puppy classes

[darci]

Good info thanks for sharing it with us.

[corgimom]

We had our 5th puppy class tonight.

Basically, everything went pretty well. We were practicing calling our dogs in
order for them to come to us. She had our dogs on a leash and then we went behind a wall to call them. A few of the dogs went to their owner immediately, a few needed encouragement(a little extra push, or ended up going to another lady), and Cody...well, he looked my direction and took a couple of steps towards me, but then decided that staying by the trainer with her yummy food pouch was a much better idea! So much for loyalty; and to think I thought that he really loved me, but he has proven that he loves food much more - ha. He did eventually get to me, but not as fast as he should have.

Another thing we are working on is the "leave it" command so if we are outside walking and the dog sees something gross, that he will not eat it if we tell him to leave it. However, in class, I think the thing she does is a bit ridiculous for puppies this young. She walks around and throws a handful of treats on the floor at each dog(which scatters all around their paws), and we are supposed to tell our dog to "leave it" and the dog is supposed to ignore them?? I find that a bit crazy and not one dog left them alone. Cody gobbled up 3 of them before I could get his attention on me and focus on something else. There are some things that she does and my vet is in agreement are more advanced than what our puppies can do - and we know how much Corgis love food.

[tandemgal]

Linda,

Know what you mean about a corgi comming when they are told! It seems to remain the one command I can't count on with either girl LOL... Emma has always challenged come - you can see her little brain thinking "should I give Mom a break or MAKE a break for it? hummmmmmm BREAK FOR IT!!!"

Chloe was sooo good at comming but now has become Em's sidekick in crime! So it's back to being on a lead with we go outside. Hoping when I get her fixed it will also help in fixing the problem ... X fingers!

[Michael Romanos]

Taking your Corgi to organised puppy training classes is excellent. But I would like to comment that I prefer my puppy to be a puppy for as long as possible and I wouldn't want anyone to place too many expectations on him/her. I have no ambitions to 'drive' the puppiness out of a Corgi either as a pup or even much later in life. If instructors are too severe and too demanding, my suggestion is to take your Corgi somewhere else or to another instructor within the club. A Corgi pup only needs to learn basic things and from there one can build on like placing a block upon a block. Taylor had only learnt basic show conformation things at home yet when it came to agility training he was well ahead of any of the others among the rookie group.

[corgimom]

I am taking Cody to a new class starting mid july with a different instructor at a different place. She holds smaller class sizes and was highly recommended by my vet. She thinks this class I am in now expects too much for a dog as young as Cody. I will finish up with the class I am in right now(only 2 more to go) and then the new one will start a week later.

Linda

[darci]

Sounds like a wise choice Linda, follow your gut, it's usually always the right one.
Have to agree with Michael on this, I dont want to many demands placed on puppy, have to be realistic in our expectations.

[corgimom]

A neighbor of mine mentioned to me that dogs are not usually considered puppies once they are 6 months old and either neutered or spayed. I never heard of that before because to me, they act like puppies for much longer.

Cody has a tendency to jump on the neighbors when we greet them and this is the one main thing I do not like. Now, he doesn't do this to everyone, but certain people he seems to get overly excited about. The neighbors seem to encourage it by petting him when he is standing on his hind legs. I feel like I am being rude when I say "Please don't do that". The trainer said to either step on his leash so he cannot jump or tell who he comes in contact with to ignore him completely. We did the ignore thing today and within a minute or two, he settled down on the grass. If I could just get him to greet people in a sitting or calm stance position, I would be happy, but maybe I am expecting too much at 7 months. The little kids tend to squat down right away so their face is right at his level and of course he jumps at them. How do you tell a 3 year old to ignore a puppy?? He needs work on this area and I do tell him to sit or settle down, but hopefully this will improve through our next training and with age.

linda

[Michael Romanos]

Linda - your neighbour is talking rubbish. A puppy is a puppy is a puppy until they cease being a puppy just like a child ceases being a child around the age of 15-16 - and even then they are 'only' teenagers. But a child of nine is less of a child of five and so on. And so it is with pups but in canine terms of growth and maturity Some breeds of dogs are still pups at aged two - but Corgis mature more to the standard age bracket.

Taylor is encouraged to stand on his back legs and greet people re his visits to retirement homes, hospitals and schools. But in other circumstances, he only does this to people he likes a lot, or who might encourage him to do so and won't do it if I tell him not to. Usually as the door greeter he will perform this kind of greeting for a fleeting moment unless my wife or I tell him not to. But this is him coming from inside the house so his feet are perfectly clean - and that is really my only concern.
So one can obtain a balance in this act of greeting and friendship by your Corgi.

[PocketsMom]

My 6 year old still acts very much the puppy energy level wise! My sister has a golden and he is 2 1.2 and still very much the puppy. Much like Pockets he still does not realize you can sit and lay down outside of the kennel. You do not need to run constantly. Still an ongoing battle with Pockets! He gets so tired and still won't lay down!

Is 6 months the right age to put them in training classes?

Penny

[corgimom]

6 months is a good age Penny, there is a class before mine which has puppies 3 - 6 months of age. The key is getting a good trainer which understand what is appropriate to expect of pups at the 6 month age, unlike mine which expects too much. Ask people you know who have taken puppy classes, or start with your vet for suggestions. Also, if you have a kennel club in your area, they sometimes give classes or can recommend someone.


linda

[jprechel]

We started Ace in puppy class at 10 weeks. It was the youngest they would allow. I know that sounds incredibly young but he did great. His is 5 months now and already finished with his beginner classes. Linda is right about the key being to get a good trainer. Our trainer had the same exceptations for all the puppies (ages from 10 weeks to 6 months). Ace was able to do everything (except not jump up when someone said hello) and graduated. We have been trying to practice the not jumping thing with friends and family. We tell people to ignore him until he calms down or don't pet him when he jumps but some people let him do it and we feel like meanies when we correct him in front of them. Consistancy is important but it is hard! He gets so excited and he is short so jumping up helps him give better kisses!

Jim and Bethany

[corgimom]

I agree, I sound like a meanie also. I told the neighbor yesterday, as he was
reaching down to pet Cody(and Cody was jumping), to please just ignore him.
I think the neighbor sort of felt put off, but I just explained that petting him
when he is jumping is just encouraging him to continue that behavior.

The hardest is with the smaller kids.

linda

[glencorgi]

Here are some links to canine developmental stages:

<http://www.vanerp.net/ilse/GSDINFO/stagesofcaninedev.htm>
<http://www.maccvets.co.uk/fact_sheets/fact_sheets_puppies_social_development.htm>
<http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/DevelopmentalStages.html>
<http://www.flyingdogpress.com/puppack.html>

Sometimes a perspective of how dogs develop mentally along with physically is not a bad thing to keep in the back of one's mind.

Debbie

[jprechel]

Debbie,

Thanks for the websites. We read through them all and have decided we need to start all over with Ace. ha ha -not really but we do need to work on a couple things!

[Fluffypants]

I have the same "meanie" problem! I'm sure everyone thinks I am the meanest Mom ever. I am always telling Jackie not to jump on people, and they all say "it's ok - she's so cute". It is very difficult to explain this to people who do not have a dog . . . or do not have a well-trained dog. If this kind of reinforcement keeps up, Jackie will never pass her CGC or TDI tests!