milo&codus

Thanks for the responses - I have decided to sign him up for the adolescent classes (run by a trainer on the school grounds), as there is just a max of 8 dogs in the class, and I think he will be able to focus a little better. This goes for 6 weeks. Once he's completed that I'll either put him into the next level of obedience classes with the same trainer, or get him started at the beginners obedience with all the other dogs at the local kennel club. I will also most definitely keep up his training at home. His loose-leash walking could use some work!! He has just recently decided to think that play-biting is a fun game too (he's good most of the I time, but when he's over-tired or over-excited his little nippers unleash).... I have been reading the other posts regarding this, so I will just continue being consistent and patient with him... On a good note, I practiced his recall this morning in the park on a long line (9m), and he came back 90% of the time (mind you I had some pretty tasty chicken!) Practice makes perfect right!?! Thanks again for the advice everyone.

Hi everyone, I have a quick question regarding beginners obedience training - I went to our the local kennel club yesterday (without Milo, our 17 week old Labrador) to check out the beginners classes. We are booked in to commence beginners classes in a few weeks time. It looks very popular and there were dogs everywhere - all in different groups depending on their level of training etc. The beginners/motivational classes had at least 4-5 groups of 8 dogs, then there were other larger groups teaching more advanced classes. All classes are taught in a large open field. My question is, do you think Milo would be totally overwhelmed by the amount of dogs (there were honestly at least 100 dogs there)...?? He will be 5 months old when we start & he has never been around this amount of barking dogs before - I'm not really sure how he will go, I'm concerned he may get totally over-excited, or will be frightened by sensory overload!.... Getting him to focus will be interesting, or even be able to do the training session? I observed the classes for quite a while and it seemed that some were really calm and didn't seem to care less about all the other dogs/people (these appeared to be the older dogs), but others were going nuts, jumping, barking, whining, rolling... Any thoughts/suggestions? Should I just go to the first class and see how he responds? My other option would be to sign him up for a privately run adolescent class that only allows 8 dogs max and is held on the grounds of a local primary school (after hours)- its run by a private company (trainer is member of Association of Pet Dog Trainers and Pet Industry Association of Australia). Cheers

Yes Danny's Darling is right, the annual subscription is $20, and it costs $3/class. Newcastle All Breeds Dog Training Club was recommended by a friend, they have several different types of obedience classes available, including agility etc.

Puppy school cancelled, I have instead contacted out local Dog Training Club to see when he would be able to commence their beginners and/or obedience classes. They have been very helpful - he has to have had his 16week shot before he's allowed to start. He gets his last vaccination next week - yippeeeee! Does it take about 1 week to fully get into his system...? The price difference between the pup preschool ($150!!!), and the obedience classes at local training club ($6/class) is amazingly different too! Cheers for everyone's comments and input, I'm sure little (or should I say BIG, did you see his paws??) Milo will thank you for it :)

Ok, I think I'll just take his name off the list for pup school, keep doing training at home (and visits with friendly vaccinated dogs, outings to the shops etc) & then get him into the next round of adolescent obedience training once he's had his booster at 16 weeks.... ekkkkk so much to think of.... last thing I want to do is take him somewhere that is poorly run with 8 puppies chasing each other around... I was hoping for a more structured setting. Thanks for everyone's advice, much appreciated :)

I'd be taking a pup of this age directly to obedience training classes. I think he's a bit old for a vet pre-school. Yes I though so too, but I was told that he needs to have his final vaccination at 16weeks before he will be accepted to obedience (apparently Newcastle has a lot of parvo cases at the moment), so I was informed that we should do puppy school in the mean time (we have already socialised him with other puppies/dogs that are fully vaccinated, and have been taking him on car rides, trips to the shops, the beach, playing with kids etc etc - I've not let him walk on the ground in areas frequently used by dogs, but he is getting VERY heavy to carry!) Plus we have been doing basic commands, sit, down, name, recall, wait, leave it... Should I just pull him out of pup school, focus on his training and socialisation, and book him in for obedience training as soon as he's had his last shot, in 3 weeks....? PS: Im still finding it hard to get through to him with his play-biting/mouthing, he's usually pretty good, but when he gets overtired/exciting his little teeth come out again.... ouch! tried yelping, tried time-out, redirect to toys etc... he seems to respond for the first few minutes, then goes right back to it again.... little bugger.

apocalypsepwnie, your post has definitely got my attention.... We have just signed our 13 week old Lab into a local puppy preschool that starts in a few weeks, and I noticed you are from Newcastle too.... From the information you've given I'm starting to think it may be the same one we intend to go to. I know you probably don't want to name the school, but it would be great if you could update this post after your next class & let us know how it went. If you are still unhappy with them, I would love to know the details (in a private message of course), as I do not want to take Milo somewhere that is not well-structured or run appropriately. Thanks in advance :)

Oh my god what a cute face! Love his little paw charm :D Fellow black lab owner here - my girls 2 and is Abbey. Thanks for re-posting here for me! I realised I'd added to the wrong section this morning....Yes he's been quite an addition to the family :) We had his paw ID tag engraved last week and I make sure he wears it whenever he's outside in the yard. Abbey is such a sweetie. 2 years seems like a lifetime away, but I'm sure it goes fast!

Hi everyone, I am new here, and have thoroughly enjoyed reading everyone's posts. This forum has given me soooo much information, and helped with those stressful moments of being a new puppy Labrador owner! Our little guy's name is Milo & he's just 12 weeks old - he's a black Lab & we love him to bits. Im look forward to reading all of your posts & getting some great tips from everyone!! I have already spent countless hours reading through all the different sections and looking at the stunning photos - there are some beautiful dogs on this site! Here is a pic of our little fella - he's growing by the minute!:)