I'm glad you were pleased. I always 'call out' things like this. It's a terrible fault on behalf of the trainer to take advantage of being in a superior position as a teacher to be thoughtless. Try saying, very calmly, "I know you are just joking, but it would help my confidence if you didn't do/say things like that. Would that be ok?". If the instructor brushes it off with "just a joke!" just keep a straight, neutral face, and say "all the same, if you wouldn't mind".
Exactly! The whole point in going to a class is to be trained, no point going with a perfect dog! My trainer always says 'we are training, not testing', I think so many classes seem to be run on the testing. Many moons ago, I used to always go home in tears, have far more confidence now.
I feel blessed that our trainer shrugs it off with a jokey laugh when Coco jumps up or nips him when snatching a waved snack. We are the longest attenders, but we improve a little each week. I always remind myself, we are there to learn.
Thanks for all messages of support - I am glad everyone thinks we weren't being too touchy about her comments. It's the last of the current block of classes next week - and I am still trying to make up my mind whether to sign up with her for the next lot or whether to go to another trainer. On the plus side it's in a handy location, about a ten minute drive away, and Henry is improving, but on the minus side I don't like the attitude of some of the other owners. There is one little rescue dog there ( he looks like Toto from the Wizard of Oz but with big bat ears) who barks and snarls at the others and his owner is working hard to overcome this and I think he is much better than he was at first. This poor woman turns up every week knowing she will be shunned by some of the class, but still keeps coming anyway which I think is admirable. I think I will scope out other trainers and decide after next weeks session, I am going alone and not dragging my daughter miles away from home for 1 hours training, she is such a good girl to do that for her old Mum!
Hi thanks for this - I will let George keep his usual position. The reason he had it in the first place was that when he was a pup Will and I could get him in a very handy pincer movement if he was trying to forge ahead of us. I am also trying very hard to signal to Henry that George is senior dog, I feed G first and if they are both going through a door I make sure H is prevented from barging ahead do you think this is the right thing to do? George is such a gentle soul I don't want the pup to rule him and wondered if position next to me might signal something in dog language......
Willow, who is on the outside, is the one I have to "manage" more. I find I can do this very efficiently with her on the outside. I have the double-ended Halti leads (which I believe are forum favourites!), and when I'm walking the two of them together somewhere safe, I attach Shadow's lead around my waist so I can have both of my hands free for holding Willow's lead. At the moment, I've started using the cue to myself of holding my left hand loosely against my hip/treat bag and, as soon as it is moved away from my body from any tension of the lead, I stop and wait for a slack lead again (thanks to JulieT for the idea). It would be very difficult to do this with both leads in my hands at once. Strangely, though, Shadow walks better when I'm walking them together, and Willow walks better when I'm walking her alone. They do like to confuse us, these dogs I don't know what you mean by "pincer movement"! I thought this at first when I brought Shadow home, but I came to realise later, it's all a bit hokum. The truth is, it doesn't matter one jot which one you feed first, any social status issues they have will be worked out by them, not you. You can surely teach them some manners around each other - not allowing them to steal each other's toys, food etc, and it's important to train them to wait until told before they go through doors for safety purposes, but there's not really any hierarchical benefit to any of that. Shadow can barge Willow out of the way to go through doors. I don't like that, so I've trained him to wait until he's told before he goes through. Sometimes that means Willow gets to go first and he just has to deal with it. I'm not having him being a bully!
We always feed Belle (old dog) first, and let her through the door first because it feels right in our human world. It is practical too. She eats slower so it gives her a head start. Also, she's not really trained, she just bumbles along gently, but Coco is being trained, he has to sit at the door and wait for "OK" before he can go out, Belle just goes straight out, so it's easier for us to let her go first.
Pincer movement I think is a military term - moving ahead and cutting off - so Will and I each got a little ahead of him and stopped him in his tracks. I wondered if I was over thinking the senior dog thing - but will keep feeding George first as in practical terms it works for us. Thanks, as ever
Back to Basics today. Coco's lead walking is suddenly unacceptable. So strictly no advancing if the lead is at full stretch. It was going - 5 paces, stop. 7 paces, stop. 5 paces, stop. 12 paces, stop. etc... When we were on the main road, clear of other dogs' houses, I was fed up of stop/start I changed to "turn 180° " when the lead reached full stretch - this worked better today (I must have looked like a right nutter!). We reached the middle of the village (the opposite direction to where I was initially heading) and did some static exercises, sit down, stand etc. then we walked all the way home nicely. All in all, we didn't go very far but it took 50 minutes! Never be afraid to go back to the beginning - I came home on a high today.
Good advice for everyone, Sue. A couple of months back, I was walking mine together, and for some strange reason, they were incapable of walking nicely across a particular zebra crossing. So we went right back to basics and walked back and forth across this crossing about ten times, until they could do it nicely. Luckily, it wasn't busy!
