Training classes - let me pick your brains?

CorvusCorax

CorvusCorax

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A few questions about training classes!

Do your dogs attend training classes?
Yes

How often and for how long?
At least once a week, sometimes twice. For life.

If not, why not?
NA


If so, why so?
Socialisation, manners, teaching them new things, proofing in a controlled environment, tis good for the brain, theirs and mine, and I want to go on and do more qualifications with B.

What does your class offer?
Obedience, agility, tracking, protection work (as part of the sport), ringcraft, socialisation and opportunities to gain widely recognised European qualifications.


Do you find it value for money?
Yes


Does your class cater for/cope well with 'difficult' dogs? How well?
Yes, and very well, have seen a lot of dogs turned around and differences seen in just one session. Some people don't join, but go away after one session as they have a better idea about what they and their dogs should be doing.

What is the format?
Obedience, then protection, then ringcraft and if people want to do other disciplines they can in between times or afterwards, they collar their individual trainer.
Obedience used to be regimented but as dogs and handlers have progressed - sometimes at different levels - we now do our own thing on the field with three or four trainers mingling between us and spending time with each of us individually - this also helps a lot with distraction training as it is more representative of how a normal walk would be - not dogs lined up in a row doing the same thing at the same time - someone will be recalling as someone else is jogging past with a dog at heel, while another is in a down etc.
Protection is obviously one-on-one with an audience, ringcraft is training for dogs and handlers alike.
More experienced handlers sometimes give demos/guidance for newbies and those who want to get their qualifications

Are you happy with your class or what would you like in your ideal training class?
Yes - N/A

Just interested - not touting - I have read on here that people are either unhappy with or unable to attend classes, perhaps there are potential service providers out there :p
 
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Do your dogs attend training classes?
No

If not, why not?
They are trained now - was there anything else I needed/wanted to train them I would take them to classes.
 
Do your dogs attend training classes?
Not currently, but all have in the past.

How often and for how long?
Weekly, up to 2 years old (answers will all apply to Evie)
If not, why not?

Progressed beyond level offered by local basic class. Agility/WT training I would quite like to do are unsuitable times (Saturdays, when I work.)


If so, why so?
Socialisation, basic manners, and I enjoy it.

What does your class offer?
Obedience,

Do you find it value for money?
Yes


Does your class cater for/cope well with 'difficult' dogs? How well?
Yes, fairly well. Trainer is experienced (and gsd owner/breeder which is a help), main problem is some owners of difficult dogs won't be told. :(
What is the format?
Basically pet obedience, geared to KC good citizens scheme. Some walking through town, very basic agility and search work (toys hidden under chairs etc).

Are you happy with your class or what would you like in your ideal training class?
Yes happy with what it offered at that class, only wanted to do basics there. As already said would be nice to do more but the problem is mine rather than classes available.
 
Yes, both attend gundog training classes (between trainers at present)

Once a week, one hour session. Ongoing.

Was paying £20.00 p/h very happy to pay this ammount.

Covers all aspects of gundog training i.e: recall, retrieval work, intro to water, intro to guns and dummy work.

I go as wanting to improve both dogs ability to beat and pick up on shoots.

Does deal with difficult dogs (although this is an issue as per my recent thread) :mad:

No set format, was very relaxed and informal.
 
Do your dogs attend training classes?
Yes

How often and for how long?

once a week each for obedeience (sp) and Chimo goes to Agility once as well. it is summer holidays at the moment (agility carries on) and T-bone is going to "summer camp" to do dancing to music

If not, why not?
NA


If so, why so?

socialisation and fun, they both enjoy differnt parts of it

What does your class offer?
Obedience, agility, dancing to music, good citizen awards and they do obedience competiotions.


Do you find it value for money?
Yes


Does your class cater for/cope well with 'difficult' dogs? How well?

yes, there is a trainer that helps them out.

What is the format?

there is a puppy class, beginners and intermediate classes so you go according to your level. the puppy class follows the kennel club puppy book and lasts 8 weeks. you generally stay in the begginers class until you have completed the basic training award

Are you happy with your class or what would you like in your ideal training class?
Yes
 
all answers applicable to both my dogs :)
Do your dogs attend training classes?
Yes have done in the past but not now

How often and for how long?
Once a week, for 8 years (between them both)
If not, why not?
Stopped going as commity were taking the rip a bit with us and we were unable to train our own dogs due to helping and training others so much!

If so, why so?
Socialisation, teaching the basic manners, good obedience, basic agility and showring craft (we didn't do that bit :P), to gain KC Good Citizen awards and my father used to train there so I attended also to help and to progress in my own interest in training difficult dogs.

