# When to start obedience training



## Cassie44 (May 3, 2012)

So me and Cassie just finished level one puppy class a few weeks ago. She did well with the training *outside* of class, but was very distracted *during* class. Some classes were just pull, pull, and more pulling.

I'm thinking I want to wait until she's maybe 7 or 8 months before we start level two obedience...gain a little more maturity maybe? Hopefully? I also want to keep working on our bond a bit more (she doesn't focus on me during class and is hardly food motivated). She's also getting spayed in about a month (she's 5 months right now) so I don't want to miss out on any classes while she's healing. 

Is this a good idea to postpone further training?


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

my dog started OB when he was 4 months old. to help with
being distracted in class i went to and had play dates at my house.
it wasn't all play. the pups did some OB training. the play dates
consisted of play, socializing and training.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Cassie44 said:


> So me and Cassie just finished level one puppy class a few weeks ago. She did well with the training *outside* of class, but was very distracted *during* class. Some classes were just pull, pull, and more pulling.
> 
> I'm thinking I want to wait until she's maybe 7 or 8 months before we start level two obedience...gain a little more maturity maybe? Hopefully? I also want to keep working on our bond a bit more (she doesn't focus on me during class and is hardly food motivated). She's also getting spayed in about a month (she's 5 months right now) so I don't want to miss out on any classes while she's healing.
> 
> Is this a good idea to postpone further training?


I would continue now. I got my pup at 12 weeks, she was in school by 13 weeks. She is now 10 months and has finished 3 obedience classes, received her CGC, was accepted in a schutzhund club(not yet determined if we will move forward with this), and she is presently in a Teenage Class to go over everything she has learned. I will probably go into agility with her, she loved this in her obedience classes. Mine was spayed at the end of her first class. I'm glad that I didn't take any breaks with her. A friend of mine took her dog for one class and stopped, well she has nothing but issues with him. She thought the classes weren't working, well they won't unless you work with the dog outside of class too.


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## Cassie44 (May 3, 2012)

doggiedad said:


> my dog started OB when he was 4 months old. to help with
> being distracted in class i went to and had play dates at my house.
> it wasn't all play. the pups did some OB training. the play dates
> consisted of play, socializing and training.


 
The level one obedience we went to didn't have much time for "play", I wish there would have been time made for that so she could have more socialization then training. Can I ask any tips for getting her to focus more on me? She always seemed stressed out (panting/pulliing/etc).


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## Cassie44 (May 3, 2012)

llombardo said:


> I would continue now. I got my pup at 12 weeks, she was in school by 13 weeks. She is now 10 months and has finished 3 obedience classes, received her CGC, was accepted in a schutzhund club(not yet determined if we will move forward with this), and she is presently in a Teenage Class to go over everything she has learned. I will probably go into agility with her, she loved this in her obedience classes. Mine was spayed at the end of her first class. I'm glad that I didn't take any breaks with her. A friend of mine took her dog for one class and stopped, well she has nothing but issues with him. She thought the classes weren't working, well they won't unless you work with the dog outside of class too.


I don't think we will go as far as extended training with her...we just want a good family dog that will have good manners. I would eventually like to get her into agility because she does enjoy the challenge. 
How long did it take your girl to get back to normal after spaying? Did it change her personality at all?


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i didn't state it clearly. OB class was for OB. i had
play dates at my house. at my house the dogs
played, socialized and trained. training around other dogs
a lot helped when it came to class time.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

If you say your dog is doing well at home and poorly in class, then you need to work harder at home to provide more distractions. A dog is always going to work better in a bubble, which doesn't help much when you want your dog to mind at all times.


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## Cassie44 (May 3, 2012)

Elaine said:


> If you say your dog is doing well at home and poorly in class, then you need to work harder at home to provide more distractions. A dog is always going to work better in a bubble, which doesn't help much when you want your dog to mind at all times.


This is my exact reason for wanting to wait on the next level. I want to socialize her more and get her more used to distractions so that the classes are actually focused and not just a waste of time.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Training is never a waste of time if it is done right. Spay recovery shouldn't really play into class training. Just skip the week after the spay and take it easy the following one. 
You can always change up your program to accommodate your pup(spay recovery). 

