Sounds like you have a plan.
I get the idea that most trainers run into people that minize their dog's problems. So that when someone is brutally honest about their dog, the trainer usually over-reacts, because she thinks the honest person is minimizing, so she thinks she is dealing with a much bigger problem.
Kind of like a rule of thumb, if the person says the dog growls and snaps, it really means it bit three people already.
At a year old my dog needed an obedience class with other dogs. He had had one class at seven to nine months (eight weeks), but had started to bark and lunge at dogs when I took him out. I carefully explained this to three separate trainers and everyone of them required private lessons. Unfortunately, I picked the wacko who preferred a halti to a prong even though the halti was much harder on me and the dog. And I quit after three months of going there doing attention excersizes and never seeing another dog.
Since then, I have been in so many obedience classes with barking, lunging dogs my head is spinning.
My point is, that while you did the right thing by being honest to the trainers, do not be surprised if they have the impression that your dog is more of a project than you are letting on about.
Good luck.
I get the idea that most trainers run into people that minize their dog's problems. So that when someone is brutally honest about their dog, the trainer usually over-reacts, because she thinks the honest person is minimizing, so she thinks she is dealing with a much bigger problem.
Kind of like a rule of thumb, if the person says the dog growls and snaps, it really means it bit three people already.
At a year old my dog needed an obedience class with other dogs. He had had one class at seven to nine months (eight weeks), but had started to bark and lunge at dogs when I took him out. I carefully explained this to three separate trainers and everyone of them required private lessons. Unfortunately, I picked the wacko who preferred a halti to a prong even though the halti was much harder on me and the dog. And I quit after three months of going there doing attention excersizes and never seeing another dog.
Since then, I have been in so many obedience classes with barking, lunging dogs my head is spinning.
My point is, that while you did the right thing by being honest to the trainers, do not be surprised if they have the impression that your dog is more of a project than you are letting on about.
Good luck.
