t(AD)pole Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Hello all, Today I joined up at a dog club to do agility (we've already done obedience courses at another place that doesn't have agility). They wouldn't let me do agility until we had passed two of their courses (which i suppose is fair enough). The thing that bugged me was how the trainer told me to train my dog. They said not to use food or any positive reinforcement and to just punish her and give her a huge yank on the chocker chain when she did something wrong. They also said that the way to punish her was to grab her ears and neck and shake the c*** out of her! She is already a really timid dog i don't thing negative reinforcement is the way to go. Does anyone know of any good training clubs in melbourne? Or where do you go (in melbourne) and what do you think of that club? Thanks, A. & A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Which club was that if you don't mind me asking..?? Specify your area and we can make some recommendations. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snobbybobby Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Does anyone know of any good training clubs in melbourne? Or where do you go (in melbourne) and what do you think of that club? Take a look under trainers on the K9events site mentioned in the clicker training thread. It depends where you live but there is Sherbrooke Obedience Dog Club at Belgrave and, on the other side of the city Keilor Obedience Dog Club. There's also Hastings Obedience Club on the Mornington Peninsula. Lots of clubs these days are going away from J&P methods though you just have to look around Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 (edited) Does anyone know of any good training clubs in melbourne? Or where do you go (in melbourne) and what do you think of that club? Take a look under trainers on the K9events site mentioned in the clicker training thread. It depends where you live but there is Sherbrooke Obedience Dog Club at Belgrave and, on the other side of the city Keilor Obedience Dog Club. There's also Hastings Obedience Club on the Mornington Peninsula. Lots of clubs these days are going away from J&P methods though you just have to look around I think the OP means that she/he is looking for agility as well as obedience and Sherbrooke don't outwardly offer that.... Mel. Edited October 8, 2006 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J... Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 The thing that bugged me was how the trainer told me to train my dog. They said not to use food or any positive reinforcement and to just punish her and give her a huge yank on the chocker chain when she did something wrong. They also said that the way to punish her was to grab her ears and neck and shake the c*** out of her! She is already a really timid dog i don't thing negative reinforcement is the way to go. Maybe someone needs to do this to the instructor and see how much they like it! Sorry I can't help you with clubs in Melbourne as I'm out in the sticks, but good luck in your search for a better club - I'm sure you'll find some really good ones out there! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 If Altona is handy the agility club of Victoria is great. They start with a foundation course which is the basics you need before you start on the equipment, all positive training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t(AD)pole Posted October 8, 2006 Author Share Posted October 8, 2006 Thanks everyone! All the clubs you guys have suggested are too far and the one I joined is the nearest club that does agility to me. Im in Box Hill but I don't mind going half an hour or so away if I have to. I'm thinking I might go back and just train the way I want to with positive reinforcement if I can't find anywhere else. A. & A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Thanks everyone!All the clubs you guys have suggested are too far and the one I joined is the nearest club that does agility to me. Im in Box Hill but I don't mind going half an hour or so away if I have to. I'm thinking I might go back and just train the way I want to with positive reinforcement if I can't find anywhere else. A. & A. Wow it's a shame that you happened to walk into a school that is still very traditional. Boroondara Dog Training and the Kintala Club are certainly near to you, whilst they don't do agility...you can always move onto that once you have a good standard of obedience, because you really do need to have a great recall, and have a dog that likes to work near you. Altona is definitely worth the travel they are agility only, so you don't have to do obedience there first. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheres my rock Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 whats croydon like these days or action dogs in doveton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 Croydon is all positive. Not a choker chain in sight and they have a good agility course. You would have to go through their basic 1 & 2 programs before doing agility. If you can pass the tests though you might be able to go straight through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted October 8, 2006 Share Posted October 8, 2006 (edited) Croydon has a few trainers doing delta this year. From what I understand they are definitely using food and target sticks etc. in some of their classes. Doveton is also good, they are just running their first foundations course...similar to Altona I would assume. Mel. Edited October 8, 2006 by Staff'n'Toller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloss344 Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Croydon is positive. Bob and I love it. They do use food, but I have a feeling that they stopped the target sticks recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealityBites Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 http://www.australiandogtraining.com.au/ This club would be one of the only ones I'd go too if I wasn't already involved in something else. Haven and Erny could tell you more about them, but I was impressed when I visited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haven Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 One thing that you need to understand is that there is no such thing as "positive only" training. A good club should be able and prepared to adapt accordingly to the wants and needs of each individual dog and owner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReXy Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 what a shame and a horrible thing to tell you to do, grab the dog and shake the crap out of it... some peoples ideas of training a dog is beyond me.., horrible.... hastings is probably to far, they are a positive club and do offer agility havent yet had any problems with anyone there,, great club good luck i hope you find somewhere that can accomodate your needs... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheres my rock Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 i think the op just wants soemwhere that doesnt use methods like scruffing a timid dog often when people ask for a positive club they just mean somewhere that uses positive reinforcemnt as the main training tool and gos to other methods only when necessary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t(AD)pole Posted October 9, 2006 Author Share Posted October 9, 2006 (edited) Thanks everyone! Staff'n'Toller- I have already done an obedience course and I want to start agility. We would still do obedience classes as well as agility. wheres my rock- Croydon is too far (my mum has to drive or I would already be there ) and so is Doveton. JulesP-As I just said, Croydon looks great but it is just too far for my mums likings . RealityBites- They don't do agility (I don't think) and thats what im really looking for. haven- I understand that and I don't mind a bit of punishment, I just don't like chokers and really yelling at the dog. I have a really timid Border Collie and I want to train her at classes and do agility to bring her confidence up. ReXy-Yep Hastings is a bit far! ETA: Altona is also too far. What happened was: I went one sunday to see what the club was like and to try my dog on agility. I didn't join, just tryed it out. The agility instructor put my dog through some of the obstacles on and off lead and she responded well so he said she would be fine to start. I didn't actually see them using chokers that day and the people I talked to were nice and used food rewards. So the next sunday I went back to join and was told to go to the intro class where the instructor taught you how to train your dog etc...That was the peorson who said the stuff about shaking the dog and using chokers. A. & A. Edited October 9, 2006 by t(AD)pole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helen Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Are you anywhere near KCC Park (Skye)?, there is agility club there which trains Thursday nights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 Are you anywhere near KCC Park (Skye)?, there is agility club there which trains Thursday nights KCC is at least 45mins from Box Hill - if not more. Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haven Posted October 9, 2006 Share Posted October 9, 2006 haven- I understand that and I don't mind a bit of punishment, I just don't like chokers and really yelling at the dog. I have a really timid Border Collie and I want to train her at classes and do agility to bring her confidence up. The point is I don't believe any decent club forces you to use a correction chain and yell at your dog, neither do I believe in one that forces you to use food rewards, refuses to allow you to use even a verbal punisher like "no" if you so choose etc. I especially can't stand the clubs that brag about being "positive only" and then put all kinds of restrictions on what dogs they accept, like dogs must be under a certain age without any behavioural issues etc. A good club will accept all dogs and be willing and able to accomodate all styles of training, whether owners want to use food/toys/corrections/drive or a combination of these things and more. No club should force something that neither you nor your dog are comfortable with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now