New training class

[WhoopsaDaisy]

Finally took Daisy to a training class again, it's been a long time. And I think with interviewing, moving, starting a new job and training for a half marathon I've really let her training slide.
I've lately been trying to work with her on her loose leash walking / no halti. It's difficult because of all of the neighborhood cats that hang out by the sidewalk!
Anyway, I signed up for an intermediate obedience class at a new training facility since I'm new to the area. I found a akc dog training club. I felt like the dummy of the class!! Right off the bat she was super nervous around Daisy and told me to keep her away from her- I guess a dog broke her hip a few years ago and she is scared of getting jumped on. Daisy was very excited when we walked in. I felt like we made a bad first impression.
So she wouldn't allow Daisy to heel on my right at all, she wouldn't allow me to use the "here" command-- I had to say come. She picked on Daisy because she has kind of a roll back into a sit that makes her sit farther back and not quite at a heel. I knew that was a problem way back but no idea how to fix it. She offered no advice- she just said yes, Labs are kind of lazy when they sit sometimes. And she just told me to work on the heeling on the left. She was a older woman in her 70's that got lost on tangents a lot. Not at all what I'm used to. I'm used to a syllabus and step by step directions and modeling. And assistance when I'm confused. This was very scattered! Any ideas on how to work on the sit issue?

I guess it's good motivation to work on heeling on the left.

[Labradorks]

First question...have your classes in the past been pet dog classes? This sounds like it's geared more toward competition. Is that true?

[Snowshoe]

Are you training for competition? Even if you are, it there is a reason for it you can heel on the right. And you can use whatever word you want. The sit, I can see that if for competition but you are there to learn and she offered no suggestions on how to fix that? I'm not getting a good feeling about your trainer no matter what level of obedience you are striving for, pet manners or competition. Years ago I had one who was as inflexible and as unhelpful and I wish I'd quit her class right away, though it wasn't me and my dog she gave grief to.

[arentspowell]

Are you training for competition? Even if you are, it there is a reason for it you can heel on the right. And you can use whatever word you want. The sit, I can see that if for competition but you are there to learn and she offered no suggestions on how to fix that? I'm not getting a good feeling about your trainer no matter what level of obedience you are striving for, pet manners or competition. Years ago I had one who was as inflexible and as unhelpful and I wish I'd quit her class right away, though it wasn't me and my dog she gave grief to.

This!

I would go to a different place, unfortunately. The trainer sounds old school and unhelpful. I did a class with Lily a few years ago and the trainer freaked out at me because I was using "leave it" for leave it and she wanted me to use "no" and gave some BS explanation that "leave it" means you can't have it right now and I needed to use no because that meant you can't have it ever.

[Tanya]

yeahhh...i'd either leave or just hang in and do my own thing and never go back to that particular trainer. insulting a dog/owner is not cool no matter if it's a pet dog class or competitive class. plus freaking out over your dog and telling you to keep it away? not cool.

I am pretty picky about having to change commands (especially if it's being told to change a command cold turkey without teaching what that new word means). I OFTEN keep asking the trainer why the word I use cannot be used. sometimes they give me a good justification (ex: the cue they want me to prompt isn't exactly the same thing as I meant with my previously taught command) and we are working to train the new word anyway so I go with it. But unless they give me a valid reason, I just stick to my own words for commands.

[Labradorks]

I get the woman being nervous around big dogs if she had a broken hip. I'm sure she is used to big energetic dogs wanting to jump and being your first class, I am sure everyone understood that the dog would be over-excited. I was once run into at a dog park and ruptured my ACL. That was 20 years ago. If dogs are running around like that, even my own, I am very cautious. If I were 70 years old, I'd probably be even more cautious!

It sounds like a competition class. Many obedience trainers, at least that I have met, are very no-nonsense and direct. Many, especially those of a certain age, want things done in the way they have been doing it for decades. Also, sometimes they are great trainers but don't have good people skills.

That said, I don't think it matters what you say. Here, come, front, whatever. Who cares? But, sometimes you'll get someone who is nitpicky and you have to decide if you want that. Most trainers will ask you what you say and if they think it's an issue, they'll tell you why and suggest an alternative. Same with hand signals. You can always ask her why she insists you use one word or another. Perhaps you use here casually and her goal is to differentiate between a casual and formal recall? I don't necessarily think that is the only way, but she might!

As far as the sit, get your clicker out and only click and treat for a proper sit. You can correct the sit by holding a treat up above her nose and typically they will get in the correct position as they reach for the treat. You just have to hold onto your criteria. So, from now on, sit means sit, not a sloppy sit. You're essentially re-teaching it. If it's sloppy, essentially she is not sitting and might as well be standing. That is hard for some people because technically the dog is sitting. You can also introduce her to platform training as there is just no room for a sloppy sit on a platform. That will also create some muscle memory for her.

Did you ask for advice on teaching the things you were confused about? If not, you might have to speak up. She might be used to working with experienced obedience folks.

Overall, all of this does not surprise me. The core group in my local club trains like it is 1985. I do not dislike them, they are all very nice people who do a lot for the obedience commmunity, and some do quite well in the ring, but I would not choose to train with or take lessons from any of them. But, the club has a great facility that I can rent for cheap and regular matches, so I stay involved. If you are uncomfortable working with her or feel that you're not getting the support you need because she is not approachable or you just don't care for the class for whatever reason, then move on. Do you know her methods and philosophy?

[kimbersmom]

Kimber and I took an intermediate obedience class with the local rec center that turned out to be a bad fit. While the trainer said she wasn't training for competition-- she was. Everything was about what you could and couldn't do in the ring. We used to do sit drills where the dog was expected to maintain a sit for exactly 3 minutes. When Kimber would lower herself into a down, the trainer would fuss and make me put Kimber back into a sit- and if I didn't do it fast enough, she'd charge over and grab Kimber's collar and pull her up. And she wouldn't let me use treats to lure her because "you can't use treats in the ring."

The final straw for me was when she said I couldn't use a prong collar, but when Kimber didn't behave perfectly on flat collar, the trainer insisted on a choke chain. I wavered- she was the trainer- and tried it out. Kimber immediately began choking herself, the trainer made some nasty comment about ill-trained labs, and we were done.

[charliebbarkin]

So...my PM was too long and I had to send two. Whoops...I guess you could say, Whoopsadaisy (see what I did there).

[barry581]

Awe!!! Charlie and Burton look so comfy!!!!

I look at it this way, if the class and/or instructor is not giving you and Daisy what you want/need go find one that does. I'm a firm believer in there is no one right way to do anything. Every person, and every dog learns things in different ways, and different paces. What works for one, fails for another. It's finding the balance, and what works for you and your dog that matters.

[WhoopsaDaisy]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to try some of the ideas on fixing her sit and try to enjoy this class and get the most out of it. I already paid for the class so I'm certainly going! I'm hoping that it is better next week.
She also told me chocolates were crazier than labs but black and yellows were much calmer so it was good I had a black one. haha! I told her the reason I think chocolates have that reputation (poor breeding when chocolates burst into popularity) and how I didn't think that was true anymore and she said that made a lot of sense and she said it was true for a lot of breeds actually. She told me someone in the training breeds and competes with their labs and that I should meet her. So maybe this lady isn't my favorite trainer but there might be other opportunities in other classes at the facility. I hope.