For Those That Haven't Gone To Training Recently

[Dame Aussie]

What was the reason why you stopped training your dog?

I don't get time to scratch myself let alone go to training during the week and weekends are used for all the things I can;t get done during the week so basically, no time. It can also be quite expensive depending on operators.

Both my two went to puppy pre school, obedience and Lili to agility. Once they were trained to an extent I was happy with for a pet, ie: Well behaved but occasionally cheeky b*stards :laugh: , I stopped.

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

At this point in time I am not looking at doing any training but I wouldn't say no for sure. If I had more time during the week I would luike to do some more agility with Lili and obedience with Mo, but he's an Anatolian and they don't take well to being told what to do :/

[pipsqueak]

Finally training again after an extended break, but can I throw in why I have changed clubs, numerous times?

- instructors assume that because you are new to the club that you are stupid and no nothing about training a dog. I understand that is true in most instances, but don't put me in a situation where I know that my dog will react (all dogs walking into the centre of a circle, sit-stay within least than 1m in a beginners class), and then basically abuse me because I refuse to do the exercise... "your dog will never improve if you don't do it". Um no, my dog will actually get worse if I do it.

- huge beginners class - 2o to 30 dogs in one class (yes, I'm serious), with a ridiculously small amount of space, and owners who have no control (understandable to some extent for beginners), but then don't care when their dog gets in your dog's face.

- the newest instructors always seem to be given the beginners class to "learn to instruct on". I understand that instructors need to learn, but for me, the beginners class needs an instructor with a decent amount of experience.

- inconsistency between training methods of different instructors. One week I get told that I should put my dog on a check-chain, another week I get almost abused by an instructor for giving my dog a verbal correction.

- other things that put me off classes are - close, circular heeling patterns in beginners (dogs tend to lunge), having to pass "dog-to-dog" in a beginners class - people at this level tend not to have sufficient control to acheive this, and instructors tend to want people to pass to closley for my liking.

What would make a class great for me?

- the most experiences instructors taking the beginners class

- limited numbers in the beginners class, or suffient instructors to be able to split the class. My preference would be for no more than 8 dogs, ideally a maximum of 6.

- Instructors teaching in a consistent manner, and adhering to the class curriculum.

- not being "put down" (for want of a better term) or discouraged from trialling because I don't own a "typical" trialling breed. Hey, it might take me longer to get there, it might make your job of teaching me more challenging, but why can't I hold that dream???

- this is going to sound really bad, but I do get frustrated when I see a group of instructors and their dogs and the only breeds that I can see are border collies, labs, goldies and aussies... I know that these dogs aren't necessarily easier to train, but it would give me some hope if I occasionally saw a instructor with a "non-typical", challenging or independent breed.... it does make me ask myself if I'm wasting my time trying to achieve anything with my "mutt" (sighthound mix), as it might just be too hard.

[minimax]

What was the reason why you stopped training your dog?

OK, so we went to puppy pre-school (shhh) and I planned to step up to primary school but I didn't really like the trainers, and I didn't feel they offered enough "out of the box" suggestions for when their method of teaching the dog something didn't work.

Do you feel your dog is well trained enough?

Nope, I'd love to do some obedience with her. She recalls well enough when she wants to, and will do other things when she wants to, but I'd like more consistency. And she doesn't walk well on the lead, and I can't figure out how to help that!

Did you not get results from previous training attempts?

I got some, but most of it was me listening to them, finding out what didn't work for my dog, and having to find my own ways to make it work, which felt a bit pointless.

Is training too far away/ too often/ too expensive? Are you simply too busy? Did you find training boring?

I haven't looked again recently, but all the ones I looked at in my area seemed too professional, and it's just me with my pug puppies so I want something more casual that still fits in with my time schedule (week nights, no weekends, etc)

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

I do want to look into training again, this thread has sort of prompted me to re-think and look in other areas/places not just my immediate local area.

[Cosmolo]

Really interesting responses so far- thank you.

Minimax, could you elaborate with regards to places seeming 'too professional'?

For those that wish to have smaller class sizes and more experienced instructors, would you be willing to pay more to go somewhere where this is offered or do you think it can/ should be accomodated within a cheaper price structure?

