# Puppy classes or a trainer?



## Tarot (Oct 26, 2013)

Experienced poodlers--I want to start my puppy on training. She is nearly housebroken and she'll sit, but I want her to have good poodle manners. I've heard mixed things about group puppy lessons--should I just get a private trainer? The place I'm looking at offers both.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

CLASS - but make sure to go to audit a class without your dog to make sure that it is small enough and uses sound training methods - there are as many terrible classes out there as good ones!


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## Tarot (Oct 26, 2013)

They limit it to 6 dogs. I don't know what constitutes a good technique, but they train basic classes up through specialized classes for competition type dogs, so I am thinking/hoping they're knowledgable. They seemed more professional than petco, so I think I'll try it.


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## Chells_Aura (Dec 7, 2012)

I would also recommend class!

Chell is super intelligent and learning most things out of the class... but the class has TONS of distractions which help reinforce what she's learning at home... as well as socialization to other dogs, which is key I think. She was terrified of other non-poodle type dogs until after her 2nd class. Now she's only scared of the aggressive dogs (ie: the ones that bark and lunge at her) we come across on walks... most dogs tho she wants to be friends with and is always upset when the older dogs don't want to play!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I would ask to sit on a class without your puppy, and evaluate what you see.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Sit in on class before you go with your pup. You don't want her to have a bad experience, but I would strongly recommend the class if you find it to be good. I would look for lots of off leash puppy play time (with special attention to shy puppies to encourage them to make their own decision to be engaged), positive attitude from everyone, encouragement to have all puppies in contact with all kinds of people. Obviously you want a puppy that knows sit, come, down, etc., but the most important things puppies get out of class are: learning how to give inhibited bites, not to be ill mannered with other dogs and to not be afraid of people who don't look, sound, act, or taste and smell like the members of their immediate household.


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## Lplummer52 (Oct 26, 2013)

I don't know that off-leash play time is a good idea. Lots of people are taking the class because they have little or no control over their puppy. I wouldn't want my puppy mauled by a bigger, stronger pup, even in play. In the last class I took with my Jap Chin, there was a pit bull puppy that was totally out of control. Not mean, but very, very rambunctious. My Chin took up for herself, but didn't like it to say the least. That was the end of puppy play time for her and for me.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Tarot said:


> They limit it to 6 dogs. I don't know what constitutes a good technique, but they train basic classes up through specialized classes for competition type dogs, so I am thinking/hoping they're knowledgable. They seemed more professional than petco, so I think I'll try it.


I like the six dog limit! I would ask to go audit a class without your puppy - I'd want to see all positive reinforcement - plenty of marking good behavior with treats and maybe clickers. No negative/punishment - no choke collars, no yanking of necks, no pushing the dogs into the desired position, but leading them into position with treats. Negative behavior (such as jumping and mouthing only gets ignoring, no punishment!


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## Tarot (Oct 26, 2013)

I observed a class yesterday and liked what I saw, so we start Wednesday. The training area was spacious and one of the trainers has three standards of her own. She was really nice. I'm looking forward to it.


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## Joy (Apr 25, 2013)

Ditto everything TinyPoodles said. Let us know how you like your class.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Read up on Ian Dunbar's Sirius puppy training class protocols to see the value in off leash play. He thinks puppy classes should be entirely off leash. This does not mean it should be out of control (quite to the contrary the supervision by the trainer must be even more impeccable than in an on leash class).


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## Lplummer52 (Oct 26, 2013)

I did look up Sirius Dog Training and it sounds wonderful. I read a lot of Ian Dunbar's tips on training puppies and they all made perfect sense. I still think that if dogs are a similar size, it's all well and good to have off-leash play time. But I'm not going to let my mini puppy play unleashed with even a spoo, much less a pit bull or a dog of similar size. Maybe it's because a toy poodle was recently killed on the condo property where I live. 

Madeline has a very strong, self confident personality and she's going to need lots of training. She urinated inside for the first time today and it was my fault....I took too long to take her out after a nap. So I hit myself on the head...HA! We have tile floors throughout, so it was no big deal cleaning it up with a cleaner with bleach. Her big issues are that she chases the poor cat way too much. This cat is a very friendly outgoing cat very much like a dog and wants to play with Lena, but those puppy teeth are just too much for her. After reading some of what Dr. Dunbar had to say, I started putting her in her crate when she starts chasing the cat. It actually seems to be working! I previously always had dogs that needed very little training. I guess they were just naturally sweet natured and good. But I can see that Lena is going to need a firm hand and formal training. She is unlike any puppy I've ever had, but the poodle I grew up with was very similar. I think of him A LOT when Lena does something that reminds me of him. He was my mother's dog in every way and she was hard on him I thought. But she knew what she was doing and he turned into an unforgettable dog that lived with her for 15 years. I'll never forget the night he died. By that time I was married and lived elsewhere. We talked on the phone for two hours about that dog....she was sobbing uncontrollably at first, but eventually we started laughing remembering his antics.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

I do only take classes with similar size dogs - although they only have one small dog class, for more advanced training I wait and see what other dogs have signed up, and only sign mine up if all the others are small. Since we are in the city, a higher percentage of dogs are small then you might find in other places so that works out well for us.


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## Tarot (Oct 26, 2013)

Well, we did our first class and it was ok. It was cute to see the puppies playing off leash, although a bit scary when a pitbull mix attacked a beautiful welsh corgi. 

The trainer wasn't the one I originally met, which was a bummer because I liked that the other one had spoos. Nonetheless, she was knowledgeable and said they only use positive methods. She did say we needed to work on Zelda being vocal. The challenge is that I kind of WANT her to be vocal when people approach the house.

Zelda listens to me pretty well but was less inclined to obey the trainer. She also got bored or something with the repetitions and would stop obeying even when normally she would have. So I don't know if these are just poodle-y traits or if I just have a stubborn pup.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Did you bring a variety of treats to hold her interest? I would being a minimum of 4, each increasingly valuable - might start with kibble, then move on to a couple of commercial treats, getting to fresh chicken, turkey or steak towards the end when she is getting full/ bored! 


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## Tarot (Oct 26, 2013)

She seems to love scrambled eggs more than anything, so I guess I could take those lol


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

zelda sounds independent and not necessarily strongly food motivated. besides quality of treats, maybe make sure you're not overfeeding her otherwise? my dog is definitely a foodie, but when he's been well-fed, he goes into "shirty" mode and will ignore a treat unless it's at the top of his list. he also, as a puppy, took treats from the trainer, but refused to budge when she tried to get him to walk with her.


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