Advice From A Vet Re Obedience

[Michelleva]

This has been bugging me.

We saw some friends last weekend who have a golden retriever, I think she'd be around 18 months now. This dog is totally hyperactive, it is obvious they have no control over her.

The owner then proceeded to tell me that the vet told them to wait till she's at least 2 to start obedience because she's too excited. A quote from the vet was "let her enjoy her puppyhood". I don't understand that at all, this dog is crazy and lives with three kids under 6. I'd be changing vets.

[persephone]

yep .. my aunt had similar advice- except 3yrs old was mentioned!!!

[Vickie]

Just to gve this another perspective, I waited until my Shine was 2 before I started training her for competition. Don't get me wrong, she certainly had a recall & basic manners at 6 months but I didn't feel she was ready for training either physically or mentally so I let her be the silly puppy she was & we just played a lot. Once I felt she was mature enough and I started to train her, things happened very quickly & by 2 1/2, she was at the stage I would expect for any of my dogs of that age. I don't believe training her at 6/12/18 months would have been the right thing to do for her and have never regretted my decision.

Obviously had she been out of control or had any serious problems I couldn't live with, I would have done things differently.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Vickie

[The Spotted Devil]

Just to gve this another perspective, I waited until my Shine was 2 before I started training her for competition. Don't get me wrong, she certainly had a recall & basic manners at 6 months but I didn't feel she was ready for training either physically or mentally so I let her be the silly puppy she was & we just played a lot. Once I felt she was mature enough and I started to train her, things happened very quickly & by 2 1/2, she was at the stage I would expect for any of my dogs of that age. I don't believe training her at 6/12/18 months would have been the right thing to do for her and have never regretted my decision.

Obviously had she been out of control or had any serious problems I couldn't live with, I would have done things differently.

+ 1

I had a nutty adolescent here too with the attention span of a flea. We played a lot (with short, easy commands worked into it), manners around the house, did LOTS of informal recall and just worked on getting him to relax. When Ziggy turned 18 months I actually started liking him a lot more and when he was 2, boy did the penny suddenly drop!

I think sometimes an off-hand comment by a professional can get taken the wrong way by a client.

[Cosmolo]

Professionals need to be VERY careful when making comments like that because although it may be meant in one way, it can be taken entirely differently by members of the general public.

[corvus]

I think that goes for trainers as well as vets.

[Michelleva]

I can see your point Vickie, but these people have taken the advice quite literally, she has no manners at all. I felt the fact that they told me what the vet said was used as an excuse for her lack of manners. When asked to sit she did nothing. My 15yo dd went to see her outside and this dog just jumped up on her, both paws on her shoulders, there was nothing vicious about it, just pure excitement.

[Agility Dogs]

Just to gve this another perspective, I waited until my Shine was 2 before I started training her for competition. Don't get me wrong, she certainly had a recall & basic manners at 6 months but I didn't feel she was ready for training either physically or mentally so I let her be the silly puppy she was & we just played a lot. Once I felt she was mature enough and I started to train her, things happened very quickly & by 2 1/2, she was at the stage I would expect for any of my dogs of that age. I don't believe training her at 6/12/18 months would have been the right thing to do for her and have never regretted my decision.

Obviously had she been out of control or had any serious problems I couldn't live with, I would have done things differently.

I agree Vickie - some puppies just aren't ready.

With Wikki I'm lucky - it's almost like she was born to work, but we are still really focussed on play with heaps of drive/balanced with self control. She is just as excited, focussed and interested regardless of whether it is circle work (like heel work only on both sides) or flat out tugging or playing crate games. If she were a different type of pup I'd be inclined to work differently and just focus on play with some rules.

There is no way any dog should be allowed to live without rules until they are 2 months - let alone 2 years. Perhaps what the vet meant was that they should let the puppy play and enjoy puppy hood and avoid formal obedience until the age of 2?

[grumpette]

My boy Zeph is 16 months old and has not started formal obedience training as he has the attention span of a gnat and a boy brain to boot. He does however have manners, knows sit and wait, and has a 90% recall. His activities in life are socialising with other dogs at obedience and while out and about, lots of play with commands while distracted/ in drive and his favourite activity herding. Having control while in drive is the important thing for him at the moment.

My girl Dee on the other hand is 24 months and has been doing competitive obedience for the last 8 months, gaining her CCD title and one pass in CD so far. The reason for this is so that she can gain confidence and remain calm around other dogs after being attacked on three separate occasions while on lead out walking. Obedience is her activity along with lots of play with commands while distracted/ in drive as she has extremely high prey drive.

My old girl Baylee had her CD title by the time she was 3 years old and still loves to work and play games, although the body is not as willing anymore.

So as you can see different dogs require different training schedules for various reasons, but I believe that basic obedience and manners should always be present.

[Vickie]

I can see your point Vickie, but these people have taken the advice quite literally, she has no manners at all.

I know & I am not excusing her lack of training/manners, just adding another viewpoint of where the vet may be coming from. They do sound like they have taken the advice as the easy way out of training her. Unfortunately she sounds like she won't get much out of obedience classes when they finally do take her .

[Cosmolo]

I agree corvus- by professionals, i meant to encompass trainers as well.

[Nekhbet]

yes why not wait until the habits are totally set in concrete and harder to shift. I wish vets would give advice on things they know little about. Attention spans can be taught and moulded, finding the right classes would also help socialise the dog as well as teach basic manners

[OSoSwift]

There is a vast difference between obedience training and manners/boundries.

The problem being that many/most Joe Blows need to go to an obedience school to get a basic idea of how to train manners.

I have worked with a few vets and to be honest only a third would have any idea about training. One I only worked a short time with really loved training and had a great mind for it and a great way of working out how to train particular issues someone may be having.

The others came to me for advice for their own dogs.

My family dogs were never "obedience" trained but all had impeccable house manners and manners in general. All came when called, got on their beds when asked etc.