[minimax]

Minimax, could you elaborate with regards to places seeming 'too professional'?

I think by too professional I mean intimidating. Instructors can be intimidating, especially for someone newish to the dog world who wants to go to obedience with their stubborn teenage brat pug. I probably just need to toughen up :p

[Katdogs]

Sorry, essay here, but it's something I've been wanting to vent about a bit!

What was the reason why you stopped training your dog?

I stopped group training after a couple of months the first time when Stevie was young, because of the incessant food rewards making my LabX even more food-obsessed. Also because I didn't like the 'get that check chain off' when we'd been using it for a while and Stevie saw it more as a 'working time' collar and behaved anyway, than a real check. So our first class was spent mainly trying on limited-check chains and then the hard sell to buy one - it wasn't a great introduction.

I went back when Stevie and I were both more settled and stayed for quite a while, but Stevie was bored, and I felt no support at all for improving any further because I didn't particularly want to compete. I was asked to help out as a volunteer instructor a few times when there weren't enough trainers, but with no support, no real training, at the important lower levels when Stevie and I had only had to spend a couple of weeks doing those 'routines'. The next week I'd be ignored by other trainers and treated like a wannabe. Never given any information on the club itself, how it worked, the meetings were virtually secret, then some favoured people would get jumpers with logos given to them because they'd transferred from one club to this one! In four years of registering I never did get a newsletter or any information about the club.

I also found that because Stevie was the least reactive, most stable dog in the group, we were always put next to the DA wild dogs - even at the highest level of classes, there were what I'd call 'dangerous' dogs that would take a swipe or want to go full on at us. The trainers never asked them to go to individual training to sort out the issues before coming to a happy leash-free social type setting. There were some terrible fights. No warning system such a coloured collars. Some of them wore muzzles, but would use their bodies to push and shove, and the owners had no control at all (but somehow managed to get promoted into these classes?). I saw Stevie being humped by two (not really DA but very excitable) Wolfie cross siblings while she sat and stayed as requested, with a pained but patient expression (a bit of anthropomorphism perhaps) and thought 'no, she doesn't need that any more'. It was about the fifth week in a row where she was used as the dummy.

Also I have a Kelpie who was being ignored so we found better things to do on a Saturday afternoon that suited all of us. The club would have broken the Kelpie, she would never have behaved 'their' way even though she is a very well mannered, obedient dog.

Do you feel your dog is well trained enough?

Compared to many dogs I see in public, yes. Steve's still quite rude about begging from people with food, and has the Labby 'I love everyone why don't they want to play with me when I run to them' attitude that we watch all the time. Both dogs have great recall. Jodie still doesn't walk well on-lead but I've had the best instruction on that (with you, Cos!) and the problem is still with me, not her. I can trust both dogs with other dogs, kids, kitchen benches, taking food from them, and not rushing through gates and doors. None of that is covered at obedience club anyway.

Did you not get results from previous training attempts?

The eight one-on-one training sessions we did at our home when Stevie was about six months old was invaluable and worth every cent, because it set some ground rules for her and me at a time when I realised I had no idea what I was doing with this intelligent bored dog. She loves and respects that trainer even though he's not really a purely-positive sort of guy.

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

Saturday afternoons is a bit inconvenient, but Sunday mornings at another club are too far away and too early. A weeknight would be great, with floodlights, but I'm not sure where to find one of those clubs nearby.

Are you simply too busy?

That too, yes. Also the dogs are clever enough to behave for everyone else and in the training environment. They misbehave more at home and on 'boring' walks.

Did you find training boring?

YES there's only so many times you can do drop, stay, recall, walk around. Stevie would yawn and start sniffing for dropped treats, and I'd have trouble hearing the instructions and get distracted by all the other dogs walking past the park. The agility equipment we both really enjoyed was kept for special invitation only and only one or two of the trainers liked to use it. I liked the little tiny bit of Rally-o I saw at Dogs NSW, that sort of thing might make it more interesting, especially if there were a few jumps or ramps or tunnels involved.

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

Getting a pup might prompt me, but I'd probably not go to the obedience group for socialisation and training until the pup was already stable and more mature.

