Dog Doesn't Like Obedience Class

[emilymarston]

Hello! I have a dog, Bonnie, who doesn't like obedience class. We currently take weekly obedience classes, and it's becoming more of an issue for me and my dog.

I always take Bonnie's favorite treat, hot dogs, to every class. At home, at parks, on the street or going for walks, hot dogs will drive her insane! She absolutely loves them, she'll do anything for the smallest piece of hot dog. But when I take her to obedience she won't touch them. Bonnie refuses to eat her treats, and is hardly interested in doing any obedience. She almost shuts herself down during the class, and doesn't look happy at all. Bonnie will respond to the commands, but she hardly puts in any effort or enthusiasm into it. She just looks miserable. (I don't use any negative reinforcement on Bonnie, and I always make sure to give extra praise. Yet she still acts sad)

Once the class is over I take her to the edge of the park and do some extra training with her, and only then will she want to work with me. When we go off by ourselves it's almost like I'm working with a different dog. Bonnie will be willing to try anything for a hot dog. I could repeat everything we did in class, and she'd be happy to do it and will put in almost 100% effort. Today I was doing offlead heeling and stays at the end of the class, and she was great! We did the same exercises in class, it's a completely different story. It's only during the class when Bonnie shuts down.

We've been taking classes for a few years (started when she was under 5 months old) and she's always been like this. We'll go to the class, she'll act miserable, and once we're finished Bonnie is ready to work. She's used to the group environment, and works well around other dogs and people. I could be training in the exact same spot as the class, and she'd want to train. It's only in the class environment when she shuts down.

I've tried almost everything to gain her attention during class. I've changed treats. I've arrived early and did some training before the class. I've tried using toys as a reward. I've walked her beforehand. I stopped giving her breakfast on the day to make her hungry. Nothing is working for us.

The only reason I'm still doing obedience is so that we can start agility training. We have to pass a certain level of obedience before being allowed to do agility. We have to pass one more class to start agility, but Bonnie's attitude is holding us back.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do? I'm confused as to why she acts like this. She only behaves like this in class, otherwise she's happy to work and perform for almost anything.

Thanks

[The Spotted Devil]

Dogs are very good at performing situation specific behaviours and it sounds like class + obedience = drudge. Especially if she is fine elsewhere and happy being around other dogs....is it possible she has a bad experience as a youngster? If you can rule all that out I would (after discussing with your instructor) just play with her in class. Food games, toy games and play with you for just a few minutes then step out of class and give her some quiet time. Preferably in a crate. Rinse and repeat. Then start asking for a basic behaviour, play intensely and back in the crate. Rinse and repeat, gradually building up the complexity of the behaviours and time spent training. Stop BEFORE she's had enough. This is a great challenge for you to learn to overcome - you will learn heaps!!!

Edited April 13, 2014 by The Spotted Devil

[Steph M]

Can you have a chat to the instructors and perhaps have her assessed to move up classes in private or quiet? Have a chat to them, I bet the older trainers have seen it all before and can give you some pointers?

[emilymarston]

is it possible she has a bad experience as a youngster?

In our earlier years I corrected and punished her a fair bit. Not that I physically hurt her, more so pulling on the lead, verbal punishment ect. but that seems to of scared her enough. I think that could be a big part of it. Now she just seems a little on edge in class. I don't use any punishment on her right now, I think that would make everything worse. Thanks for the help! I will definitely try to give her a lot of breaks during class

[emilymarston]

Can you have a chat to the instructors and perhaps have her assessed to move up classes in private or quiet? Have a chat to them, I bet the older trainers have seen it all before and can give you some pointers?

I have talked to them. Basically they're saying I need to be firmer on Bonnie, and use less treats. But that's exactly how I motivate her, with food. They've also said to push her back into the heeling position when she's not cooperating. But I know this will only make things worse for Bon, she hates being forced into things. A few weeks ago a trainer asked me to pull her leash down to make her drop if she doesn't listen. For the rest of that lesson she refused to drop for me. So I'm trying to follow their instructions, but without so much force.

