4th week of puppy training for my shy gsd, suggestion pls.

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by kool on 12 October 2007 - 05:10

hi all,

here's what happened so far.

1st week she was shy and sat and watch whole class, no eating treat and nervous.

2nd week she started to sniff one dog and hardly did tunnel no eating treat.

3rd week she did small agility but sniffed few times with other puppies, had treat twice or thrice.

4th week trainer let her played with small shih tzu but shih tzu chased her and she was running around the room and coming back to shih tzu again but didn't touch and at last my puppy started barking and try to play. but she did all small agility and ate treats and sniffing all around the place inside.

seems to me she is doing good but barking, don't know. while she was barking she didn't seem like protecting herself being down. she was in playful state running and barking. trainer said we shouldn't let her bark while at play. otherwise trainer thinks she is doing good.

do you think she is doing fine and will progress, i've three more classes to go.

we're taking her out plenty of time these days and loves to go out. before she use to run away or didn't want to walk when she approaches another dog of any size now she stares at them and walk. sometimes if other dog barks then she refuses to go.

seems to me progressing...but i'd like to hear more from similar situations like me would be really great.

thanks so much.

by HENRY on 12 October 2007 - 05:10

When i started training my dog he would not concentrate at all and he only wanted to play with the other dogs.I asked the trainer and he said that this is completely normal.

He said it would take a few weeks before he even attempted to learn and it would take months before he worked as well at training as he does at home.

I think she seems to be improving and if you stick at it, it should be fine.

Maybe try getting somebody you know to bring their dog to your house so that your puppy can play with that dog, that should help with the 'nervous' problem and make her more confident in training. Just make sure the dog that comes is friendly!

Well, hope this helps.

Good luck.

by Sparrow on 12 October 2007 - 14:10

Kool, seems to me agility should come AFTER socialization and OB. I would get her into a puppy OB class so she can learn basic commands before putting her into agility. Most obstacles in agility require jumping and depending on how young she is, she probably shouldn't be. Start out with the basics and THEN advance.

by shasta on 12 October 2007 - 15:10

Sorry Sparrow, I kind of disagree....agility (done judiciously and correctly of course) can be a huge confidence boost for a shy dog. It's as if they overcome obstacles with not a lot of pressure (MOST agility trainers at least don't do much pressure at all as they want a happy fast dog) and they relax. I always teach tricks and agility exercises to shy dogs. There's not quite the pressure involved. In obedience, regardless of the style, people tend to stress out more if the dog doesn't do the exercise. They don't care if the dog doesn't sit pretty or run through a tunnel as much as they do if the dog doesn't come when called. Thus the owner relaxes, and the dog can too. Of course obedience is important, but the order of things isn't as important. (of course this without seeing the dog and knowing what's going on of course, if this was an aggressive dog then off leash agility class would not be appropriate until obedience training and even then. But for a shy dog, I think actually allowing the dog to learn things in a less stressful situation first can help. I would also look around for a large field socialization class (it goes by different names to different trainers. I don't know where kool is from so I don't even know if there's any close...may be able to find one if you contact me privately. I run one and call it "freeplay class". I learned it from members of IACP where Dick Russell from I think Louisiana area has been doing it for years and years and years. I know lots of trainers in that group either run one or know a trainer that runs one. I personally run one here in california and it has been a fantastic tool for pet dogs, particularly shy ones. In my own group, the dogs are let off leash. Myself and another trainer stand by to keep anyone from getting overwhelmed or out of control. Dogs are allowed to communicate (our rules state owners cannot interupt interactions without us saying ok). Almost anything is allowed except laying tooth to flesh, and humping. The dogs pretty much teach each other how to interact. Would I do this with a sport prospect? maybe not...might make them too focused on wanting to play with other dogs...but if you work solid obedience later, it can work. My own dog has been to my group a few times and he just knows that we only play THERE. It has in fact seemed to help some of his distractions with other dogs on the field...almost like he gets his fix every so often and that's all he needs. But I digress.... Anyways, I have seen SEVERAL dogs now come through a group like this that started out either scared to death and clinging to his/her handler, or kind of lunging out. Generally by the 3-4 class the dog is running with the rest of the pack, playing and interacting. You can see an example here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szT1hoZjIuc&feature=PlayList&p=AB78BF3762207A7F&index=2 This short clip is focused on the mastiff (the owner was the one that did the video). This dog was labeled as the most aggressive dog in day care and kicked out. That's how she found me. This is week 5 for this dog (by week 8 he was playing confidently and happily with almost all of the other dogs). But towards the end of the video the majority of the pack is walking by and there's a medium size black and white terrier mix that runs through. That dog was on week 8 or so I believe and he started out with his tail tucked, snapping at all the other dogs, acting overwhelmed and trying to cling to his owner through most of it. By week 2 the snapping had gone away though he was still scared and clinging to owner, by this class he's running through the pack happily. It works well, but it does have to be well-run with someone experienced in reading dog body language and knowing what to allow with what dog etc. Just my thoughts!

by Sparrow on 12 October 2007 - 15:10

Points taken, thanks for the explaination. I've never had to deal with a shy dog so perhaps I shouldn't have answered, sorry Kool, didn't mean to give wrong advice!

by kool on 13 October 2007 - 05:10

hi Shasta, i'm in bay area in california.

thank you for your help.

thanks

by Rezkat5 on 14 October 2007 - 03:10

Puppy classes that I've seen/attended always included one week of agility but that was way later in the course. Usually the last week or two. It can be great for building a pups confidence. Some dogs do like to bark and play. But, some of the barking can be that she is still insecure with the situation. Good that she's starting to eat the treats, if you aren't doing so already make sure that she comes to the class hungry. If the class is in the evening no dinner or lunch beforehand and something extra yummy and special for class.

by VKFGSD on 16 October 2007 - 22:10

Kool You didn't say how old your pup is so this might not be appropriate but another trick that I have seen work great with shy dogs is herding. Like agility it gives them something to do which builds confidence. In addition there is the great distraction of sheep and/or ducks and all those wonderfulll smells that often the dogs are to busy to worry about other dogs. Some trainers ahve experience older dogs that they use to hold the stock while a younger dog attempts to work which is another great way for them to acclimate themselves to other animals. Finally all lot of herding training is done in a group situation where you hang out for awhile and the dogs just learn to be around other dogs and accept is as a fact of life.

There are a number of good herding resouces in the Bay area and Northern California. If this interests you look up Linda Rorem. She lives in Pacifica but has a training facility elsewhere and I would highly recommend her to test a young pup. While primarily a collie/sheltie person she has owned GSDs and currently has one from herding stock so understands the drives and energy and is not afraid of either wh/ unfortunately some herding folks are.

by kool on 17 October 2007 - 05:10

my gsd puppy is 41/2months old now.

the class has very very basic agility for young puppies thats what i do in the class.

VKFGSD, thanks for your suggestions. i'll look into with her.

thanks

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