I've found that with my dogs and the fosters I've had through, we've been able to get reasonably good behaviour from even the silliest teenaged untrained dog through NILIF, TT, having our girls show good behaviour and expecting it from other dogs, rewarding good behaviour when we see it, and a handy spray bottle for extreme cheekiness/jumping etc. The only thing I still have trouble with is loose lead walking in strange areas, and I think that's a problem with me.

ETA For those that wish to have smaller class sizes and more experienced instructors, would you be willing to pay more to go somewhere where this is offered or do you think it can/ should be accomodated within a cheaper price structure?

I would pay more, but not as much as I did for the one-on-one training. The club idea is that you join then it's only a couple of dollars for the lesson. They're all volunteers.

Edited August 21, 2012 by Katdogs

[wuffles]

- this is going to sound really bad, but I do get frustrated when I see a group of instructors and their dogs and the only breeds that I can see are border collies, labs, goldies and aussies... I know that these dogs aren't necessarily easier to train, but it would give me some hope if I occasionally saw a instructor with a "non-typical", challenging or independent breed.... it does make me ask myself if I'm wasting my time trying to achieve anything with my "mutt" (sighthound mix), as it might just be too hard.

I just wanted to reply to this :) I found (and still do at times) this a bit annoying as well, not because they are common trialling breeds but because I think you have to teach a variety of dogs before you can really be a great trainer. In saying that, after a few sessions of instructing, you should get some experience with different breeds and know enough to at least have suggestions for those which may be more difficult to train.

I instruct at my local club, and I always introduce myself to have both my Aussie (who is often crated off to the side of class) and my rescue mutt (who is asleep on his comfy bed at home), and point out that they are very different dogs to train so I do empathise with everyone, no matter what their training issue may be. Last session I taught was beginners, and in the last week (games week) I brought along my mutt and introduced him to everyone. I got a lot of positive feedback, especially from people with less traditional breeds, so I will make sure I do that again next time :)

We have so many different breeds at our club, many owned by instructors. We have a jack russell x pug who has just entered her first obedience trial, so everyone is encouraged, no matter what their breed!

Edited August 21, 2012 by wuffles

[Aetherglow]

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?

I stopped going to both to public group obedience and private classes for a variety of reasons, including inconsistent training in group classes with randomly changing trainers from week to week, seeing a dog with obvious kennel cough allowed to participate in class (and my dog getting very sick a week later - I didn't move fast enough!), cost of one-on-one lessons, and seeing a dog abused by the private trainer I went to (jerked off its feet and dragged crying across the training arena using a correction collar). Due to both my health and the nature of my work I can't always guarantee I can be at a class at x o'clock on a given day and may only find out at short notice, which means that a block of classes with a minimum attendance requirement within a certain timeframe is a waste of money for me without a certain amount of flexibility being available, such as being able to go into a later class if I can't make it to the one I'm normally in. I have yet to find a suitable alternative to what is available locally. I did get results with training classes, and would love to get back into it both for my sake and that of my dog. Tarja, who is my first dog owned solely by me rather than being a family dog, has far better training than any dog my family had. That's not saying much, though, and she and I have huge room for improvement. We do still work on things at home, but I'd like to go to classes as well to improve my own training techniques and correct anything that I don't know I'm doing badly.

Ideally, I'd like small group training fairly local to me (within, say, half an hour's drive or so), which can cope if I miss the occasional class, have modern training techniques which can be adjusted to the dog and handler's needs, and where I can work towards a goal such as training to a competition standard or even a specific behavioural outcome in consultation with the trainer, rather than bashing around a field with a bored dog and 15 other people having one word commands shouted out at us for an hour and no individual attention or real instruction.

[Alkhe]

I recently started going to training at a new club but am going to answer with the reasons why I stopped going to our old training place.

1) What was the reason why you stopped training your dog?

She was extremely timid and scared, and after attending weekly for a month or two, I decided that it was actually making her worse, not better. They hated that I wouldn't use a check chain on her (after it took me weeks to even get a flat collar on her without her shutting down) and I ended up basically dragging her around "heeling" for an hour each week. Or doing sits, for an hour.

