I'm going to a KC bronze training class once a week but I feel so demoralised this evening I might give up. The funny thing is, I've had a brilliant week with Molly, been to all sorts of new walks and she's recalled every time, even from other dogs (bikes are a work in progress, but I've managed to avoid them this week.) Retrieving is also going really well, using the clicker, and we're practising 'stay' every day - sometimes she moves first time, but on the second go gets it. But this evening at the dog club in the scout hut she was awful! The main problem is that there's never enough time to make the dogs repeat something if they refuse or do it incorrectly, because we each 'perform' individually, rather than all working at once as we did in the puppy classes. I find I get really flustered. On Wednesday we start back at gundog training (we were told we had to have a longer break from this one because of the kennel cough.) I'm feeling quite nervous, whereas surely it should be a pleasure. The main problem there is that there are only 3 of us and one of the others snipes at me, saying Molly is a distraction and that I shouldn't have bought a cross-breed. I guess I'll see how it goes this week and then decide what to do. I suppose I should be glad that Molly is behaving well in 'real life'!
Re: Feel like giving up classes [quote author=Joy link=topic=6622.msg88950#msg88950 date=1402950819] The main problem there is that there are only 3 of us and one of the others snipes at me, saying Molly is a distraction and that I shouldn't have bought a cross-breed. [/quote] Well if it was me, I would probably have been in floods of tears, then felt angry and determined to prove them wrong!! We all have off days. Don't give up if you feel the class is otherwise right for you, but if it is causing you too much stress, sounds like you need a better class. Personally I think the trainer has let themselves down allowing bad behaviour among the owners......
Re: Feel like giving up classes Fab news that Molly is doing so well when you are out and about I understand your frustration with classes in a hut, they do seem a bit rushed for me, but work for others. I never went back after puppy class because of this. As for being told Molly is a distraction and that you shouldn't of brought a cross breed, I would politely (or not maybe) that it's none of their business, and I would also speak privately with the trainer to let them know because those comments are offensive, border on bullying and downright horrible hopefully the trainer could intervene and sort it out?? Good luck with whatever you decide x
Re: Feel like giving up classes Hi Joy, sounds to me like you are doing a great job with Molly especially with the recall from different distractions so very well done. Are there lots of dogs in your class? That's pretty nasty of that person to tell you not to bring Molly along because she is a cross breed Her dog must be very clever to know that Molly is a cross breed and causes a distraction :, what a load of rubbish and sounds like 'dog snobbery to me and a real cheek and I'm not surprised you are feeling a little low about it. Give it another go and prove to the snobs that your Molly is as good as their 'pure breeds'. Keep you chin up Joy xx
Re: Feel like giving up classes You poor thing, that sounds really stressful :-[ are there any other classes you could try instead? As for the other person saying you shouldn't have got a cross breed stuff what they think! Tell them to keep their nasty opinion to themselves. At the end of the day you and Molly are their to learn so don't be deterred but don't let it get you down either. Sounds like you and Molly are doing a good job. Could you ask the trainer if you would be able to repeat actions when needed?
Re: Feel like giving up classes That's sad. I went to look at a similar class, bronze award, I think, because I was researching classes. It didn't appeal to me because there didn't seem enough time for individual progress to be achieved. It all seemed rather loud and chaotic. I am waiting for a nice quiet clicker class. But only you know if it's right. That rude person at your other class is just plain rude; can't think of anything to help apart from don't stand near him/her. What a shame! I hope you resolve it soon
Re: Feel like giving up classes Just remember you are at classes to train, not test ;D Don't get upset, try to relax and learn what you can. I often used to go home so depressed and full of tears, then I found a class which was very good, but relaxed and his words were "we are not testing the dogs but training them" and that made all the difference to me. I wasn't expected to be perfect or even good, but was aiming to have a good dog in the end
Re: Feel like giving up classes Wow! I would have been mad! ;D From what I can see you are both doing incredibly well in real life! Tbh I wouldn't have even attempted group classes with our dog, puppy classes were bad enough.. : Personally (and bear in mind I have no experience....) I just don't see the point of classes inside halls or similar, especially with young dogs, just too much stimulation, how can a dog learn from that? We have 2 trainers, both are brilliant, and introduce one small distraction at a time, building up our dogs confidence and setting him up to succeed. Our trainer thinks we are just about ready to start a group class, after a few 1-1 sessions with our 8 month old pup, and they have been worth every penny.
