[XTOL]

Abby and I had our last class last night. It was really
fun and loads of chaos.

The trainer first ran us all through everything we had learned the
previous five weeks. Then it was time to pick the best in class.
We did sudden death elimination. She had us all going through
all the various things we had learned and soon as your dog made
a mistake you were out.

I wasnt really paying much attention to the others concentrating
on Abby but soon realized that Abby and the chocolate lab were
the only two left. We messed up on the off leash stay.
So the lab got best in class. We were first runner up.

The trainer had prizes and Abby got a big bag of treats.
Yea!...

After the best in class competition we did some games
for the dogs. Lots of dogs running around silly.

In one of the games the trainer had set up a couple
of hurdles for the dogs to jump over. We were supposed
to bring our dogs up the jump and have them sit. Then
toss a ball over the hurdle and have then chase and
retrieve it. Ideally going over the hurdle each way.

Abby took off like a bolt of lightning after the ball
and did the jump on the way to the ball but once
she got the ball she ran around and around the room
holding the ball up in the air like a trophy trying to
avoid letting anyone get near her while she had
possession of "The Prize".

It was a fun time...

Overall the classes were a great experience. Abby is so
much different now than when we started. She is still
a silly girl a lot of the time though...

Oh...and the male GSD in our class...they dropped
out in the final week so didnt finish the course.
We started with 13 dogs in week one and only
9 finished...

 

[Wolfiesmom]

It sounds like a lot of fun! Yay Abby for doing so well in class!

 

[Lesley1905]

Congrats to Abby!

 

[XTOL]

It sounds like a lot of fun! Yay Abby for doing so well in class!

It was a lot of fun. In the beginning I took it way too
seriously. It took a couple of weeks to relax and just
let things happen.

Our trainer said during the first class that this was going
to be a low impact fun class and that the point of it all
was to have a better dog at the end.

I think the biggest thing was it brought Abby and I closer together. It helped us communicate and I found
what it took to motivate her. The end result is she
actually enjoyed the classes and enjoys our practice
sessions.

The last 3 weeks when we got in the car to go to class
she got excited because she knew where we were heading.

We are going to take a few weeks off and then enroll
in an intermediate level class...it will give us something
to do over the winter.

 

[Rerun]

Why did so many people drop out of the class? That seems really odd. We graduate this week and there are about 18 people in class and no one has dropped.

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

Yikes, 18 people in class?!?! I hope they have a couple of trainers.

Most of the classes I've been in have had dropouts too, and sometimes a lot. I've never had more than a dozen dogs in class to start with, and usually less than that. In Halo's last class I think we started with 10, and ended up with 4 or 5 on the last day. I have no idea why so many people drop out. I pay my money, I am showing up!

 

[Cassidy's Mom]

I think the biggest thing was it brought Abby and I closer together. It helped us communicate and I found
what it took to motivate her. The end result is she
actually enjoyed the classes and enjoys our practice
sessions.

The last 3 weeks when we got in the car to go to class
she got excited because she knew where we were heading.

Awesome! Sounds like you did great, and I love that you were both having a good time too. :thumbup:

 

[XTOL]

Why did so many people drop out of the class? That seems really odd. We graduate this week and there are about 18 people in class and no one has dropped.

Not sure why they dropped out. I think some just gave up too soon.
The first couple of classes were pretty chaotic.

 

[Zoeys mom]

Every puppy class I've ever enrolled in had their share of drop-outs. I think people expect results overnight, realize it's a commitment, and just don't want to put the real work in between classes. I'm glad Abby finished and has done so well. Good luck with her intermediate training this winter

 

[selzer]

Sounds like you had a great experience and I am glad that you are signing up for another. Make that one fun too for you and the dog. The precision stuff comes over time if it is important to you, what is important now is nurturing the bond that you have.

As for drop outs. Sometimes it is the instructor too. I mean, I was in this class before I started with my current instructor, and this woman would say the most awful stuff about our dogs. At ten weeks old she was afraid of Jenna and said she would be a fear biter.

After a few weeks, it is just me and her. Hmmmm. So what do I do? I sign up for another. Same thing happens. So what do I do? I sign up for another, and another!!!

I think the definition of crazy is when you do the same thing and expect different results. Yes, every class she continued to diss everyone's dogs and by the end of six weeks, there was just me or on other person used to being verbally abused.

There are other reasons besides lack of commitment for dropping out.

Schedules sometimes change -- work schedules that you have little control over. My girls go into heat and I just sub another one in her place, but many people do not have multiple dogs, and they would have to bow out.

And sometimes the class itself is not right for the pet or the owner, or the trainer is not in charge to the extent that it is dangerous. If you have a young puppy in a class with a large reactive or aggressive dog, sometimes the best thing to do is eat your class fee, and stop going. Generally, I would suggest talking to the instructor and trying to transfer the fee to another class. But that would be up to them.

 

[Rerun]

Yikes, 18 people in class?!?! I hope they have a couple of trainers.

Yup

 

[Rerun]

Not sure why they dropped out. I think some just gave up too soon.
The first couple of classes were pretty chaotic.

If I went to a professional training facility and the first couple of class were "chaotic" I would probably drop out too and look for a better facility.

 

[Stosh]

Yay for Abby! And you- what a long way you've come. I agree that the best part is the bonding and communicating that develops and the trust that comes.

 

[XTOL]

If I went to a professional training facility and the first couple of class were "chaotic" I would probably drop out too and look for a better facility.

I think you misunderstood...by chaotic I meant with
all the dogs barking and wanting to play with each
other. 13 dogs all barking at once indoors can only
be described as chaos. We ARE talking about young
dogs and puppies here.

By the third week everyone had settled down a lot.

By the time we got to the last couple of classes there
were hardly any barks at all.

 

[XTOL]

Yay for Abby! And you- what a long way you've come. I agree that the best part is the bonding and communicating that develops and the trust that comes.

You are right. We have come a long way. I sometimes
go back and read some of the posts I made weeks ago
and I have to chuckle.

I will have to take some new pictures. She is pushing
60 pounds now and is looking so adult its hard to
believe its the same landshark/Tasmanian Devil I
started with back in August.