So I want to do some further training / proofing with Bella and thought about trainers / classes etc. The gun dog trainer for west yorks isn't available currently so I've had a look what's around locally and contacted a trainer who does various training and he is running a 'companion' dog class, starting tomorrow for 6 weeks. He also runs KC good citizenship awards but he felt this class might suit better as it incorporates the clicker ;D Has anyone else attended a class like this? Apparently it covers some of the training for service dogs as well as proofing recall,walking to heel etc. I'm looking forward to it , there's only a max of 7 dogs booked on at one time, so hopefully won't be too crazy watch Bella play up after me telling him about all the stuff she knows :-[
Re: Companion Dog Class... I don't know about the companion class but I can really recommend th KC obedience award classes. Meg soooo loves them we are now at gold and the classes are so stimulating and fun for us both. Have fun whatever your decision
Re: Companion Dog Class... It sounds like a pet dog class - I've been to a few of those. I've had mixed experiences, some good some not so good - it all depends on the trainer. Good trainer, and you're bound to learn something. To be honest, I'd do more obedience classes with my next pup, and more foundation classes than I did with Charlie. Gundog training is a sport, something you add on top of solid foundations - so walking on and off lead, recall, stop, sit/wait, learning to work around other dogs and distractions etc all of these things that a puppy/teenager should be getting right are necessary for whatever sport you want to go on to do. Gundog, agility, or just a well behaved pet etc etc. If anything, some pet dog trainers have a wider range of ways to teach this stuff than gundog trainers, I think (not that I'm saying anything bad about gundog trainers, I think on the whole they are a lot more skilled than the average pet dog trainer - but it's fine to do the basics elsewhere and just get to a gundog trainer for the specialist stuff).
Re: Companion Dog Class... Yes, that makes sense. He's got really good reviews and travels around a lot in the UK and USA to do workshops etc so we shall see how it goes tomorrow night and I'll report back ;D we might move on to KC classes afterwards too. I think it will be good for Bella to be learning in an environment with other dogs as they are an easy distraction for her and also keeps me on my toes ;D
Re: Companion Dog Class... Hmmmmm well the first class wasn't great, bit basic for us as it was about treats , affection and toys, getting the dogs up one at a time to test etc. Bella and one other dog were the only non fussy ones who ate them all ;D I think for people new to training it was good, lots of people hadn't heard of Kongs when he got them out. He has a lot of experience ( 3 labs) and has a rule that from now on the dogs are not allowed to interact with each other ( he said he's the only trainer in W Yorks who doesn't allow this after session 1) makes sense to me though as he wants them to learn alongside other dogs, there was a few barky rescue dogs and Bella started barking back : she was desperate to get to the other dogs so it's going to be interesting next few weeks, hopefully we will learn something. He advised this class over the KC one first, so I hope so!!!
Re: Companion Dog Class... Fingers crossed that next week is more helpful. I think that's the problem of group classes, whether it be for dogs or people, you have to start with the basics and move on from there - there's always some-one who isn't up to the same level