Training should be fun for both and engagement is key in keeping the pup motivated to please you and work thru the distractions.
I'm not a big fan of obedience(manners, of course) on a young dog, but do want the bond/ and training time that occurs when we are together. If you are going to show or do competition shows then I would plan a program to match your pups personality. If this is just for keeping on with companion obedience, have fun and don't get worried about 'wasting time'. Pushing a dog usually backfires, regardless.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Cassie44 said:


> I don't think we will go as far as extended training with her...we just want a good family dog that will have good manners. I would eventually like to get her into agility because she does enjoy the challenge.
> How long did it take your girl to get back to normal after spaying? Did it change her personality at all?


Agility will require a certain level of extended training. If you want a good family dog, then all the training will benefit you and your dog. I couldn't be happier with my dogs manners at home, with kids, dogs, people, etc. Maybe look for a puppy class that offers play time at the end? When my dog got spayed I couldn't even tell she got spayed. She never acknowledged the incision(I even checked to make sure there was one) and never had any noticeable pain. The day after we went for a walk in the woods and she was a happy camper. She has always had a good temperament and I'd have to say it gets better as she gets older. She never went through a biting or chewing phase. The hardest thing was potty training and once it clicked she has been fine..out of the crate at 4 months at night and completely out of the crate by 6 months. You really do get out of the dog what you put into them. Even if you don't think its working(the training) it is. But again you have to work with the dog at home too. Take the dog places where there are people and other dogs...sit at the park at a distance first, then move closer to the action. Continue doing this throughout the dogs life and the dog will be everything you imagined.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Cassie44 said:


> The level one obedience we went to didn't have much time for "play", I wish there would have been time made for that so she could have more socialization then training. Can I ask any tips for getting her to focus more on me? She always seemed stressed out (panting/pulliing/etc).


It has to be more fun for her. Find a treat she loves...try small pieces of hot dogs or string cheese. Teach her the watch me command for focus. Mine learned that from the get go and in the "teenage class" I'm in now, the dog is expected to check in every 5-7 seconds without any commands. At first I thought that wasn't going to work, but it did


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

Cassie44 said:


> This is my exact reason for wanting to wait on the next level. I want to socialize her more and get her more used to distractions so that the classes are actually focused and not just a waste of time.


This is a poor reason to wait for the class as she will be even worse, no matter how much you socialize her, when she's older. You need to ask more of her in training now; it has very little to do with socialization and everything about you expecting her to listen to you no matter what's going on around her. The fact that you are letting her get away with her poor behavior in the class means that you are missing out on a great opportunity to correct her and improve her training.


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## Cassie44 (May 3, 2012)

Elaine said:


> This is a poor reason to wait for the class as she will be even worse, no matter how much you socialize her, when she's older. You need to ask more of her in training now; it has very little to do with socialization and everything about you expecting her to listen to you no matter what's going on around her. The fact that you are letting her get away with her poor behavior in the class means that you are missing out on a great opportunity to correct her and improve her training.


It wasn't that she was BAD in class, she is a puppy after all and I wasn't going to push her to be a robot at 3 months old. I expected it to be frustrating at times. All I'm saying is I want to wait maybe 1 more month before starting the next class. This is what my gut is telling me, I was just curious what everyone's experience is.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

I tend to try to have my puppy be a puppy for as long as I can bear it  

So before around 6 months I try to attend more 'puppy' classes and clicker classes and definitely positive based training classes.

At around 6 months, they start getting big enough that if I need to (and usually do) I start looking around for the more formal 'obedience' classes. Still as positive based as possible cause they are still young puppies. I've had classes that mixed treats/toys/play WITH the prong collar and that was just perfect for us.

I've taken some sessions twice rather than moving up to a higher level. The point is for us both to be learning and socializing. So if my pup is still unfocused in the puppy class, and young, then I'll just take the puppy class and know I have an advantage over the others  cause some of the class we should be ROCK STARS in while able to focus on our problems.


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## gmcwife1 (Apr 5, 2012)

Our pup is 5 months old and we couldn't find a puppy class for her when we wanted. So we put her in a 6 week basic obedience class for 1 hour a week. We did notice that 1 hour was a little more than her and our 13 yr old daughter could handle. 

So our daughter has been told that she is to watch for signs of the puppy shutting down and she is allowed to leave class and take a break.

We just started our 4 week continuing basic obedience class last week. Our pup and daughter also work 3 Thursday's a month at 4-H and has the same instruction, when class is getting to be too long for the pup she is allowed to leave. 

We are trying a 30 minute private lesson this week to see if private lessons are a better fit for my daughter because her attention span is less than the puppy's.


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