Should You Go To Obedience Even If You Find It Boring?

[megan_]

1 hour of even the best class is boring.

I think there needs to be a lot more emphasis on manners, how to greet dogs, off leash area rules etc at obedience, rather than formal recalls (sit, stay, recall - which doesn't get used in real life).

You also need to be able to take a break and not participate.

[JulesP]

I enjoy learning so I don't find obedience classes boring. My dogs like hanging out with Mummy so they don't tend to get bored either.

If I didn't like classes then I would find a school with classes I did like.

[poodlemum]

The few times I Instructed Beginners I liked to take several breaks for socialising, a bit of play etc. Instructors have to recognise that young dogs can have a very short attention span & that persisting in training a bored dog is counter-productive! I liked to place much more emphasis on the socialisation aspect, with just a bit of basic Obedience thrown in.

[Diva]

I think there needs to be a lot more emphasis on manners, how to greet dogs, off leash area rules etc at obedience, rather than formal recalls (sit, stay, recall - which doesn't get used in real life).

I think all the Canberra Clubs do a lot of manners work in beginners. Varies a bit between clubs but you get exercises like go to your mat, how to meet and greet other dogs on lead, loose lead walking, trick training, meal time manners etc. I find that can get boring - but horses for courses I guess. .

Even with a good syllabus a class can only be interesting if the participants are willing to engage so it's a bit of a two way street. It's hard if half the class are thinking of it as some kind of chore. I think 60 minutes is too long, but I've been told people won't turn up for less. As for heeling in circles or straight lines for half the time - I thought that went out with the ark.

Edited October 17, 2010 by Diva

[OSoSwift]

Training does not have to be boring, but unfortunately it is a lot of the time.

Really good instructors that make it loads of fun can be hard to find.

Having said that training is what you make it. If your dog needs a rest - do it, if your dog needs a drink- do it. A class does not need to be followed blindly. Also in down times dogs do not need to sit there fully focused on their owner. If you are waiting for help of your turn to do something, let them relax or play a game with them.

I am really bad for completely doing my own thing though and some people may not feel comfortable doing that.

[*Bones*]

Important for a first dog owner, but experienced owners can probably do it themselves.

[poodlefan]

Important for a first dog owner, but experienced owners can probably do it themselves.

Personally I think its important for every dog, regardless of how experienced the owner is. It may be old hat to you, but its not for the dog.

Ongoing socialisation with other dogs in CONTROLLED circumstances is important. Ian Dunbar argues its as important for adolescent dogs that it is for pups and I agree with him. Also, dogs are not cookie cut out of the same mould. Every one is different. So the fact that you've trained one doesn't mean an automatic easy time with those that follow.

Techinques change, methods change as people learn more about motivating dogs. Going along to a good club can be as beneficial for owners too.

Edited October 18, 2010 by poodlefan

[megan_]

Important for a first dog owner, but experienced owners can probably do it themselves.

Personally I think its important for every dog, regardless of how experienced the owner is. It may be old hat to you, but its not for the dog.

Ongoing socialisation with other dogs in CONTROLLED circumstances is important. Ian Dunbar argues its as important for adolescent dogs that it is for pups and I agree with him. Also, dogs are not cookie cut out of the same mould. Every one is different. So the fact that you've trained one doesn't mean an automatic easy time with those that follow.

Techinques change, methods change as people learn more about motivating dogs. Going along to a good club can be as beneficial owners too.

I agree with this. I wish there would be more emphasis on controlled socialisation at classes.

I think doing something that requires team work with your dog is a good idea. I do agility with mine - it is a very "bonding" experience, and they need to follow the rules etc, but I find it a LOT more fun than obedience.

[poodlefan]

I agree with this. I wish there would be more emphasis on controlled socialisation at classes.

I think doing something that requires team work with your dog is a good idea. I do agility with mine - it is a very "bonding" experience, and they need to follow the rules etc, but I find it a LOT more fun than obedience.

One thing is common to all obedience clubs, regardless of how good they are - its an entree to a network of dog folk who share an interest in having a well trained dog.

Outside club hours, my dogs socialise with dogs owned by people I met at my club. If I need to go away, they are minded by people I met at my club (and I mind dogs for others too).

A dog club can be the focus of a community of responsible dog owners and that community is a really beneficial one to be involved in. The networking, sharing of useful resources etc between members of that community is pure gold.

Best vet

Best chiro

Best place to buy dog stuff

These are all things shared by that community - that and far more.

Edited October 18, 2010 by poodlefan

[Agility Dogs]

I said I don't think all dogs should be going to obedience and if you don't enjoy it why go?

That said I think all dogs should have some form of structured training and socialisation around other dogs in an environment where it is NOT OK just to play with the other dogs. (promoting handler focus.)

My youngest girl is now 5.5 months and is working off lead on a field with other dogs at both flyball and agility. (Age appropriate foundation work - not much equipment at all.) She has an absolute blast and is starting to get excited every time we turn up at training.

