do a search online to find registered trainers. Also, the website: www.siriuspup.com lists his books, DVDs and training materials for sale. There is another discussion detailing this on DK under finding a trainer in the LA area...
I was lucky enough to find an APDT registered trainer for our classes, which basically reinforced Ian Dunbar's recommendations, and that was really good for continuity. I understand you have paid already, and you can go to the first "with dog" class, and see how you feel about it. But if you do end up rejecting this trainer and have to "go it alone" as there isn't another trainer nearby, then you may find the books helpful. Good luck!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Okay, just signed up Lady P for next class "Basic Family Manners". Our trainer has the following quote on her web and I agree. Thought some of you might be interested:

As well-known dog trainer Terry Ryan puts it so well, “Training with positive reinforcement does not imply permissiveness. Dogs still must learn limits to their behavior. This can be accomplished by replacing bad habits with desirable behaviors. Previously, you scolded your dog, now you can reward your dog.”

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Sounds like a great trainer and Peri should do great there, can't wait to hear how her family manners change over the course of the class....

[Margaret Becker]

There are too many good trainers out there to put up with something you aren't comfortable with - if you don't like the situation, your dog won't. Spitting in the bowl? I don't think so. Move on.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

In my case though , there are no other trainers. I live in a remote place and the next trainer is in a city 8 hrs away. That was the reason I signed up with her. I will go and see what I can learn and take from the class without crossing my own boundaries. It might be just fine (hopefully). I have all sorts of books, I really wanted to try a class. This trainer actually has a great reputation around here believe it or not. My dog is not a big dog, and she is a soft dog and I will train her softly, as long as she doesnt try to push me into treating Abby like a rabid Rottie I can handle her class. If she tries to get me to correct Abby in such a away I find harsh I will simply tell her so.

[Lorraine Bromley]

I thought that I would share what my trainer shared with me about CERTIFICATION OR REGISTRATIONS. iN cANADA THERE IS BASICALLY NO SUCH ORGANIZATION THAT CARRIES ANY WEIGHT WITH ANY REGISTRATION BODY. She started a like minded group of trainers that provide training classes but the peice of paper is worth nothing to anyone except you and the dog. There are many of groups of trainers that claim they are certified. As long as you know who and what your paying for is only that persons self taught training methods.
Again unless someone shows me very good reason for use of those collars I still believe that the margin of error is large in use of owners leading to dogs damage. Heck we can't even get owners educated enough to socialize thier puppies let alone useing these collars correctly. We had choke chains on all our dogs when I was little. I don't like or condone thier use. MHO

[fergie11]

Find a different class. There's lots of them out there.

[Nancy Sunderland]

I had to switch upcoming puppy classes recently per my DH, because of the driving distance. I soooo wanted to go to the first place (specifically for puppies who aspire to be therapy dogs).... The new place, the lady also has a boarding kennel and raises pure bred golden retrievers. In a brief conversation she managed to bash every type of doodle out there and their breeders. I also, don't want to go to this lady, but for her philosophical snobbish opinions, not her trainings techniques. This is the same lady who taught my husband and our labs, and she does truly have a gift, very humane, very good at what she does. This is my first encounter with a pure-bred-breeder-SNOB, and I am NOT impressed....

To your question, are you 100% certain there is no other trainer close by? Check with pet supply stores, vets, groomers, maybe even farm/garden/hardware stores sometimes have info on obedience training. Most operations are small, and thus don't have $$$ for advertising. I would try word of mouth, through your own circle of acquaintances as well, or perhaps breeders, even of other breeds, in the area might now of someone who'd be willing to show you a few tricks of the trade?

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

UPDATE**

Went and it was just fine. We were told to give a quick correction if they didnt listen ... ie: Walking them in a heel position then stop and tell them to SIT if they dont respond give a small yank and repeat SIT putting them in the position with your hand. That sort of thing. The instructors werent on us at all and we all used what strength of a tug we wanted. Abby did really well and didnt have to be corrected hardly at all. We walked together and she heeled well, sat well. We learned "stay" with hand signal and she was awesome. The trainers werent as scary as I thought they'd be, infact they weren't "hardasses" at all.

Bu the class was noisy, and chaotic at first, so many dogs in one room and they were all acting like nutbars because they were so stressed at all the strange dogs is one room. There was one giant fearsome looking dog. I dont know what it was but it looked like a giant fighting dog.....like it was a cross between a great dane and a pit bull. It was massive , looked to have practically no ears, it was white, with red eyes....something out of a movie. It had a bark like a mack truck and the owner ( a small female go figure) had a hard time getting him to settle. He was probably just barking and excited and stressed like the other dogs but just looked dangerous. We were all avoiding the dog, and didnt want to cross paths with it.

I wonder what it was. I am going to go surf the net now to see if I can find a dog that looks like it. Then I will share the pic with you all.

[Adina P]

well GOOD! I was sure you'd manage okay and it wasn't going to be a horrible thing. So if so far you're doing well ... then just put in the work and your dogs will come out GREAT!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Maybe a Dogo Argentino?

(PS Glad the class went well)

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

OMG you are so psychic! I just copied the below pictures to show you! (twilight zone music)