[sheiser]

My husband and I had intended on getting Gracie into obedience/puppy training classes as soon as she had all her shots. Well, it's now 1 crazy month after her last shot (she's just under 5 months) and we are just getting ready to sign her up. I'm wondering what kind classes we should be gearing towards. She's doing pretty good with her basic commands and her loose leash walking gets better every day; however, we need to work on her socialization excitableness (she can barely contain herself whenever she sees a new person or animal) and her biting (the whole teething thing doesn't help).

I'm just not sure what kind of class would be better for her. The puppy classes I see are more geared towards the socialization, but she is already too old for many of the classes in my area. The obedience courses are what I would prefer, but I'm afraid she will be too over-excited to learn anything.

Any advice is appreciated. I already feel awful that we waited this long and allowed some of these behaviors to get out of control!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Dinoz]

I have the same excitement problem with Milo. I plan to overcome this by regularely taking him to dog parks so he can get used to meeting new dogs/people. I don't expect him to improve straight away but the more times i take him, the more normal it will become for him, but i do understand he is still a puppy (6 months) and loves nothing more than to play...

But speak to the trainer before booking the session in as alot of them have methods to control this type of behaviour.

 

[Smeagle]

I would have a one on one session with a reputable behaviourist/trainer to start with and go from there - obedience classes can be great but if you have some issues you want to nip in the bud first, get them sorted with a one on one consult.

 

[Smeagle]

BTW - socialisation alone won't solve the problem of a dog getting to excited when they see another dog.

In fact, taking them to dog parks or socialising them more can make them worse because it can increase the value they have for other dogs.

You want to work on teaching focus and self control, all socialising means is giving your dog a new experience and assigning it a value - if you have a five month old pup who gets excited about other dogs it's not a socialisation problem, it's a focus and training problem, because the dog sees other dogs as more valuable than you.

 

[Dinoz]

hmmm very very interesting Smeagle. I never seen it like that but that is something that I will definately consider from now on.

 

[sheiser]

Thanks to both of you!

Dinoz, thanks for the tip about talking to the trainers before hand. I'm sure that will make decision making a bit easier on us.

Smeagle, I think we will definitely do as you suggested and first do a one on one consult/training before going forward. Such a simple thing, but I never even thought of doing that!

 

[Mollys Mom]

Molly is going to Basic Manners 101 at the Animal Protective Foundation. She already knows how to sit, lay down etc but is fearful of my husband at times and also barks at the front window. I like the class because its small (6 dogs), their handler and the trainer. They have a homework booklet to practice all week.