She heels better than my other two ever did at obedience and could just about go into the CCD or even CD ring, but I don't really enjoy the discipline so we just play/work/play with an eye to less structured sports when she reaches the magic 18 month mark. (Maybe a touch younger for flyball.)

[Cosmolo]

I think we also need to remember that each person is different- what one person finds easy and not in any way a challenge will be extremely difficult to another person. Some dog to dog socialisation at class can be counter productive for some people, particularly with young or inexperienced dogs as it is then very hard for them to get their attention again. The people are learning new skills just as much as the dogs so its important to make it as easy as possible to start with. Some people just don't like obedience and therefore if its not fun for them its not fun for the dog and so the cycle continues!

Remember also that some people have had information covered (like manners, dog park rules) in earlier levels of training so then if that is covered- they will be bored too. It is a balancing act in a group class and therein lies one advantage of private training!

I completely agree that agility and some other activities are great for bonding, more exciting etc- but the dogs have to be under some form of control before they can participate in such things.

[huski]

I think all dogs should have structured training to a point, but class training is not always congruent with how the owner may want to train their dog/s. I think it would be great to encourage more dog owners to go to classes, especially if more obedience clubs tailored lower level training for basic stuff like LLW instead of heeling, informal recalls etc. Because at the end of the day the majority of people at dog clubs are average pet owners who will likely never trial their dogs.

[koalathebear]

Interesting question! We were a bit nonplussed when we started beginners classes with Elbie. All of the sit/drop/stays, meal-time manners were so easy for Elbie and some of the dogs couldn’t even sit and we thought it was going to be so bad and boring. We actually really enjoy our classes now but I can see why many people don’t like it – some people prefer private tuition etc. I suppose it comes down to some specific factors for us:

• the socialisation has been great – Elbie was a bit shy around other dogs so classes were a great way for him to be very close to other dogs without having them in his face all the time. They wander over and chat and play but it’s all very controlled. Big dogs, small dogs, yappy dogs, friendly dogs, grumpy dogs… He also gets pats and cuddles from lots of different people which is great for him. The dog people: (1) are less likely to get angry at an excitable (possibly muddy) puppy jumping; (2) are more likely to enforce discipline i.e. tell said puppy he must sit for pats, so training is reinforced. Also, I feel more comfortable letting him free in the off-lead area at the club because all of the owners there are conscientious and responsible and not likely to let their dogs hurt my dog
  
• we liked getting Elbie to do all of the work in a highly distracting environment – we’re so proud of him that recently he has been able to maintain a stay and do all of his tricks with two barking dogs tethered behind him and the dogs all around him breaking their stays and a little 10 year old girl leaping out and trying to distract him. We only learned how incredibly focussed and disciplined Elbie could be after he started obedience classes – he takes them very seriously and goes into High Concentration-mode.
  
• we’ve been lucky with our teachers – teachers for beginners, bronze and silver have been great and seem to really care about the dogs and their handlers. We’ve received lots of additional tips/help/encouragement from our teachers that is beyond ordinary classroom sessions.
  
• there are quite a few friendly DOLers at our club. OH often thinks that DOL seems like a hairy, scary place and can’t imagine why I frequent it so regularly but when I reference the lovely DOLers that he’s spoken with at our club, he’s like: “Oh yeah.”
  
• a lot of people I know in real life – family and friends – are not dog people and they think that I’m odd/obsessive/a bit bonkers for how much I love my dogs and want to do all these dog-related activities. It’s nice to talk to other doggy people in class and discuss shared experiences and issues. We also got along really well with our classmates in bronze and beginners. Silver is early days and some of the people aren’t quite as friendly but we still have a couple of “original classmates” with whom we have great chats
  
• I think I’m entertained by small things so I’m rarely bored anyway … even if it’s just watching how Elbie interacts with this dog over that dog, how he greets this instructor … what different people’s release words or commands are … the doggy fashion outfits, the different treats that people use and the funny treat bags that people have (hip, bum bag or funky ankle treat bag?), the funky leashes and collars … the different mats – we use a crappy doormat for Elbie, some people have fancy cushions and plush bean bags …
  

I’ll be taking Hoover through beginners because I don’t think OH would want to go through the tedium of sit-drop-stay again but I’m sure I won’t be bored. Sometimes there are boring moments e.g. when the exercise requires the teacher’s individual attention, after your turn you sit around with nothing to do while half a dozen or more other dogs are being worked with but we’ll just pat Elbie/play with him/practise other things with him – or chat to classmates.

We don’t really enjoy the heeling – seems a bit pointless to us but it’s another thing to exercise Elbie’s brain so that’s fine by us. Plus we’re doing additional dog training classes on Saturday that focus on other more practical things – controlled greetings, getting out of cars etc.

Edited October 18, 2010 by koalathebear

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

I think every owner needs to know how to train their dog, and every dog should know basic manners like sitting to greet people, not jumping on them, and OMG - come when called!!!, and how to politely greet other dogs. The owners need to learn what is ok play and what is not and what to do about when it goes to hell.

