For Those That Haven't Gone To Training Recently

[sas]

I'd love to hear from those who have NOT taken their dog to training (group, private- some kind of organised training) in the last 3 months.

What was the reason why you stopped training your dog? Do you feel your dog is well trained enough? Did you not get results from previous training attempts? Is training too far away/ too often/ too expensive? Are you simply too busy? Did you find training boring?

What would prompt you to start training again or would you not start training again regardless?

Everyone encouraged to comment. :)

I don't take my dogs to obedience clubs because my experience is that they are boring with 30 minute heel patterns and other boring routines, they use training methods that are outdated, many of the trainers seem to have a lack of canine behaviour and put dogs in dangerous situations and then you have the dog owners that have little control over their dog.

We used Luci Ellem Training here in Sydney for many years as they had a small class sized and a very varied class, the only reason we don't go anymore is that the classes stopped.

[RubyBlue]

Another perspective....

What was the reason why you stopped training your dog?

- I haven't, I trial with both my dogs

Do you feel your dog is well trained enough?

- My dogs are trained well enough for societies expectations

Did you not get results from previous training attempts?

- n/a

Is training too far away/ too often/ too expensive?

- I travel 20min to an obedience club and train in small groups with other members of the same club regularly. All in all I can train up to 4 times a week in various groups.

- I pay $40 p/a to be a member. I looked at and tried a few sessions at a private club but can't afford to spend large amounts of money on learning basic obedience skills using 'their' methods.

Are you simply too busy?

- n/a

Did you find training boring?

- I find training at a club boring. I tend to spend 10min in class with each dog then socialise. An hour lesson is boring for me and the dogs.

I like being at an obedience club with a large number of people trialing 'cause invariably several people will have come across an issue I am having before me and will offer different solutions. With the vast amount of information readily available to me I am able to try several things to see what works best for each of my dogs.

[Cosmolo]

Thanks to everyone for the additional responses. I think it's terribly sad that so many have had such bad experiences with instuctors and uncontrolled dogs at training classes.

Of course i have bias but i do encourage those that have stopped going for those sorts of reasons to try again. It's terribly unfortunate that you may have to look hard to find somewhere safe and suitable but there are places out there in many locations that could be enjoyable.

We are going through the process of rejuvenating our classes at the moment- while most of the things listed here have not been an issue previously, it serves as good reminders and inspiration to make our classes as good as they possibly can be. Meeting the needs of so many different people and dogs is a challenge but i'm sure we can do it!

[Rilla-My-Rilla]

Of course i have bias but i do encourage those that have stopped going for those sorts of reasons to try again. It's terribly unfortunate that you may have to look hard to find somewhere safe and suitable but there are places out there in many locations that could be enjoyable.

There is training near us, but it is an hour there, an hour back, and the classes don't start until 8 o'clock. It would be at least 10 o'clock before I got home, and that is up and down a range...I find it a real pity that there isn't something closer to me

Maybe one day I'll have trained enough dogs well enough that I'll be able to start my own school :p

[Tazar]

What was the reason why you stopped training your dog? I haven't stopped just haven't had time to get to training, still training at home though.

Do you feel your dog is well trained enough? Whilst they are highly trained, I think there is always room for improvement and proofing. I also teach them tricks as it keeps their minds busy and I enjoy it too.

Did you not get results from previous training attempts? I am extremely happy with the club I have been taking them to, it is about 1 3/4 hours drive away (in NO traffic) on a Sunday. However getting there during the week is not possible as traffic is too bad. It is not cheap but I wanted results and professional trainers, you get what you pay for, as the saying goes.

What would prompt you to start training again or would you not start training again regardless? If there could be another 8 hours added to my week from somewhere , I would be there every chance I got!!.

[Wobbly]

I went and watched the training session last Saturday (as per class rules - first class free but owner doesn't bring dog to it). It's a small class - only 8 dogs, I prefer to pay more for this size class. I'm really looking forward to taking Jarrah next Saturday now, it looked very interesting. I learnt 2 new tricks to teach Jarrah already from it - touch my hand and look into my eyes - Jarrah was so happy when I grabbed a bunch of treats and taught her these - she loves learning new stuff (loves having treats shovelled down her throat XD), I felt a bit bad I haven't taught her new stuff like that for so long, she was so excited to learn and learns so quickly (she knew "look" already, she always does it if I have treats, I just hadn't given it a command word before). It'll be really good to have some new material to teach her, I've been slack for a while about that.

Honestly i think the main thing that prompted me to find this class was when my Sister in Law told me about her puppy class that brought a cat in one week and a snake in another to teach the pups appropriate reactions, she lives on the other side of the country to me so i can't go there, but it did catalyse my finding of this training school. That's the kind of stuff people don't often get to teach their dogs in a controlled environment. Even I (quite possibly one of the most clueless dog trainers in the entire world) can teach sit, stay, a bunch of silly tricks, recall (I suspect I'm only OK on recall because bully breeds make it easy though, I've heard a lot that dogs like huskies, beagles & some other breeds are a whole different ball game with that one). But anyway, all the stuff you need for a reasonable pet dog is easy enough for owners to get sorted on their own, I guess that's why so many people don't go to training. I had forgotten about the existence of group training the last few years, as a pet owner it doesn't cross your mind - I always think of regular training as something for serious obedience triallers and agility fans. As a pet owner you forget there's fun pet stuff you don't get access to outside of a class environment - my class doesn't do cats (mercifully - I missed out on Jarrah's puppyhood, she's terrible at cats, she acts like they are like hairy, self propelled frisbees) but I'm very interested in the hoops and stuff I saw at our training place - new stuff that looks fun like that is a very good motivator for me to go. I signed up for 10 classes anyway (cheaper per class that way), mostly out of interest - to see what's on offer that I've missed out on by not going. The trainer (it's her own business) seemed very knowledgeable and I liked her a lot on a personal level which is a very big factor for me too.

Both my dog and I have quite limited attention spans, but I think this training school may have potential to actually hold our attention for a while? We shall see.

Edited August 28, 2012 by Wobbly

[SkySoaringMagpie]

It's almost purely a distance problem. We moved out on acreage in order to have more room for the dogs and for a tree change which meant we have a 56 km commute to work. That meant going to the obedience club after work, whether to teach or to train our dogs, became really impractical. It's enough of a stretch driving 110 km a day without driving 220 km (go home from work, pick up dog, drive back into Canberra, drive home again).

If there was some financially viable way to "doggie day care" dogs for commuting tree changers in Canberra I would reconsider, and I've also often thought it would be cool if I could pick up my dog at lunchtime and walk around the lake and then have the dog picked up by a doggie day care person until I'm ready to go home.

[spyke88]

What was the reason why you stopped training your dog? The only available training here was an obedience club that didn't seem to offer much in the way of training.

Do you feel your dog is well trained enough? No but we,re working on it at home

Did you not get results from previous training attempts?no. The sessions revolved around walking in a circle. Stopping and continuing... Same thing or months...

Is training too far away/ too often/ too expensive? Other training is too far away

Are you simply too busy? nope happy to spend a couple of hours a week training

Did you find training boring? Yep

What would prompt you to start training again or would you not start training again regardless? I would love to train again. If a suitable training should emerge