The instructers were older and were at pains to tell us that they were VOLUNTEERS, and b*tch about each other and were extremely rude in some cases, to owners. There was no consistency between trainers, or between trainers for each class from week to week. At that point I didn't know any better and thought that the club was normal. In hindsight it was a huge waste of time, money and effort, and I wish I'd never gone.

2) Do you feel your dog is well trained enough?

Yes. She's well behaved, has basic obedience etc.

3) Did you not get results from previous training attempts?

Yes, we learned basic commands like sit, drop, etc. But no explanation of what we were doing, the theory or anything behind it.

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

I now go to a place that is about 20km away which is a bit annoying as I live in an inner suburb. I drive past probably 3-4 training schools to go to my chosen one.

5) Are you simply too busy?

Nope, I occasionally miss a class now but for the most part I prioritise it.

6) Did you find training boring?

Yes. An hour of walking around in a circle or sitting and standing, sitting and standing, etc.

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

Finding a training school using more "modern" methods - not just the same things that have been done for years by people who have no desire or interest to work with individual dogs and use techniques that may work for them.

Finding a school that has people with an interest in individual dogs, and their issues/needs rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

Finding a school that wants to actually impart knowledge and work wtih owners, rather than consider dogs the problem that needs to be fixed into place.

Thankfully I've found a great training school that I love, so we're back into it :)

Edited August 21, 2012 by Alkhe

[Diva]

What was the reason why you stopped training your dog?

A combination of time pressures, other interests on the weekend, the quality and consistency of class trainers, and class curriculums that stressed behavours that I had no need for or interest in, such as trick training.

Do you feel your dog is well trained enough?'

They are well behaved. I think every interaction between us is 'training' in it's own way so we haven't every really stopped training.

But I think they would benefit from the mental stimulation of further formal training, and the better trained they are the less effort it requires to manage multiple house dogs.

Did you not get results from previous training attempts?

I got results, but not enough 'value add' from going to classes vs just doing my own thing to make the extra effort or frustration worth-while.

Is training too far away/ too often/ too expensive? Are you simply too busy? Did you find training boring?

The best local classes are a bit far to travel on a weeknight, but mostly from the perspective of getting there on time, I don't finish work early enough to make it easy. I'm busy, but if I found it rewarding enough I'd find the time. I did find the classes a bit boring.

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

I would like to trial in Rally, if I could find a class focussed on competition exercises and the not other stuff I just don't want to spend time on, I'd return.

Also I think the exposure to different dogs and people makes puppy classes valuable even if that's all they learn, so I'd return for those stages if I acquired a new puppy.

Edited August 21, 2012 by Diva

[W Sibs]

1) What was the reason why you stopped training your dog?

Charlie - he can no longer do most physical thing.

Emmy - run out of things to train her, but we are working on proofing her and getting her to work in unfamiliar surroundings

Skeeter - just started. he is still a puppy

2) Do you feel your dog is well trained enough?

Charlie - Yes

Emmy - She knows her stuff but we are working on proofing

Skeeter - :laugh: hell no

3) Did you not get results from previous training attempts?

Charlie - Yes

Emmy - She fails miserably at dog clubs. i've taken her to a few and she gets so weary.. she is a working progress.

Skeeter - first day at OB and he was knows as the Naughtiest puppy

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

Not exactly far from home, but traveling in Sydney through peak traffic to training is very time consuming. If I work late, I will miss OB and that's usually the case. Training is usually on the weekdays where I'm most busiest. If they had it later then it will be easier for me to go to training more frequently. On weekends, Skeeter is at shows and I can't make OB on weekends.

5) Are you simply too busy?

That's the story of life at the moment.

6) Did you find training boring?

No. Charlie and Skeeter does though.

Emmy loves training (at home)

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

If I find a good club that has classes on the day I'm free that's not far from home... :laugh:

We do training at home every day though.

Edited August 21, 2012 by W Sibs

[pipsqueak]

Really interesting responses so far- thank you.

Minimax, could you elaborate with regards to places seeming 'too professional'?

For those that wish to have smaller class sizes and more experienced instructors, would you be willing to pay more to go somewhere where this is offered or do you think it can/ should be accomodated within a cheaper price structure?

