puppy class help please!

[nikkij]

I took Alfie to his  puppy class yesterday but it did not go quite how I expected.  I suppose he was distracted but Alfie appeared not even to recognise his own name and it did not get any better!! Yet I know that  he comes when called off the lead when we are out, at home and out will sit/lie down and so on and I alwayd use his name (last night he was having non of it!).  It really felt like we had gone back to square one it must have looked like I had done no training with himwhat so  ever!.  The trainer asked me to get Alfie used to his name for next week which made me feel fairly inadequate,feel  like I have let him down. Sorry  to winge    (but do feel better for doing so!) and we will hopefully move on next week!! 
so,
Any tips on how I can improve? Do I need to set up distractions at home when training?   after being ignored by him for most of the session I am now nervous about letting him of the lead  should I be?  Any advice would be good

[Hurtwood Dogs]

I can't remember exactly how many weeks Alfie is but DON'T PANIC (Mr Mannering)!

Dave has done 3 classes and is a lot more focused now than he was at the start.. it's a massive thing for them to walk into a room with loads of other dogs and people and must totally overwhelm them. Are you doing clicker and treat training? If so I'd just do lots of little 3 min sessions with him over the week in different places at a good time, i.e when he's alert and happy and up for listening. Remember to use the treat as a follow bribe and hand signals and be clear and only ask once! When you're out walking do loads of little recall and rewards.. and make it lots of fun for him. If you find something he thinks is really tasty he'll be chasing you around in no time!

What treats are you using by the way? Something they really love will get their attention so quickly and it should be very small and stuff they can gulp down really quickly so they can re-focus on you. So biscuits or things they have to chew are not a good idea. Tiny bits of ham or cheese or you can make your own liver stuff or cheat (like I do  ) and use JWB liver treats which are freeze dried and don't go yukky in your pocket  They're a little too big so I cut them up but Dave loves them and they don't have any rubbish in them.

Remember at the end of the day the class is there to train you not Alfie, he's still very small and if you know what you're doing then he will learn as he grows and becomes ready... Really don't worry about your first week, just use it to gain as much info as you can and put it into practice with Alfie in the weeks ahead!

Hannah x 

[Cob-Web]

A class environment is, imo, the hardest place for even a well a dog to reliably demonstrate behaviour it has been taught 

Good classes/teachers will emphasis the fact that they are primarily delivered to teach the owners/handlers to train the dogs - and a key part of the training that the dog receives is away from home between classes.

Referred to as "taking training on the road", it basically means that once you have a reliable behaviour at home (low distraction) you then go somewhere else with a higher level of distractions, and train the same behaviour all over again.....and then go somewhere with higher distractions again  

Molo's behaviour in agility demonstrates this really well - when we first started going, I couldn't keep his attention between obstacles and he would run off to sniff or go and say hello to spectators  Over time, he has learnt to remain focused on me and will now reliably remain with me around an agility course at our usual training venue. If we go elsewhere though, he is still distracted - even though he understands the commands and knows what is expected of him  I need to take his agility training "on the road", so that he learns to do the same thing in higher distraction environments 

[nikkij]

Thanks that is really helpful, I did some short sessions  this morning  so I guess if I am learning to do things correctly that is a step in the right direction.  Hannah in answer to your question I was using cheese as treats but it probably was not smelly enough!  I was told to get hot dogs or smelly garlic sausage but I tried some wafer thin ham this morning which went down a treat! (it was far too early for the smell of hot dogs!  )

[Hurtwood Dogs]

Wafer thin tiny bits of ham work REALLY well with Dave too, particularly if it's smoked ham (think it smells stronger)!

Good luck! I promise he'll start realising when you're doing a training session and that it equals treats and you'll get SO much excited focus from him soon 

Hannah x

[Helen]

put yourself in Alfie's paws for a minute...

you go somewhere new, and there are lots and lots of puppies and toys and smells and oh boy another puppy and another smell and oh boy i can see a tennis ball over there...and oh boy that little lab girlie pup is soooo cute and she wants to PLAY TOOOOOOOO...this is soooo much fun...ooops i need to wee...now....and maybe follow that up with a no. 2 

huh?  I have a mum...??  and i have to pay attention....no way...

relax about your puppy classes, if you have a pup that will pay complete attention every week then i think you have an exceptional little pup - treat the whole experience as socialising for your dog, and you learning the techniques properly to practice at home and on your walks.  He will start paying more attention but at first it is just so overwhelming for them.  Remember every week someone else will have a pup that doesn't pay attention, wees or poos on the floor, distracts the other pups by only wanting to play etc etc...they're only babies and you certainly won't be alone in this

[september]

Don't worry, Roxy shows me up every week by being ridiculously excited and trying to bounce on everyother dogs head, pulling on the lead and barking like mad! 

She is quite well trained at home but just looks like i haven't bothered when we are out!!

Everything is just too exciting!!

[LurcherGirl]

If he is really good at home and on walks, then I would only really just change anything: take super yummy treats with you like cheese, sausage, cooked chicken etc. For most spaniels in class this is enough to pay attention to you regardless of the distractions around them. 

Vera