What does your class offer?
Obedience, ringcraft, agility, gun testing, socialisation, specific puppy classes, and training for problem dogs such as aggression with people or dogs, nervousness etc.


Do you find it value for money?
Yes


Does your class cater for/cope well with 'difficult' dogs? How well?
Yes, brilliantly so. We had at least 3 trainers at every session and if a dog needs to be handled by more than one trainer, it could be done. 60% of the dogs that came to the class were 'difficult' dogs, having gone to our classes for that reason.

What is the format?
Obedience 2 - 4, moving onto agility once a fortnight from 3 - 4. Puppy classes from 2 - 3 and ring craft at the other side of the field from 2 - 4. Had a huge field so problem dogs needing socialisation were worked at a distance at the side of the field so dogs were in sight but not close enough to become a problem. There also became an 'advanced' class too, consisting of the dogs which could be worked confidently off lead and started to work on 'bigger' distance commands etc with that class.

Are you happy with your class or what would you like in your ideal training class?
Yes, we were - but we'd have liked not to be taken for granted so much!!!And been able to train our dogs more, for the fun more than anything.
 
KellysHeroes said:
we were unable to train our own dogs due to helping and training others so much!
Click to expand...

Heard that one before :o
We're quite lucky in that a couple of our trainers are between dogs at the moment.

Yes, but Cayla, you train for others :D so you don't get off the hook :p and I don't think I could cope without a spare pair of eyes every so often :o Cayla if you were my trainer you'd probably give me a spare kick up the jacksie :p
 
Do your dogs attend training classes?
Nope

If not, why not?
Didn't like the look of any local puppy classes/trainers when I had my first dog so made the decision to socialise/train him myself. I decided to do the same with new puppy. if i'd have found a local trainer I liked I'd have taken them.
 
I won't answer in your format, seeing as we don't go to classes at the moment, but your description is exactly the kind of thing I'd want. I'd pay quite a lot of money to have access to secure fields/pens, agility equipment and well-trained stooge dogs plus the advice of one or more trainers who are floating around in the background ready to step in. Especially when I lose my rag with her. :p

Of the two trainers closest to me one is specifically geared to the KC good citizen tests which is all well and good but you have to sign up and pay in advance for an eight week course, it all sounds very regimented and of course you have to start from scratch with the bronze award so end up paying for eight weeks of stuff you can already do on a short lead.

The other is a 'Victoria Stillwell Positive! Trainer' and is the one that yacked on about clickers, despite my polite protests, which put me off straight away (that and the exclamation mark). Neither had worked with sibes before, again something which puts me off because they just don't work the same way that most dogs do, especially the typical obedience breeds like collies, labs, GSDs and so on.

The one I may well end up saving up for some one-on-one sessions with is an ex-forces dog handler, proper no-nonsense sounding bloke, but we'll see how that goes...
 
Do your dogs attend training classes?
Yes

How often and for how long?
Twice a week. Probably for life.

If not, why not?
NA


If so, why so?
Socialization, Its the only place i can go that has dog worked cattle and sheep. To learn new things, To have fun and to exercise my dogs. .

What does your class offer?
Herding, dock diving, obedience, agility.


Do you find it value for money?
Yes


Does your class cater for/cope well with 'difficult' dogs? How well?
Yes. We have plenty of difficult dogs that after being shown a job seem to just turn around. The trainers are very experienced with all kinds of dogs.

What is the format?
We generally start with obidence by ourselves with the other dogs as distractions and the trainers going between us. Then it we split into our herding groups depending what level you are at and what you plan to herd (ducks, sheep, cattle)

With my diving class it we have 3 pools depending on where your at with getting into the water.
We are still on the swimming after the object part not jumping yet. But we get straight in and the dogs play together in the water for a while before we start anything. There is usually 3 or 4 dogs per pool.

Are you happy with your class or what would you like in your ideal training class?
Yes - N/A
 
Do your dogs attend training classes?
Alice and George do but the others don't.

How often and for how long?
Once a week for about 1 hour.

If not, why not?
Daisy is getting on now (she's 11) and knows basic commands. KD is 15 so would probably nod off after the first 15 mins or so. Bailey, I don't know why he doesn't go, he's OH's dog really, I think he did a basic puppy course a few years ago.

If so, why so?
Socialisation and cos it's fun, and cos it's helping George learn how to be a "normal" dog.


What does your class offer?
Puppy classes, adult beginner/intermediate/advanced, gundog training, agility+flyball, socialisation walks.

