i could really use a word of encouragement
My sheepie, 2 labs, 2 goldens, a beagle and a lhasa apso. Ben was scared to death of the parking lot. He weighs about 50 pounds now and it was all I could do to get him into the Petsmart. The two labs were really bouncing off the walls, and Ben was scared of them too, although he liked the other dogs. He didn't care for the trainer. He thought she had crummy treats. He already knew sit, down and take it, so halfway through the clasee he laid down and wouldn't get back up. One pee on the floor, back through the parking lot and home. By the time we got home, he was so stressed out, he started running aound the living room and suddenly jumped in my lap. His front paw hit my face and scratched me from my eyebrow down to my lip. Very attractive. Please, somebody tell me it gets better, or I can't go on. |
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Poor Ben  Poor Mom and worst of all crummy treats Ben may have been overwhelmed by so many new things at one time. Maybe you could drive him through the parking lot a few times then go home. When he can handle that take him back and get his favorite treat(leave him in the car) then give him a hug and a treat. Then take him in the store, get more treats and give him some in the store. He'll realize where all this great stuff comes from and may not be so reluctant to return. You may want to hold off on the classes until he feels more comfortable. In the meantime good luck and it will get better! |
| Maybe Ben needs to be around other dogs first. Perhaps you can take him to a bark park when it isn't too crowded. |
| That was my thought too. How often does Ben go on walks and see other dogs. How about going to Petsmart on a nontraining day just to walk around. From puppy hood I made sure my OES was exposed to many different people,places and things and it sure has helped in making her easy to get along with in public. Now if I could only teach her not to destroy the backyard with her attempts at digging to China!! |
| Some of it could be you too. If you've never trained a dog before or are nervous about how he would be at class or whatever, he will know.
Also sheepdogs are notoriously headstrong and easily bored. I'm convinced that Carl has doggie ADD because he'll be in the middle of an excercise and all of a sudden get super distracted and go crazy. Both of my dogs have either gone through or are going through advanced obedience classes. We definitely have our problems but if you want to talk, PM me. To make you feel better; Carl has a cold and the vet said not to take him to class so I took Norman so that I could work on the excercises. Norman decided that since he had graduated from Obedience a few years ago he was only going to work for half the class. During the middle of an excercise that we were demonstrating, he laid down in the middle of the floor with a big huff and flopped onto his side. He refused to do the excercise and I had to pick him up to move him out of the middle of the floor. Sometimes I think he's a jerk on purpose! |
I don't have anything to offer, except a "hang in there!"  |
| I would like to tell you about my first obedience class....there were about 12 dogs, all breeds....my boy was 1 1/2 years old...and a hand full. The teacher went through her routine..all the dogs were barking and not one doing what he should...about 3/4 way into the class, i felt like crying...it was horrible...Just at that moment, the teacher said, now if any of you feel like crying that is perfectly normal...things will be different next week. AND IT WAS! I couldn't believe it. We stuck with it the whole 8 weeks and Clyde graduated. He now, at least has manners....it ended up being a great experience....Stick with it.... |
| Wish I had the magic words to make it all better. I think it was pretty well summed up in the previous post, HANG IN THERE! No matter how much our OES's are the same they are all different in their own special ways as is the way we as their people deal with them. Your pup sounds a bit like our Bam-Bam in the ways he is scared of new and different things. A lot of pateince and exposure to new sights, sounds and objects helped us thru his puppy stage. The scratch in the face I can certainly relate to, as I am surprised I have not been scarred for life. I would hold his paw firmly and say the boot hurts MA! Now when he jumps up in bed with us to say goodnight he folds his big paws under him, they really catch on quick if your persisten. Best of Luck to You and yours............... |
| I took my very first dog to obedience class over the summer when I
was 13. After 8 weeks she was top of the class and scored 99% on her test. We got a big certificate and a ribbon and I was so proud. On the way home my Mom stopped a block from our house to talk to a neighbor. I just had to share our good news with the neighbor. Would't you know it, Abby slipped her collar, went sailing out the car window and ran for all she was worth. I was so embarrassed. I did finally catch her, the little brat. Life lessons! Hang in there! It will get better if you stick to it and be consistent. Now may be the time to start exposing Ben to new things. If he is afraid, allow him to investigate a little, but do not coddle him because this will reinforce the behavior. Talk to him in a normal tone and he will probably begin to adjust quickly. It is all new to him and some dogs are just more wary than others, just like people. Also, see if maybe you can bring a training treat that your dog likes. Good treats make everything easier! It will get better. He probably just needs some time. Shellie |
| Thanks, everyone for the great advice and encouragement. I was taken by surprise by Ben's behavior because he usually loves other dogs. I also have a sheltie and a brittany and he pesters them to death. He loves car rides and wants to make friends with all the other dogs and people at the vets office. I just never thought he would freak out like he did.
