Oscar (AmBull) Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 I have a 12 week old Amstaff puppy, Oscar. We started PPS last week and there were 10 in the class, therefore we have now split into two groups. My concern is that Oscar was extremely vocal and boisterous, he is not used to other dogs as he is our only one and we do not know many people with dogs. He was pulling on his lead, there were no free for all, he was on lead the whole time. However barked and wanted to play. My main concern is that our new group mainly consists of smaller puppies, a tenterfield terrier with some socialisation issues according to the owner it is aggressive, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Shitsu x Maltese, apologies for the spelling. The last two were extremely shy and the cav sat on his owners lap the whole night. We will have one more other puppy around Oscar's size and they tried to match him up as best they could with another confident dog. Just wondering if anyone has any tips on how to try and calm him in these situations? And is there anything I should be recognising or prepared for in terms of the size difference of the puppies in the group? He is so confident and the other puppies are just not. Any advice is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stitch Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 (edited) Over the years I have attended many preschool classes with pups that I have bred and am running on. I always take my older pups (over 12wks) to preschool whether I am keeping them or not as I feel it really helps their development. Personally I dislike puppy preschool classes that don't separate the little dogs from the bigger dogs. I feel it is not fair to the dogs or the owners. I have noticed that there IS a BIG difference from a pup that has been consistent and attended as many classes as he/she can. At first you see pups that are shy, timid, aggressive, etc. but with work and practice their behaviour greatly improves. It may not seem as though you are making progress, but if it is a good class with an experienced teacher you will make progress. So, is it a good class with an experienced teacher?? If you don't agree with something, you can always ask the teacher why it is done that way and they should be able to give you a good answer. (If you are not happy with the class you can always hunt around for a better one.) Even though the preschool will have some free play it is not to be confused with playtime. You should use preshool as an opportunity to see the areas your pup has problems with so you can work on them. The usual areas that need work are probably going to be getting the pup to do as you want with all the distractions around, not what he/she wants. Barking etc. is to be discouraged and usually you do this by distraction, the same way as you distract a small child. You use food rewards to reinforce good behaviour like sitting quietly beside you. As I said you get better the more you practice it. Daily practice at home helps to achieve better behaviour in the class. There is no magic cure, just repetition and positive rewards for the pup showing the behaviour you want and doing the exercises correctly. Edited June 14, 2009 by STITCH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen Posted June 14, 2009 Share Posted June 14, 2009 For times when he is to be sitting quietly and the instructor is talking a really good chew toy works wonders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar (AmBull) Posted June 15, 2009 Author Share Posted June 15, 2009 The trainer does seem good so far, she is insistant on positive reinforcement. It is just so hard to keep him calm and sitting. He does it, I reward him and he is trying to get at the other puppies for play time again. Are there any specific ways of keeping him calm that I can practise at home? helen: Thanks so much for the suggestion, I will go armed with a toy tonight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted June 15, 2009 Share Posted June 15, 2009 If hes 3 months i would scrap puppy pre school & head straight to an obedience club where the class will be more constructive for your needs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oscar (AmBull) Posted June 15, 2009 Author Share Posted June 15, 2009 I have booked him into a really good obediance school, but they don't take them until they are 16 weeks, so puppy pre school is our only option for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stitch Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Good for you for starting your puppy on the right path. IMO puppy preschool is a good start - you are learning things already. Formal dog training classes will teach you and your dog more - keep up the good work!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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