One dog class I heard of recently - the owner told me that the instructor said that it was the law in SA that every person walking the dog must carry at least two poo bags for picking up. I WISH that was the law... I've NEVER seen it enforced. Let alone the pick up after your dog law.

So I think most obedience clubs and volunteer instructors could do with some extra skills in training newbie handlers and dogs and keeping everybody interested. And I think the classes could be split into those who want to do competition and those who just want their dog to walk nicely on the lead without pulling or attacking other dogs or jumping on people. That kind of stuff is covered in our classes but not really practiced.

There are whole bunch of really useful methods that our club seems completely allergic to (during class) - like the use of reward toys / tug, clickers, and anything but a slip collar eg a front attach harness.

When nothing much is happening in my class - I practice stuff with my dog. Early on it was focus stuff, and heel / sit work and recall. Now I practice that and some stay work and other things.

I think if our club has any spare money they should spend it on some top dog trainer DVDs and share them round and run a dog club library of them. Sigh.

I've been thinking about learning how to be an instructor. Apparently my club committee have decided it isn't necessary for me to be a (UDX) champion dog hander first - which is nice - because I think that while it would be nice - that good teachers and UDX champion handlers do not always overlap. Then again we have a few champion dog handlers in our club who won't teach because the club won't let them teach the skills or techniques they use to get their competition results. Go figure.

If I was going to be instructor - I'd want to be encouraging front attach harness for the pullers and reaching the clicker techiques even if we only used "yes" in class - loads of clickers going at once can be annoying. Apparently the dogs can still tell which is their clicker. And I'd want to be doing loads of fun stuff. And I'd be encouraging people to practice indivdually if I was working with one dog. And stuffed if I'd be holding the good dogs back to the lowest standard - which may belong to someone who hasn't been doing any practice for that month. I know someone who got through the grades twice as fast by going to the morning class and getting a pass and then going to the evening class and getting a pass in the next grade up. Actually I did that too, well more like go to morning class and get a fail, and then go to the evening class and get a pass. Woo hoo.

I did get into a bit of trouble with my dog because I tried to teach her stuff too fast, eg working on stays - working on distance - when we hadn't got time sorted etc. That was because a previous dog I'd trained - all that was easy, but my current dog is a bit "slow". Well not as willing to do ANYTHING all the time to please. But that's something I like about her. She's not ramming a soggy tennis ball in my lap right now, she's sleeping.

[Diva]

One dog class I heard of recently - the owner told me that the instructor said that it was the law in SA that every person walking the dog must carry at least two poo bags for picking up. I WISH that was the law... I've NEVER seen it enforced. Let alone the pick up after your dog law.

It's the law here that you have carry something to pick up after your dog. Maybe the instructor was an escapee from Canberrra.

[Agility Dogs]

Remember also that some people have had information covered (like manners, dog park rules) in earlier levels of training so then if that is covered- they will be bored too. :D It is a balancing act in a group class and therein lies one advantage of private training!

I completely agree that agility and some other activities are great for bonding, more exciting etc- but the dogs have to be under some form of control before they can participate in such things.

Completely agree on the balancing act - private training is awesome. Just wish I'd discovered it before going down a couple of the tracks I did when I first got my puppies.

If they find a good club for the other activities all the manners, foundations, control will be covered. I guess its just obedience by a different name.

[Staranais]

I go to my local obedience school but I hang out and do my own thing, run ring outs, distraction work etc. I can't envisage doing classes again with any dog I have because I find it boring and my dogs find it boring. It also doesn't gel with the kind of training I do. I'd do other kinds of classes (i.e. we are just about to start agility class) though.

Me too.

[Hafhafa Hounds]

1 hour of even the best class is boring.

I think there needs to be a lot more emphasis on manners, how to greet dogs, off leash area rules etc at obedience, rather than formal recalls (sit, stay, recall - which doesn't get used in real life).

You also need to be able to take a break and not participate.

Maybe that's why I don't find our classes so boring! We do meet & greet (walking past, stopping andtalking with and without dogs interacting), manners, socialising and photo shoots, as well as heeling, sits, stays, drops and recalls.

Sonia

[Hafhafa Hounds]

One dog class I heard of recently - the owner told me that the instructor said that it was the law in SA that every person walking the dog must carry at least two poo bags for picking up. I WISH that was the law... I've NEVER seen it enforced. Let alone the pick up after your dog law.

It's the law here that you have carry something to pick up after your dog. Maybe the instructor was an escapee from Canberrra.

It's the law on Yorke Peninsula - came in on Jan 1st this year.

Sonia

[Jumabaar]

Just thought I would add- I tend to go to specialist clubs ie obedience club for OB, agility club for agility, flyball club for flyball. I get to meet alot more people this way and it changes the environment. This meant that I started them all around the same time rather than having to do so much Ob before i got to do the fun stuff. This worked well for me because it challenged my dogs and I wasnt teaching things that were counterproductive.