To get him accustomed to the sounds and sights of traffic, I have been taking him on walks on the main road around the time school lets out. I ask the kids that are walking home to pet him and he seems to like everyone he meets. Hopefully, next week will be better. It's a comfort to know that I'm not the only one who felt like crying at the first class. Thanks |
| then again if this was totally out of character for him maybe he was just
having "one of those days"! I know my dogs have had "days". Shellie |
| We took Sasha to petsmart the other night to look into puppy classes, I'm not sure if all locations are the same but they do there training right in the middle of the store on some gym mats! Then you have to take your dog through the isles to do the training.If it's the same at your location I wonder if it's too overwhelming for the puppies??? When I read your post I instantly wanted to send you hugs so (((bens mom))). I hope it gets better for you!! ~Twyla |
Hi Ben's Mom-how is he doing? I know you got a lot of advice and hope some of it works  |
| Oh Ben's Mom!!! When Pirate went to puppy class (also at Petsmart) all the other dogs were playing and having such a great time. Pirate simply layed down and went to sleep. We had to keep waking him up, and make him stand, so we could teach him how to sit!!!!! This continued all through puppy class. But he graduated and we on to several other classes offered there, and he did great (after the initial snooze fest). Hang in there! Ben will figure it out. And if nothing more, you will have this special time with him, without any other 2 legged, or 4 legged family members. Just your special time. Deborah, Pirate (who is now Canine Certified Good Citizen) and Keira (who goes to puppy class and tears up the town!) |
| Max was scared the entire 8 weeks in class. I look back now and realize he really wasn't socialized enough as a puppy. I didn't get him til he was 3 months, then only after a week, he had leg problems and couldnt walk for about 4 weeks, so we had to wait til he was 6 months to go to puppyschool. He did well, but it was hard to hold his attention, because he was frightened. He wouldn't eat any treats while we were there, and once we walked out of the building,he would bolt. He is still very timid, but its not all bad because he is very well behaved in public places. Let us know how it goies. |
| Don't worry - he is still a puppy and has pleanty of time to learn what he needs to. So keep whatever your doing up - he'll figure it out eventually.
I'll be telling myself this each and every day once I get Momo most likely!  |
| Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. Tonight was our second class. I brought Ben early and walked him through the store for about 20 minutes (actually, he dragged me through the store for 20 minutes) to get him a little more accustomed to the place.
As ILoveSheepies predicted, this class went a lot better. Ben may have been the most well-behaved dog there. He certainly wasn't the worst anyway. He managed most of the commands, but there are so many distractions with all the other pups and people. Of course, he did pee on the floor during class and again in the car on the way home. The trainer suggests I limit his water intake instead of letting him self-water as I have been doing. I'm still hanging in there. He's just too darned big to let him do as he pleases. Thanks again. |
 Hurrah for Ben! I'm so glad he did well, next week will be even better |
| Every week will get a little better and at the end you will be amazed at what Ben can do....and you will be soooo proud.... : |
| Hi,
I've been thinking of you this week and so glad to hear you stuck it out and it does get better each time. One of my biggest regrets regarding dogs is when I enrolled Blue in obedience classes when he first arrived at my home. This was thirteen years ago and I think he was 2 or 3 at that time and not very well socialized with dogs. He barked throughout the first class combined with crying and moaning. The instructor turns to me and said..."Can't you shut that dog up?" I was humiliated and felt totally lost as to what to do and thus never returned. I figured if the instructor reacted that way...there was no hope. As a result for the next 10 years of his life, Blue wasn't around other dogs except for Shaggy. I would only take him for walks around the block but never to parks. He never went camping with the family as my partner felt he was too much trouble barking at other dogs. Overall, I regret that as a result of that instructors words ...Blue missed out on so much. I wasn't as informed or knowledgable about dogs as I am now. Trial and error. Happily, although it was much later in his life, Blue is fine at parks or offleash walking areas (although I know that a huge group of dogs would stress him out) walking past them is fine. I wish I could bring back those years where I avoided those places because of my inability to understand the dog dynamics and that instructors words. I'm so glad you're sticking it out and even if your dog was the worse in the class...Hang in there!!! Some dogs are more trainable than others and I've often heard OES are rated as somewhat difficult initially. Most herding dogs are as they have to think for themselves but once trained they are amazing. You may still have some bad days ahead ...but again hang in there...it does get better. Will be thinking of you and good luck! |
I can't believe an instructor treated you like that Mari!  They are dogs and they bark! She should have been teaching you how to quiet your dog.
I'm sure if anyone did that now that they would be fired. |
| Our Instructor didn't like barking either- he would get flushed and angry with the owners of the barking dogs, especially if he was trying to explain the lesson or was talking. I felt so sorry for the people who had really high strung dogs who were yippers. They got dirty looks from him a lot.