Depends on how much more... I know, not really an answer :) Currently pay $4/night at an obedience club. I have paid up to $20/session on an irregular basis, and found it too steep for the quality of instruction. If I was attending weekly, I would probably be prepared to pay $10-$15 for classes limited to 8 dogs - which I know probably wouldn't pay the wage of a decent instructor....

I think it could larger numbers would be acceptable (for lower fee) PROVIDED reactive dogs were removed from beginners groups and given individual attention before being reintegrated... ie., working at distance and working on decreasing distance from group. I include myself in the group of reactive dogs - would be more than happy to be pulled from a group, shown how to work at decreasing distance/increasing control and then rejoining group. I think the thing that owners and instructors battle is the distraction (fear?) of reactive dogs in beginners groups. It's hard enough to concentrate on your own dog and the instructor without wondering when the dog next to you is going to lunge.

Edited August 21, 2012 by futuredogtrainer

[Esky the husky]

What was the reason why you stopped training your dog?I haven't stopped training, but I stopped going to training. I loved where we used to go, but my manager without fail would roster me at a time that made it very difficult to get there. Now I work nights, spend my weekends racing ( or seeing my boyfriend! ) so there's no obedience clubs around that cater to my messed up schedule.

Do you feel your dog is well trained enough? She's the best trained dog I've owned, but I feel compelled to do more with her like other DOLers who trial their dogs.

Did you not get results from previous training attempts? We had good results, I was very happy with our old club

Is training too far away/ too often/ too expensive? The club I like is too far away now, and fairly costly, I'm considering going back anyway because I miss it so much

Are you simply too busy? Yes *sigh*

Did you find training boring? Only when we went over the same stuff too many times.

What would prompt you to start training again or would you not start training again regardless? A new job :laugh:

[tdierikx]

What was the reason why you stopped training your dog?

I stopped group training after a couple of months the first time when Stevie was young, because of the incessant food rewards making my LabX even more food-obsessed. Also because I didn't like the 'get that check chain off' when we'd been using it for a while and Stevie saw it more as a 'working time' collar and behaved anyway, than a real check. So our first class was spent mainly trying on limited-check chains and then the hard sell to buy one - it wasn't a great introduction.

The food rewards thing was the only thing my Lab girl learned with 100% accuracy at the same place you went Katdogs... then when she became virtually uncontrollable after various trainers decided to feed her from their bumbags at every opportunity, we were actually expelled...

They gave up telling me that check chains were "verboten" when they realised that I actually knew how to use one... *grin*

Then again, my Lab girl is named "Trouble" for a reason... lol! But she's nicely behaved in public and has great recall, and not because we went to group training...

T.

[Bjelkier]

What was the reason why you stopped training your dog?

It was a combination of getting bored and showing most weekends. I could go during the week but with everything else I have on and the drive it just wasn't going to happen.

Do you feel your dog is well trained enough?

For what I am doing with them at the moment and general day to day living, yes. But if I want to do other activities with them I will need to do more training.

Did you not get results from previous training attempts?

I actually did very well with my first Samoyed and we often came in at the top of our class.

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

Yes to being too far away, no to the other two

Are you simply too busy?

Yes

Did you find training boring?

Yes. Trying to keep a young Spitz interested for such a long time gets difficult and frustrating, I could see him getting bored. Also I find obedience training about as interesting as watching paint dry.

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

Nothing.

Any training I would do with my dogs I'd do at home or with friends.

[megan_]

If I said I hadn't been to training in the last 3 months, you'd know I was lying :).

My two have good manners, are well behaved, understand release words, work well on leash etc but I'm a strong believer in training for life to keep their minds active. I also like to work them around other dogs and I find clubs/training organisations a safer venue to do this over a free-for-all dog park. That said, I still train them there (Lucy only at on-leash places).

I recently joined a dog club run by volunteers so that I could continue to push Lucy and she could work in a novel environment. I don't need basic instruction and she knows most of what is being taught but I can't see myself going there too often after only 2 lessons. I believe that one of the main issues (esp with VCA/CC clubs) is that they try to cater for pet classes and trialling classes all in one and land up missing the mark for both. All the top competitors that I know don't use clubs to learn things, they just use them for distraction training anyway, and pet people don't need a perfect heel with auto sits and turns.

