Yes, well, if all the dogs are going crazy, then that's definitely not an environment you or and your dog need to be in - no-one's learning anything, the room is too small for the number of dogs to get enough space and/or the instructor is inept.
That sounds so horribly stressful for you so well done for staying until the end! My pup has always been very, very boisterous in class, rarely sitting down for more than a few seconds, and pulling wildly to get inside the class in a way she never usually pulls (apart from dragging me into doggy daycare). She is totally distracted by the trainer because he always has treats on him. When we practice the exercises at home or in the park or woods she is so calm but in class she is a whirling dervish, as @snowbunny referred to Luna. When I took her to socialisation classes at the vet's she was even worse , it was so stressful I just wanted to leave, but I kept at it coz of the socialisation aspect. Now she is nearly 6 months she's still bouncy, smiley, wriggly and excitable in classes and rarely sits still until the end when she's exhausted by the mental stimulation. From all the replies, it sounds like it's all very normal, made worse for you because of the poo incident. And it doesn't sound very helpful that the trainer told you about a missed cue when you were just trying to keep it together. Sorry you're feeling so despondent, it really will get better but it's so horrible when you're in the thick of it.
I was lucky the trainer I go to has a lot of pup classes so she does one class just for labs or lab crosses often with a terrier too with the class limited to 6 pups. It's great loads of bouncy labs trying to be good. It works really well and if a pup is too nervous or doesn't fit she moves them to a class of pups were they do fit. She makes sure the pups have the best possible experience. Rory loves her and she loves him, I done a lot of training with her over the years with all my dogs and have recommended her to loads of doggie friends. I really wouldn't worry about missing cues we all do, we are all just learning.
I have just read everyone's comments - aah thank you so much for this. Today, Red ate a little first meal but with no interest or her usual exuberance. She has a very loose poo but nothing like last night's explosion at puppy training! (My goodness me, I am still traumatised by that!) She has eaten a late lunch with a bit more interest. I had to go out this morning and my DH said she had slept the whole time. She has drunk water with encouragement from me and she has had a couple of wee's. She is definitely not herself - just sitting around, mostly looking at me but if she carries on being ok I think we will be ok and not need the vet. I am leaving off all training with her today except the usual commands but I did just a little bit of initial recall when we were in the garden and she was very good. Last night was grim - my arms really hurt today from all the pulling and whilst I think she was definitely OTT, I think she was stressed by her tummy too. I am in two minds about returning to training next week. I take on board the being around other dogs and the need to focus and at the moment I am thinking about contacting the trainer and saying I want to repeat last night. If we are expected to just do the next bit without having got the first bit, I feel it will be a waste of time going. I will contact her when I feel calmer and clearer about what I am saying. I could have gone to another fortnightly puppy party at the Vets tonight but am going to give it a miss. MF's comment about the owner needing hand holding is so true for me. I needed just some input last night (I have never used a clicker before, my timing is rubbish, I need to be shown and helped, I needed just a little empathy that I am desperately tired - that's why I signed up to it - to help me, help Red to become a happy, well trained dog. Some help when I was grappling with pulling dog, poo bags, poo on hand and getting through the door back into the training room would have been nice instead of being ignored and attention being given to the 'good' dogs and goodness knows how much I missed whilst we were out there. So many things to think about. Thank you all again for being so supportive.
Rory my 3 year old has colitis and he always behaves badly when he's having the flare up. I always associate his bad behaviour with his tummy pain. he is very ott and excitable during these times. I can imagine poor Red was finding all s bit much too. She was such a good girl letting you know she needed to go. Shows how she trusts you and how you understand her
Thank you SwampDonkey. Yes I just suddenly thought that was what she was telling me - how right she was!!! Poor Rory having colitis, that must be difficult to manage.
Well after thinking carefully for a couple of days, I emailed the trainer this morning saying could I repeat last week's lesson and how despondent I felt at the end of Tuesdays session etc etc. Just had a lovely reply to say she was sorry I felt like that and would some 1to1 time help! I have said yes please. So we go forward hopefully. Regarding the sickness and diarrhoea that happened last Tuesday, Red has been fine since Wednesday except today she had terrible diarrhoea a few hours after I'd given her some roast beef as rewards doing some good recall work in the garden. I am assuming it's the roast beef. Crikey, it's all a bit trial and error, isn't it? I am struggling to find a high end treat for her. Will stick with roast chicken for a few days and see how that goes. Tried the lick stick that was suggested - what an overpowering smell it has but she does seem to like it - seems like it's very salty but I could be wrong.