Do you find it value for money?
Yes.

Does your class cater for/cope well with 'difficult' dogs? How well?
George is a special needs doggie...he just goes to watch Alice (he wouldn't cope with joining in yet) and has had a bit of one to one training after her class...he was brave enough to take a biscuit from the trainer last week :)

What is the format?
Alice did a 3 week puppy class, now she has moved on to adult intermediate classes. After that the classes are more specialised, Alice is going to do agility when she's old enough.

Are you happy with your class or what would you like in your ideal training class?
Yes...I have never done dog training before so have nothing really to compare it with but I like going and Alice is learning new things and making new doggie friends :)
 
Do your dogs attend training classes? - YES :D

How often and for how long? -We go once a week for a 2hr session. Plus some of us in the dog group meet once or twice a month for a socialising session/walk!

If not, why not? – N/A

If so, why so? - To socialise him, work on obedience, catch up with friends and complete my KC Good Citizen Awards.


What does your class offer?. – Obedience, Agility, Working Dog Trials, Demonstrations (I think there might be more than that)


Do you find it value for money? – Yes :) £12 membership per year and £2.50 each week for the training class and the social walk is free :)


Does your class cater for/cope well with 'difficult' dogs? How well? – Yes there are several experienced trainers at the group. One of them worked wonders with my young staffie (whom I recently lost to cancer :() and has given me the training I needed to get things right from the start with my new Staffie Fudge.


What is the format? Summer it is outdoors and each group works in separate parts of the training field with a designated trainer. Format for obedience (which I take part in) is we all walk round in a group and do our stops, sits, downs, turns as a group and then they do exercises where you weave in and out of the other dogs whilst working to heel and keeping their attention on you. Winter it is indoors and there is just obedience… The beginners go while the advanced sit at the side then vice versa.

Are you happy with your class or what would you like in your ideal training class? Yes I am happy with my class, this Thursday will be my first session with my new dog I am a little nervous about but I know I will be well supported.
 
Do your dogs attend training classes?

Nope!

If not, why not?

Just never occured to me to take any of them! They haven't turned out too badly...


I am however hoping to take my next dog (lab, what a shock!) to gundog training classes as I wish to be able to get it to standard of field trialling and I am going to need help with that!
 
We did 6 weeks of once a week puppy training classes, but we've decided not to carry on. We enjoyed it, and Stan enjoyed it, but we didn't really feel that he learnt anything we couldn't have taught him ourselves at home, and in terms of socialisation he meets and plays with other dogs every day, and has no issues with people, dogs, other animals. And I felt like the trainer took a dislike to me because I did some things my way...for example, teaching 'Heel' - I did try to explain that I cannot bend over to hold a treat in front of Stan's nose, whilst pressing a clicker AND holding on to a pony, and it's when I'm holding the pony that I really need him to walk to heel, so I did things a bit differently and he walks to heel when asked to do so, and when I've got the pony with me.
 
CaveCanem said:
Heard that one before :o
We're quite lucky in that a couple of our trainers are between dogs at the moment.

Yes, but Cayla, you train for others :D so you don't get off the hook :p and I don't think I could cope without a spare pair of eyes every so often :o Cayla if you were my trainer you'd probably give me a spare kick up the jacksie :p
Click to expand...

Why would I kick ya up the Jacksie? :D
 
CaveCanem said:
Do your dogs attend training classes?
Yes

How often and for how long?
At least once a week. Until they get too old and shoogly to be bothered with it

If not, why not?
NA


If so, why so?
It does them good to have an outing. They enjoy it and a trained dog is a happy dog. I used to compete but probably wont bother with it again but I still like them well trained - and it impresses the hell out of my family:D

What does your class offer?
Obedience. Basic puppy obedience up to Crufts Obedience Champions:D. I may or may not go back to agility once the pup is old enough.


Do you find it value for money?
Yes - its £2. Where else can you get a night out and training for £2


Does your class cater for/cope well with 'difficult' dogs? How well?
Not particularly. The beginner class is very hectic and some of the difficult dogs dont get the attention they need

What is the format?
Puppy/beginner class, then 2 obedience competition level classes. Beg to Test A then B&C

Are you happy with your class or what would you like in your ideal training class?
Yes
Click to expand...

I'm a collie person:D
 
CaveCanem said:
Supplementary question, for those of us who do attend classes - how many bloody gallons of caffeinated beverages do you reckon we all must get through?!
Click to expand...

Im my mams training class, she ran one for about 20 year and stopped about 5 years ago, there was a bar, they all stocked up on crisps and a pint at break time:eek:
 
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