Why am I hesitant to go back?

* Dogs doing runners all the time (I counted six last week). This is mainly because people aren't taught how to engage their dogs, the lesson plan calls for off leash work and they are let off leash even though they are looking around as the leash comes off. For any school, safety has to come first.

* They move waaaaay to fast (lesson 2 involved long heel patterns with auto sits and turns - before anyone is even taught how to teach heel!). I believe this just sets people up to fail. I'm not fussed as long as I can take things slowly with my dog (I'm learning heel based on Uta Bindel's method and I expect it to take 18 months to 2 years to get a perfect heel).

* Most dogs are young with very little training, yet no one is taught how to get their attention first. Without this, everyone is just set up to fail. It really irks me because it is such an easy problem to solve - a couple of "bar open, bar closed" sessions would see things improved. In fact, I got admonished for paying Lucy for paying attention to me when she was focusing on me because I hadn't commanded her to do anything. Meanwhile, most dogs were interested in anything but their owners.

* I've already been told a few times - after 2 lessons - that my dog will fail if she completes the tasks like I've asked her too (for example, for a come she stays about 20cm away from me. I'm happy with this because I can reach her and she is a nervous dogs, I'm a big woman and it can be intimidating for her to get closer). So her bullet recall, her focus on me etc counts for naught because she is 5cm too far out. Note that this isn't a trialling class, all the people in it are pet people. I'm happy to just smile, shrug my shoulders and say "oh well, then I'll fail" but I don't understand setting super-high standards for a beginners class and then rushing them through exercises.

* There is too much focus on "neatness" and things being done the way they have always been done. For loose leash walking, the dog needs to walk next to the handler's left side (terminology changes between LLW and heeling all the time, even though they are very different). When I asked whether I could use my criteria (LLW = walk where you like as long as you have loose leash) I was told no as next week the instructor wants us to walk in a line and it is better that they're all on the left as it was neater.

But enough ranting. I'm happy to pay extra to get what I want out of a club/training organisation. The biggest barrier for me isn't cost, time or distance but getting what I want out of a club/org. I understand that it isn't what a lot of average pet owners want though. I'm happy to do my own thing discretely.

What do I want?

* Safety being # 1. If your dog doesn't focus on you, you don't let it off leash. People told specifically not to let dogs say hello to each other unless they have permission. Even then, we're there to work not play and dogs need to know they don't have to greet every dog they come across. I'd also like people to be told at the start that if your dog stares at another dog, or growls, just to turn and walk away. I've not seen this happen in any training I've been to. Instead, I tend to see people getting embarrassed and then trying to get the dogs to be friends, things get worse etc.

* People taught how to engage their dogs, especially when the dog has a reward history for not paying attention. I don't need to be taught this, but I hate seeing people being set up to fail.

* My dogs know all the basics, so I'm interested in classes that can push them further. For Fergus, this means learning more complex behaviours that I might not know how to teach (eg dumbell retrieve, even though I have no plans to compete in OB). For Lucy, this means working in different environments with different people and dogs, practicing things like LAT and blocking ala the advanced classes you have run in the past.

* I'd like to email/meet with instructors at the start of class and be able to discuss what I want to train and come up with a bit of a plan. I mostly like to do my own thing and I understand that an instructor can't spend time trying to help me do something different, so I think some discussion before would help this.

* I like intensive short courses over the weekend where you can pack in a lot of learning and then take it home (eg the dog-dog interaction workshop you did, seminars with people like Uta, Mia S(forgotten the rest of her surname...) etc).

* I like things to be mixed up a lot with some non-traditional stuff that is useful to all dogs - pets and sports dogs alike. Things like impulse control games (it's yer choice), walking past a line of dogs and not saying hello, staying in a sit as another dog walks past etc.

* I'd like things like "how to play it safe in the dog park" (eg don't take your dog through the crowded entrance and let them be swamped, don't stand around the entrance etc). Again, not something I really need but most people don't have a clue when it comes to this stuff and puppy school/obedience is the only avenue for them to learn.