New foods often give pups squidgy tummies the first few times they have them. It's really a case of keeping trying the same thing for a week or so to see if it works itself out.
Second training session last night. As agreed I was offered 1to1 with Red in the room next door. It was excellent and Red was very responsive although completely OTT as we entered the main training room to get to the side room. We rejoined the rest of the group and she was a bit wappy but was so tired by then. This morning she has had massive diarrhoea again (fortunately she 'told' me she needed to go outside) and has been very listless so far today although eating and drinking reasonably so I am not particularly anxious about her. My concern though is the number of treats used in training. Fair enough, they are minute bits but so so many and a stuffed Kong to get them to settle on their beds. I took cooked chicken but the lady helping me was giving her loads of little treats too so I felt stomach overload. Somehow, all this food in the evening is not agreeing with her. Tomorrow, I have a morning hour long one to one with a trainer in a field near here. Feel more comfortable about the treating issue as I can adjust her food for the rest of the day accordingly. Anyone else experience this diarrhoea issue or could she have food sensitivities?
I don't give my pups anything except kibble or fish treats until they are six months old. I use the kibble for normal training and fish cubes for 'jackpot' treats. Then, at six months, I slowly introduce other treats, one new thing a week so that I know what doesn't suit them. I find they all have quite sensitive tums when little. ...
So glad your next session was better! I don't know about sensitive tums - my boy's is made of cast iron! But I did make the mistake when we first did training - his first puppy class - that I used treats that weren't as appealing as everyone else's! So of course he wasn't interested in me. When the trainer used him for demoing with her tasty dried sausage, he was a star. What was I using? Chopped apple! I'm a vegetarian and I couldn't face handling meat. When I changed to cheese, Snowie transformed! I did eventually move up to meat, chicken, and fish treats, and his training improved dramatically. I also used pellets but he lost interest when he smelled something tastier in someone else's treat bag! Look, I was a useless handler and most likely it was a combo of useless handler + low value treats. The high value treats compensated for my useless handling!
I also have a boy that has a cast iron stomach...however I did the opposite and took chopped hot dog sausages to my first training session...not only did I have Bailey working for them but all the other dogs trying to get them too!! I ended up giving everyone some (I had taken plenty luckily enough) so that we could all concentrate on our own dogs! I was also an incompetent handler - we are all learning not just the dogs! Bailey did settle but at the beginning of each class he did go nuts greeting all the other pups (and out of the 6 classes he was the one that wee'd up a wall 4 times despite going for a walk before we went in where there were lots of wees!).
Harley has/had a sensitive stomach. It seems to be better than when she was younger but something to consider is the excitement of training. Even though you had the one on one he was still very excited to get there. Plus the travel in the car. And treats. I dont know if it is all or one but Harley had a runny tum the first few times and then started going off her food. But I am pleased to report that the last session she ate consistently afterwards, like nothing was the matter. But we are definitely over the major teething stage. Teething was a real issue. LOL. We did the same thing. We tried to tempt Harley with normal kibble and she flat out ignored everything we were trying to do because she was excited to see other pups and was also just so little. We also learned to up the treat value and have more of a chance tempting her away. We resorted to taking stuffed, frozen kongs along for the calming exercise on the blanket and it worked really well. I am very distractable and really live in my head when situations get busy and loud, so puppy socialisation class was a nightmare. I kept day-dreaming between play sessions and Harley was beside herself with excitement.
Yes I feel like an incompetent handier - the woman last night made it look so easy. Already I have forgotten a lot of what she did and I did. I know I have so much to learn and needs loads and loads of practice. Today has been so rainy and cold and Red has been quiet, so looking forward to the one to one tomorrow morning and hopefully a chance to practice both loose lead walking and recall.
Yes I too had the incompetent handler feeling, not very nice. But I think we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves, after all for most of us we are learning new skills at the same time as our bright, lively and friendly Labradors.
At my two ringcraft lessons, I was definitely the incompetent handler. When the trainer handled Luna, she was a complete star, knowing exactly what was wanted. I tripped her up with her lead and couldn't get it at all! I'm glad to hear you had a better session - it'll only get better and better
