Alpha Dog Training - Melb

[Kelpiegal]

Just curious about this place?

I'm aware they run a normal obedience class that can be attended but what I am interested in finding out more about is their in-house dog training.

They offer a service where they take your dog away with them & train them & then teach you what they've trained the dog & how to put it all into place. I am a bit unsure what to make of this & am curious to know if others have ever done this before?

My youngest dog has been in training at our local obedience school but apart from learning the very basics of obedience she & I, as her handler are struggling to go forward. I am now looking into what sort of training to get to try & sort the issues we are facing out.

When speaking to the people at Alpha on the phone about the issues we are concerned about with our dogs, they made it seem that the problems are treatable but I am just wondering if this place is going to be right for us.

I'm not sure me not being there through the training process is a bad or good thing either.

Although we are certainly not loaded (I'm looking for a job atm), my hubby & I are willing to spend a bit if it means getting good training for our dogs. I'm unsure if the price quoted to us by Alpha is expensive or not, as their training sounds so intensive, it's hard to make that judgement.

Any advice &/or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[Kavik]

I don't know about these particular people.

How old is your pup?

The thing you have to be aware of with in house training is that some places do not use very positive methods (to put it mildly!). Young pups certainly do not need such intensive training, you would be better off going to a club or getting a private trainer in. If your dog is older it may help to get a handle on some difficulties, but be careful where you go.

My parents sent a rescue Beagle they had away for training (against my advice) and were told it was positive training. It certainly WAS NOT! I am sure they hit the dog as when they raised their arm (their drop signal) the dog hit the deck and rolled onto his back, which he previously didn't, and this was not a cowering dog, he was right full of himself

[Cosmolo]

We do borading and training and while it can be a brilliant tool for some dogs, it largely depends on what issues are present, the dogs temperament and what the owner expects. What are you looking to get out of boarding and training?

I also suggest you go and look at where the dog would be staying- i have never been to alpha but i find quite a few people who board and train don't look at the facilities available at different places.

[Cosmolo]

Just had a look at their website- doesn't sound bad, but is quite pricey.

[Kelpiegal]

Firstly thanks to the responses so far.

My dogs are both kelpie x's - Shelby (pic in my avatar) is 6.5 yrs old desexed female & Jazz is approx 5.8 yrs desexd female.

As far as training goes - both have basic training of doing sit, drop, stay etc & both are very good at off leash recall. Being kelpies Shelby especially is extremely eager to please & is very motivated by toys, moreso than food.

Jazz is the one we seem to be having more problems with at the moment. I have found with her that she doesn't listen when given instruction, she follows Shelby's lead or will run straight under our house (we have a timber home so the dogs can access the under house area.)

Shelby has always been the alpha dog between the 2 of them although neither shows any sign of being overly dominant. Shelby was also with us prior to us getting Jazz. The only time Jazz does show reaction to Shelby is when playing fetch she will often get right behind Shelby & bark at her & she will also now involve herself in the run of the chase for a toy but never actually goes for the toy itself, just seems to want to be in the run part of it.

At obedience training I kept being told that I needed to get my dog's attention on me, but everything I tried (apart from dangling food) didn't work & Jazz would either look around at everything else or just ignore me. If I got overly exited in trying to get her attention she'd then usually break from the position she was supposed to be in. Getting her to look me in the eye, even at home, is very difficult, she really seems reluctant to do this.

At home if getting in trouble she will shy her head away even if she is at a distance from us. She will then also take any opportunity to run under the house & it is nearly impossible to recall her, as she just keeps going & ignores commands she normally responds to (like recall.) She will also respond even if we address Shelby, such as if Shelby has been naughty she may be told to go to her kennel & Jazz will follow unless you hold her back physically. This can happen even when Jazz is far away on the other side of the yard, she'll still do it.

We originally got Jazz from Lort Smith after seeing her as a stray, we waited & she became available for adoption & home with us she came. When we got her she would have been approx. 1 yr old. She'd been desexed & had no major health issues & still now maintains good health. The only things that did stand to notice to us were - she was quite underweight (had been on the streets a good week or so), very playful & loving, scoffed her food down in record time (still does) & we also noticed that when you went to pat her on the head you could almost see her cower down, we believe she may have been hit or possibly worse in her old home as she did show signs of fear when a hand was near the top of her head.

Really now I just want Jazz to be a bit more independent of Shelby when she's told & I'd love to get her to learn to pay more attention to us. I would love to put both of my dogs through possible further adventures such as flyball &/or agility, as I think both have what it takes, but want to resolve these issues first, especially as for Jazz it seems to be holding her back.

Anyway, I hope that some of this info helps explain more my problem & I would love further advice. Am I facing an uphill battle with my dog or is this sort of problem quite a normal one?

[Kavik]

Honestly to me it doesn't sound like sending them away is what you need to do.

Do you walk and train them separately or together? Training them separately will help them to focus on you and not each other.

Have you done any focus work to get Jazz's attention on you? If Jazz likes food you could try clicker training, or spitting food (I do this with Diesel )

[Cosmolo]

Given that their obedience is good and the issues you would like resolution to- i think your money would be better spent with an in house session with a qualified trainer/ behaviourist. Boarding and training can be a successful start at resolving issues that are easy for the trainer to set up- obediene, dog to dog aggression etc. Running under a house/ fear in the home cannot be replicated and you would find the issues would be likely to exist to the same or similar degree after boarding and training.

[Kelpiegal]

Hey Kavik,

We have tried a variety of ways to try & get it right. I have never been one to believe sending dogs away would be good I spose I've just found myself running out of ideas.

When we go for our walks, which we do daily we walk together but as Shelby is a lot faster, whereas Jazz is happier to walk at an easier pace, Jazz & I often end up walking quite a bit further behind my hubby & Shelby. We then allow the dogs play time together in the park where they can run around & stretch out. Over time, hubby has often walked Shelby or Jazz & vice versa as we both want the dogs to respond to the both of us.

In training for the most part I have taken Jazz as we felt the consistency with her having one handler at a time would be better. Hubby has taken other classes so we could keep the dogs away from each other & also due to Shelby advancing further than Jazz.

Tbh I don't know much about clickers or how they work & I have never heard of spitting (but am open to anything) so those options haven't been explored yet. Like I said I am willing to try new methods as the old ways obviously are not working.

Hey Cosmolo,

Just to clarify Jazz will use avoidance outside the home as well, if she thinks she's in trouble. For the most part her recall is great, but if she thinks she is in trouble she'll avoid & I have to really coax her to get her to come back. Away from the home, she'll still try it but she just doesn't have that immediate hiding place like under the house to access.

I do agree about possibly some of the issues coming back once she is back home. Again part of why I am seeking out opinions as I want to resolve this but have been a bit unsure about Alpha's methods.

If you can recommend someone to us I would be happy to get someone to our home to take a look at the dogs in their environment or alternatively to take them to see someone & see what happens.

I love both my dogs & just want them to be happy & to feel safe & secure.