[persephone]

i would suggest you change schools if possible? or at least try another - see how she goes. She may associate this one with scary .....

[The Spotted Devil]

is it possible she has a bad experience as a youngster?

In our earlier years I corrected and punished her a fair bit. Not that I physically hurt her, more so pulling on the lead, verbal punishment ect. but that seems to of scared her enough. I think that could be a big part of it. Now she just seems a little on edge in class. I don't use any punishment on her right now, I think that would make everything worse. Thanks for the help! I will definitely try to give her a lot of breaks during class

They have looong memories! Drop the obedience aspect and just have FUN in class!

[emilymarston]

i would suggest you change schools if possible? or at least try another - see how she goes. She may associate this one with scary .....

All of our bad experiences were at another club. We had a two year break from obedience (for the same reason) and we've only had 4 classes at our new club. She still acts this way, even though we're at a completely new club. This is what makes me think it's about her being in the class environment that's setting her off.

[persephone]

Oh ! Ok.... needs a better brain than mine then :)

[Staff'n'Toller]

Which area of Vic are you in? Maybe we can suggest a different sort of club.

[Salukifan]

I went through this with one of mine. Lily was completely overwhelmed by group classes and shut down.

We took time out and switched to agility training. Progress was slow at first but because Lily go to do things by herself, she improved.

We eventually went back to obedience classes and she was much better, eventually gaining her CCD.

[JulesP]

How do you feel when you are in class? Do you feel tense because Bonnie isn't performing?

[emilymarston]

Which area of Vic are you in? Maybe we can suggest a different sort of club.

I'm in Essendon, north west of Melbourne. I'd like to go to an agility only club, but most of them are too expensive or too far away. This was the only club my parents would let me go to.

[emilymarston]

I went through this with one of mine. Lily was completely overwhelmed by group classes and shut down.

We took time out and switched to agility training. Progress was slow at first but because Lily go to do things by herself, she improved.

We eventually went back to obedience classes and she was much better, eventually gaining her CCD.

I can't take agility classes until I pass an assessment, which involves us passing one more class at this club. So if I want to do agility, which is the only reason I'm still at the club, it means I still have to attend their obedience classes

[emilymarston]

How do you feel when you are in class? Do you feel tense because Bonnie isn't performing?

I do get quite annoyed and frustrated, because she is a completely different dog out of class. It's really upsetting, sometimes I feel like I should just give up and forget about dog training. I also get nervous because I'm the youngest person in my class, buy at least 10 years (sometimes even more). I try not to take anything out on Bonnie. Sometimes a command might come out meaner than I intended it to, but I'm sure Bonnie can pick up on my nerves before I say anything. I do think I'm effecting her performance in class, because I don't like the classes either. But it's the only way we can get into agility, so I sort of just try and hold it together.

Edited April 13, 2014 by allyandbonnie

[The Spotted Devil]

That's also part of the learning curve for all of us - staying calm and upbeat in the face of everything going pear shaped! You would be surprised how much dogs pick up body language too - when mine make a mistake I try to keep it really light....laugh even! Ha! Gotcha! Try again! Even dropped shoulders can shut them down.

[dididog]

Have you tried Keilor Obedience? Or is that where you go already? I really like keilor and the instructors are pretty good and you have plenty of room to do your own thing, they seem quite understanding of dogs with different requirements. I also don't think any of the instructors would suggest using force. I don't know what their agility is like though.

[Canine Coach]

is it possible she has a bad experience as a youngster?