Re: Feel like giving up classes Thank you all for so many kind comments. Stacia - yes that's it exactly, I want time to practise and advice. It does all feel as if we're just rehearsing for the test. There are about 12 of us, but not everyone turns up each week. I have told the gun dog trainer how I feel about this person's comments, but he just said she was being silly and to ignore her. He has given me helpful advice about training so I'd like to keep going - I'll have to grow a thicker skin! Plan B might be to see if I could have 1to1 sessions - perhaps less often as they'd obviously cost more.
Re: Feel like giving up classes [quote author=Joy link=topic=6622.msg88950#msg88950 date=1402950819] one of the others snipes at me, saying Molly is a distraction and that I shouldn't have bought a cross-breed. [/quote] Oh my goodness! How awful! Is the class otherwise good? In which case, I'd work out a strongly worded, but polite and dignified, response, in advance...practise delivering it in a calm way, and tell him/her to "get lost you horrible person". In your polite, dignified and calm way .
Re: Feel like giving up classes Classes in Village Halls are totally artificial, but they are often all that is available to the new puppy owner. I played hooky from my last class, we'd covered the basics, it had become very repetitive and you didn't get much chance to practice because we were all taking turns. I am thinking of having a couple of private lessons. I would rather pay for one hour of time dedicated to me and my dog. Hopefully another pair of experienced eyes might pick up on some improvements I can make. My last dog wasn't a cross breed, she was a mongrel, a total Heinz 57. I loved her to bits and put just as much time and effort her training as I am Molly's. She was a great dog. I think it is largely the effort you put into a dog that determines what you get out of it. (As in most of life)
Re: Feel like giving up classes Sorry to hear that you have an arrogant and foolish person in your class. If I was the instructor I'd say something to the class as a whole, reinforcing standards of behaviour, but without naming names. That way, no-one is accused but the perpetrator gets the message. Or you could just stick a screwdriver in the person's tyres (no, just kidding, don't do that, just visualise it ). If you are getting something out of the class, and it was just one bad day, keep going. We had a shocker at our class on Sunday - Obi was really distracted (we had been minding a puppy at home and he seemed to spend the whole class looking for the puppy :). Some days you just have to go "ok, today is a write-off....but everyone is allowed a bad day". 1 to 1 lessons will cost more but you will probably get so much more out of them. And, as you say, you might not need many, or you could have them less often
Re: Feel like giving up classes Heavens, just ignore the ignorant person. I have been to gundog classes with crossbreeds and why should a crossbreed be a distraction he is still a dog! I think the woman must feel insecure and is using your dog as an excuse for her inadequacies. Take no notice, enjoy your dog and enjoy gundog training, it is great for the dogs.