We were lucky- Chelsea was pretty quiet, but it's sooo tough to train a Sheepie in a group atmosphere, they are so easily distracted, they want to say 'hello' to all of the humans, and they are generally so excited to be there that they pay absolutley no attention to their people, but it does get better, it just takes a while. Our trainer, while he was kind and very helpful, pretty much thought Chelsea was a big dope. But that's okay, I think she thought he was a dope too. Up. |
| Oh yeah-
I forgot to add- my father told me he was listening to something on Wisc. Public Radio, they had a dog trainer on who was taking questions. At one point he commented that lots of people assume easily trained dogs are really much smarter than dogs that are not so easily trained. He said 'not true'- in fact dogs who are more difficult to train are generally more intelligent, they are thinking through their options beofre responding to the command as opposed to blindly obeying. He also added that these breeds, while more difficult to train, can eventually acheive more and are capable of more complex tasks. I AGREE! We always knew our OES' were smart, and I know I've always been reminded of how 'untrainable' the breed is- well that's because she is THINKING. Up. |
| Don't feel bad about your puppy peeing in class. Frank did it almost every week in puppy kindergarden. Luckily there was a big mop & bucket nearby. |
| Isn't there a saying "those who can't do, teach?" ! |
| Hi Ben's Mom
How is Ben doing with his classes? |
| Hi Bestdogsx4: Ben is doing so well in class I can't believe it. We have just one more class to go. Only four dogs of the original eight are left. Last week the trainer told me that Ben and I are doing very well, and no bragging here, he is the calmest dog in the class and obeys his cues pretty consistantly. He even waits until he is in the car to pee LOL.
If not for the support of people like you and other forum members, I may not have stuck with it, it was that bad. So thanks for all the encouragement. I am now getting ready to enroll Ben in basic obedience and hope to go all the way through till he gets is Canine Good Citizen certification. Thanks again. |
| Yay for Ben and his Mom! I bet you are very proud of your boy and glad you stuck it out. CGC is a big goal but my money is on Ben.
Sometimes it's nice to know you're not alone out there. GO BEN |
| Just like raising Children there are a lot of different opinions and ways of training dogs. What works for one may not work for another. The trick is to be perceptive of your dogs personality and needs. Tasker and I had a very similar experience many years ago with obedience class. He was terrified of the other dogs and traumatized every time we went. It was an absolute disaster. After a month or more we finally quit and I continued to train him at home. At home he did BEAUTIFULLY, learned commands quickly and willingly.
When he was a year old and had been a very well behaved puppy for many months we attended an advanced class. He was a different dog, he was secure and confident and ready to be in a group situation. Surprisingly enough I have just read (here we go again I'm spouting The Dog Listener: Learn How to Communicate with Your Dog for Willing Cooperation, by Jan Fennell) Jan Fennell's recommendation that early training, sit, come, heel etc SHOULD take place in the security of the puppies home. When trained in the security of familiar surrounding by the person he considers "head of the pack" your alpha status is reinforced. Then when you are in the class situation he has the security of knowing that you are his protector and will not allow anything to happen to him. Good Luck! |
| I think I can make everyone feel better. When JJ was 5 months old I sent him to an obedience/boarding school for 2 weeks. It was over a thousand dollars and the trainers called after 3 days to give an update, which was "he is definitely a spirited dog with a lot of personality (translated meant we can't do a thing with him). I would have went and picked him up then, but was in the middle of the ocean on a cruise.
When I took him there he would sit and lay down on voice or hand command. When I picked him up, he wouldn't even do that! It was a disaster from the word go. 
p.s. if you think 50lbs is hard to handle, wait til he weighs in near 100!!! The advice I would give anyone with an OES puppy would be to never underestimate their intelligence, they can be trained at a very early age, as I said I had him sitting at 3 months using affection and treats and I have never had a house dog in my life. |
| Hi everybody;
I just wanted to let everyone who offered encouragement know that Ben graduated from puppy class last night. He won a bone in a "red light-greenlight" competition and he was the only dog who would wear his graduation cap. The trainer told me he was doing so well that we could skip basic obedience and go right to advanced (as long as I continued to work with him at home, of course) Well, I was feeling pretty darned good about ourselves. Until I was cooking dinner and found the meat missing from the counter. No fool like an old fool. |
| okay, maybe not for stealing your mom's dinner.....but GOOD JOB BEN!!!! |
| YAZOOOOOOTIE, Good for you Ben
But not so good on the dinner meat...... with the cost of beef these days who can afford to give it to the dog!! |
| YIIIPPPEEE!!!!! Good Job!!!!!!!!!! |
| Congrats to you and Ben! |
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