Obedience Training - 2 Dogs

[MsKatie]

Hi - I have 2 dogs - a kelpie - 3 - and a bloodhound - 21 months - and would like to do some obedience training with them - the kelpie has been to some and reached class 1 - the bloodhound has had no formal training but does walk well on leash and sit on command.

I am in the Northern sububs of Adelaide

I am just wondering about the best approach for this - I would be the one doing the training as OH works shifts and was wondering

- could I take both and crate one when working with the other?

- should I take them alternate weeks for formal training and work with them at home inbetween?

- should I go to different clubs on different nights?

I would really like to get the kelpie into agility and/or try out flyball as I think she would really enjoy it - but she needs the basic obedience first. I am hoping to get the bloodhound into trailling too but would still like to have a go at basic obedience with him.

I have obedience trained previous dogs so am not a complete novice but it has been a long time between training

Any advice welcomed - thanks all

Edited July 13, 2011 by KelpieHoundMum

[ness]

You could train them at different clubs. You could join the agility dog club and train your kelpie there for agility on a Thursday night without having passed formal basic obedience.

http://www.agilitydogclubsa.com/

Or you could train the one that is least distractable in the club and train the other one at home so they already understand what you want before introducing them to the club environment. Might seem the opposite of logical but its much easier to introduce the dog to training in a highly distracted environment like a club if the dog is already trained in what you are asking them.

There are a few clubs out the Northern suburbs that are reasonably close together so finding two separate clubs that train on different nights might not be to hard.

[TerraNik]

It really is up to you and what you feel works best.

Going to different clubs on different nights is fine, so long as you are happy with both their methods.

Otherwise you could take Dog 1 to class while Dog 2 is crated and then do some work after class with Dog 2 while there are still plenty of distractions around. Then the next week take Dog 2 to class.

[MsKatie]

Thanks for the replies - i was thinking that as they are likely to be in different classes the crating might work - and I can have one of my kids sitting with the crated dog. I can then make sure I train them during the week too.

I think I will go and talk to the head instructor at the club I used to go to and see what he thinks too

[wuffles]

I trained mine on different nights at the same club They had both Thursday night and Sunday morning classes so that worked really well for us.

I attempted the crating/leaving in car thing but mine screamed the whole time so I gave up on that pretty quickly

[Agility Dogs]

I think I will go and talk to the head instructor at the club I used to go to and see what he thinks too

This - especially if you are happy with the club and the instructors.

I've worked really hard so that I can leave mine in a crate and train the other one on the field without them screaming like Banshees. They do make a little noise when they first see the other one come out, but a crate cover quickly fixes that. ;-)

When we first took them to training my girl used to escape my wife and come running to find me. (She was in an on lead class!!) Now she will work for anyone - we are even going to play pairs shortly with my two dogs on the one team. Like anything it can be trained with patience and time.

[mollipop]

I take 2 or 3 of mine with me when I go training. I have 5 dogs - 1 is retired but I'm training the other 4.

I just stake out the ones I'm not working with.

I have found that a remote controlled citronella collar works wonders for barking/howling.

I also need a chain for tethering cos my boy chews through leads.

[OSoSwift]

I take both and crate whoever is not working. Lewis was a woose and did used to whinge and carry on, but he is getting better over time thank goodness.

I don't go into a formal class so I swap and change quiet often so they get regular breaks.