ETA: the other big issue that I have with the VCA club is that they seem to have no training on how to deal with reactive (I don't necessarily mean aggressive) dogs. There is a lot of yelling at dogs and pinning them down, which isn't very effective at all. Either train volunteers in techniques that have been proven to work or don't accept dogs that are reactive at all.

Edited August 21, 2012 by megan_

[Tentapride]

I stopped goign to formal classes quite a while ago because the so called instructors were nothing more than pet owners that had been "Trained" by the club. It was a joke and some of the things they were recommending people do with there dogs problems were causing more problems. Anyone that knew anything about dog training were effectively shut down by the high and might club stalwarts who thought they knew it all but really had no idea.

ABout 12 months I took a trained dog into an obedience class as he had some minor fear issues. I explained that we needed to stay at the outskirts of the class due to my boys issues etc and I didn't want to go into a class with any offlead work to ensure others had 100% control of their dogs at all times. Down stay command to the end of the lead was given and half the damn class dropped the leads. Needless to say this class wasnot ready for this dogs broke and my dog was attacked!!!! A vet visit and several stitches later and I now have a fearful aggressive dog on my hands.

I had a look at my old club and found it had gone down hill. Many people had complained numerous times about an aggressive dog who had bitten both people and dogs before was not muzzled and left unattended and tethered only in a high traffic area. Why do you ask? The instructors deemed it was the best thing to do so it could get used to other dogs around???? None of the complaints were ever actiioned by the club either because the dog in question was owned by a so called instructor.

Far too many idiots in my area thinking they know how to train dogs for me to attempt another class situation.

I am currently training a young girl who I hope to have in competive obedience within the year. WE are going great and at 7 months of age she is already retrieving dumbells and metal articles. She has all positions sorted and knows a number of tricks as well.

I'll be starting scent work with her soon.

[mixeduppup]

I stopped goign to formal classes quite a while ago because the so called instructors were nothing more than pet owners that had been "Trained" by the club. It was a joke and some of the things they were recommending people do with there dogs problems were causing more problems.

That's it exactly!!!

[Katdogs]

I stopped goign to formal classes quite a while ago because the so called instructors were nothing more than pet owners that had been "Trained" by the club. It was a joke and some of the things they were recommending people do with there dogs problems were causing more problems. Anyone that knew anything about dog training were effectively shut down by the high and might club stalwarts who thought they knew it all but really had no idea.

...

I had a look at my old club and found it had gone down hill. Many people had complained numerous times about an aggressive dog who had bitten both people and dogs before was not muzzled and left unattended and tethered only in a high traffic area. Why do you ask? The instructors deemed it was the best thing to do so it could get used to other dogs around???? None of the complaints were ever actiioned by the club either because the dog in question was owned by a so called instructor.

Hmmmmm, this sounds familiar. Are you in SW Sydney?

[Tentapride]

I stopped goign to formal classes quite a while ago because the so called instructors were nothing more than pet owners that had been "Trained" by the club. It was a joke and some of the things they were recommending people do with there dogs problems were causing more problems. Anyone that knew anything about dog training were effectively shut down by the high and might club stalwarts who thought they knew it all but really had no idea.

...

I had a look at my old club and found it had gone down hill. Many people had complained numerous times about an aggressive dog who had bitten both people and dogs before was not muzzled and left unattended and tethered only in a high traffic area. Why do you ask? The instructors deemed it was the best thing to do so it could get used to other dogs around???? None of the complaints were ever actiioned by the club either because the dog in question was owned by a so called instructor.

Hmmmmm, this sounds familiar. Are you in SW Sydney?

No Newcastle - so it seems the idiots are all located in Newcastle area. I just can't understand their mentality. The way they run the club is a major disaster waiting to happen. Class numbers are not restricted and there can be 30 - 40 people and dogs in a class!!!!! The other clubs in the area were basically started up by members who were frustrated by this club and guess what they are all the same!!!! Not a single club in this area promotes positive training and none will allow the use of a clicker anywhere on the grounds. Newcastle is still in the dark ages when dog training is concerned.