Re: Feel like giving up classes Joy,I totally agree with JulieT,get working on your 'Bog Off With Dignity' Statement and let us know how your delivery goes some people are just unnecessarily rude and mean I'm sorry that you've had a bad class,not every group is right,but you know you can also just have a bad class that can make you feel it's wrong ,next week might be better?........I get very self conscious in groups with Dexter,I just feel inept and hate looking clueless.Knowing what I know from discussions on the forum none of my classes were particularly good or well managed.I quickly realised that we were pretty much going to bomb out at the bottom of the class each week but I took away what we were supposed to be working on and would practice at home and took the value of the class as that.....it was only basic obedience classes that I was doing though and I went back for a second lot around 8 month mark and our results,were so much better when Dexter had the basics.i was less self conscious as we had some level of skill and were ready to,practice,around other dogs Chin up,enjoy Mollly and let us know,how,your gun dog class goes xxx
Re: Feel like giving up classes I think I'd be inclined to ditch the village hall; it just sounds too stressful. A few 1 on 1 training sessions would probably do you far more good and get you to the KC bronze level far quicker. I wouldn't give up on the gun dog classes though, despite the very unpleasant person who was so rude to you. Only three people in a class is actually very good - you get quite close help and attention, but at the same time Molly is learning to deal with working together with other dogs, which will be invaluable for her to learn steadiness. Of course Moly is a distraction! Having any other dog around when you are training is a distraction. : If your rude neighbour doesn't like that, she should leave the class herself and get 1 to 1 instruction. Joy, I've been to classes where we were so far below the level of other people it was downright embarrassing. We persevered though (although I was in tears a couple of times and OH had to FORCE me to continue to go). You know what - in the long run it is really truly worth it. And now, sometimes I am in a class with someone with a dog who misbehaves, or runs in, or is a pain and yes, you guessed it, a distraction. It can be annoying, sure. But I remember being that person myself, and am kind and helpful - partly because I know I will be in that position again myself at some time!!! 8) Hang in there. You're both doing great, and you should be very proud of yourself and the progress you and Molly are making. Karen
Re: Feel like giving up classes What a ridiculous person you have in your class, I can't think of any reason (good or otherwise) that you shouldn't have a cross breed. A lady in our first gundog class had a cockapoo and he was awesome! My response when someone used to try and tell us what to do when we were sailing was to tell them to worry about sailing their own boat and we would worry about ours! That definitely seems to apply here, if her dog is distracted she needs to work on gaining its focus not blaming you. Riley has been horribly distracted by another dog in class recently but it's not their fault and neither is it ours however we couldn't keep going the way we were so I'm training elsewhere while we work on his focus.
Re: Feel like giving up classes Thanks again for the encouraging words everyone. I feel a bit more resilient this morning. I'll let you know how tomorrow's gun dog class goes - I feel more inclined to stand up to this woman now!
Re: Feel like giving up classes Hi Joy, I just wanted to add a bit of advice for what I've found helpful with our KC training classes. My Molly is eight months old now and we are close to completing the silver award, having passed bronze in May. We've also enrolled on the gold award as our trainer has said she's ready and we've already started doing some 'gold' exercises in class. Now if you'd said this to me back in January when we started with the KC puppy award I would have laughed out loud- she was a complete handful. She's still very bouncy and excitable but the two things I have found really help are: sea biscuits (guaranteed to get her attention and maintain focus) and I also downloaded the relevant syllabus (bronze/silver etc) from the KC website so I could practise everything multiple times at home, in the park and basically everywhere. That way when it comes to doing exercises for the first time in the ultimate distracting environment of the village hall with 8 other dogs we've got a fighting chance of actually completing the task! I hope that helps. I'm definitely glad I stuck with the classes and believe me, there have been several times when I've felt like giving up. Vicci and Molly
Re: Feel like giving up classes Gun-dog training today - hooray the unpleasant woman walked out! (Her dog refused to do a thing it was told and the trainer kept asking her to try again.) This left me with the owner of the Perfect Poodle, who is very nice (it's me who says she's perfect, not her). She's also a good role model for me as if ever the PP doesn't comply immediately she keeps very calm, but insists. Molly was a mixed bag - a couple of good retrieves & one good stay, as well as one dropped retrieve and one where she just wouldn't stay. However I felt much more relaxed and able to work at improving without feeling I was being censured. Still not quite decided about the village hall classes - I like the people there, so might just treat it as a social occasion and do the training work on my own. I certainly won't try the bronze test unless I think we've some chance of passing. Vicci - I am in awe of what you have achieved! I do practise stay and recall every day, so I'll keep persevering. I think perhaps Molly was over-tired on Monday evening as we'd been out on the Downs for a couple of hours in the afternoon. She was a bit like an attention-seeking toddler!
Re: Feel like giving up classes [quote author=Joy link=topic=6622.msg89357#msg89357 date=1403100085] Gun-dog training today - hooray the unpleasant woman walked out! [/quote] Oh what a shame ;D ;D ;D So glad you've had a good time at training, it should be fun