In our earlier years I corrected and punished her a fair bit. Not that I physically hurt her, more so pulling on the lead, verbal punishment ect. but that seems to of scared her enough. I think that could be a big part of it. Now she just seems a little on edge in class. I don't use any punishment on her right now, I think that would make everything worse. Thanks for the help! I will definitely try to give her a lot of breaks during class

It sounds like you have a very intelligent, sensitive dog who adores you & wants to please you. You have, in good faith, just done what you were told, thinking it was the "right" way to train. What training club do you attend? It sounds as if they use very old fashioned out-dated punitive methods. Dogs for survival, are very environmentally aware & are hard wired to be sensitive to environments as a species. Corrections, or even lack of food, praise, happy talk, etc, in a particular environment, easily can cause a negative association with that environment /situation. What you describe sounds as if the punishment, verbal leash corrections your sounding angry, etc are responsible for her fear of doing "anything", IN THAT ENVIRONMENT, just in case she does the "wrong" thing & gets punished . YOU sound different in that environment & YOU act different so she does too. If I was Bonnie I would have packed my bags & left that situation for good, long ago. I have trained my own dogs (5 Obedience Champions 1 UDX) & others dogs, without pain/fear. They are eager & enthusiastic when they even SEE a training ring cause they is deeply associated with positives.. Change the association & the dogs behaviour will eventually change

[emilymarston]

Have you tried Keilor Obedience? Or is that where you go already? I really like keilor and the instructors are pretty good and you have plenty of room to do your own thing, they seem quite understanding of dogs with different requirements. I also don't think any of the instructors would suggest using force. I don't know what their agility is like though.

I'm trying not to change clubs if I can. I've passed 3 out of the 4 required obedience classes (in only 4 weeks) and it would be a shame to give up now. Basically, the only thing I'm being assessed on is offlead heeling. If we can heel offlead well, even amongst all the distractions, we'll be able to take agility classes.

I don't think Keilor offers dog agility, they only do obedience and flyball according to their website. But it's great to see that they're using positive reinforcement :)

[emilymarston]

is it possible she has a bad experience as a youngster?

In our earlier years I corrected and punished her a fair bit. Not that I physically hurt her, more so pulling on the lead, verbal punishment ect. but that seems to of scared her enough. I think that could be a big part of it. Now she just seems a little on edge in class. I don't use any punishment on her right now, I think that would make everything worse. Thanks for the help! I will definitely try to give her a lot of breaks during class

It sounds like you have a very intelligent, sensitive dog who adores you & wants to please you. You have, in good faith, just done what you were told, thinking it was the "right" way to train. What training club do you attend? It sounds as if they use very old fashioned out-dated punitive methods. Dogs for survival, are very environmentally aware & are hard wired to be sensitive to environments as a species. Corrections, or even lack of food, praise, happy talk, etc, in a particular environment, easily can cause a negative association with that environment /situation. What you describe sounds as if the punishment, verbal leash corrections your sounding angry, etc are responsible for her fear of doing "anything", IN THAT ENVIRONMENT, just in case she does the "wrong" thing & gets punished . YOU sound different in that environment & YOU act different so she does too. If I was Bonnie I would have packed my bags & left that situation for good, long ago. I have trained my own dogs (5 Obedience Champions 1 UDX) & others dogs, without pain/fear. They are eager & enthusiastic when they even SEE a training ring cause they is deeply associated with positives.. Change the association & the dogs behaviour will eventually change

We currently go to Altona Civic Dog Obedience Club. I have to admit, there were some horrid trainers and instructors in my class a few weeks ago. It was enough to scare me, so I can only imagine how frightened Bonnie must be. I was the only one in today's class that was using food rewards for their dog. Our previous club was Northern Obedience Dog Club, and they were using primarily negative reinforcement as well.

I think your idea about the association between Bonnie and the club is spot on. I know that I'm definitely not as happy or as excited as I am during our own training sessions. And I've been giving less praise and food rewards, just as the instructors have told me. Almost every instructor so far has told me to key down the rewards and praise, which has probably made everything a lot worse for poor Bonnie. So I can easily see why she acts differently, it's because I'm training and acting differently as well. I think once we can get past all of the negativity and start training the way we train, we'll be well on our way to agility classes.