Puppy class tonight...

jake had his first proper puppy class tonight! last week we missed half of it coz we got lost lol. my boy did so well, and im so very proud of him everybody loved him, and many kept joking they were going to steal him lol, many comments on how beautiful and cute he is like owner like puppy . the woman who runs it said he did excellent for his first night! he even did better than some of the ones who have been there a bit longer than him. it was so much fun! and jake loved it too

the only thing i didnt like tonight was when another dog came in to show everybody how obedient we can get our dogs. she was really impressive to watch, she passed her advanced class last week, so she is extrememly obedient. but she kept snarling at the other dogs and even lunged at one of the rottweilers in the group. there was a man sitting next to me, who came in with her, and he warned me to keep jake away from this dog as she was extremely aggressive towards other dogs and that he refuses to even clap her as he is worried about her unpredictable behaviour. this then worried me a great deal everytime she came near where me and jake were sitting. surely its never a good idea to have a dog aggressive dog off lead in a room full of puppies? no matter how obedient she is, she could have easily serious hurt one of the pups, especially as they are so noisy and bouncy. i just didnt like her being around all those puppies when she is dog aggressive, what does everyone else think?

then, when me and jake were leaving, he nearly got his face bitten off by an angry chihuahua! luckily that dog wasnt in our group, he was just coming in for the one after the puppy class, jake got a wee fright tho lol. at least he knew to back off and read the dogs warning lol

lauren

Hi,

Well done to you both. Training can be great fun if you find the right class and trainer for you and your dog.

Jak did well, as you say, to back off from the CHi but things like that can and do happen when there are dogs passing each other coming in and out of classes.

My dogs go absolutely loopy when my Mom turns up n a Tuesday to babysit my Son. They then know it's "doggy school" night. Right up until I get there and before the class they're excited, as are other dogs arriving and so the odd snap here ns there does happen. So lnog as al the owners control their own dogs, there shouldn't be a problem.

I accept having someone showing what stage your dog can get to re obedience beccause Zane was used as an example to show the puppy class where I go too. Having said that, he's not dog aggressive at all (unles you count the "splat" game!).
I agree that a dog agressive fdog should never be off lead around otehr dogs, especially pups. But at the same time, had this dog moved towards another dog if he was off lead, could the owner have recalled him successfully do you think? Or maybe the man who told you to keep Jake away was giving more of a warning than was really necessary just to be on the safe side.

I can't really advise, but you did the right thing I trhink. At the end of the day, if Jake wants to meeet another dog so long as you and the other owner are happy about it, then let it happen. If someone tellas you their dog isn't great with other dogs, then Jake can play with different dogs.

Something I don't wuite understand though is this - if this dog is so obedient it must have been attending training for a while now. So with that in mind, how is it that it hasn't been properly socialised with other dogs over the time it's there?
I would hate to have a dog aggressive dog and I make sure mine are all very socialbe (sometimes too sociable though!).

Laura xx

It depends on the dog to be honest.

Many 'aggressive' dogs are only aggressive when their space is invaded - they will never go looking for trouble and if they are the only dog off lead at the time, they are fine.

Take Stumpy (my bc) and Breeze (a GSD at agility). Both can be funny around other dogs - particularly on lead and they don't really like each other. But both can be off lead in the same room no problem.

I wasn't quite clear - were you saying that it was the owner who said that he wouldn't clap his own dog - or was this some other person? If just another person, I wouldn't pay too close attention unless you know him well enough to trust what he tells you. Many dogs are dog aggressive, but few are people aggressive - it sounds like he was scared of the dog without valid reason. Note he did not say 'we are not to clap this dog' but he said he 'refuses to'.

Anyway, if the dog is in your class again, I would raise your concerns with the trainer. Whilst I'm saying that not all aggressive dogs will be a threat to all other dogs, I do think it sensible for them to tell you what he/she is like, what triggers her aggression etc. so that you can all be aware.

I don't disagree with aggressive dogs being in the same training class, but I do believe it is important for everyone to be made aware.

As for being able to have been trained to a good obedience level but not curing the aggression - obedience is much quicker and easier to train than aggression is to overcome. Aggression isn't always the fault of the owner - it could be a rescue or a nervous dog that has had a few bad experiences.

I accept that as well, i find it very interesting to watch and makes me want to try even harder with jake lol. they had 2 dogs in to show us, one was a lovely gentle old girl.

I think she might have been able to call her off, but i just dont like the risk. there are a wide range off puppy sizes at the class but jake is one of the smallest (he is the baby of the class lol) and there is a wee westie and bichon who are really small, so she coud do a lot of damage quickly to them, she is quite a big dog. I'm not sure why she is aggressive, she is an older crossbreed dog so i dont know whether she just didnt get the proper socialisation as a puppy.

she was the only one off the lead, we were all sitting around the edge of the hall and she was working in the middle. she was walking around in a circle when she lunged at that the rottweiler puppy, so she was more going into his space than him going into hers...

It wasnt the owner, but someone who came in with the owner. The owner came in with an elderly couple, and the impression i got was that they were her parents, it was the elderly man who told me the dog was vicious with other dogs and he didnt trust her to not be aggressive with people.

i dont disagree with it either, i think it is important for them to try and overcome there dog aggression, i just dont agree when the dog is much larger than the rest of the dogs, this is fully grown adult surrounded by lots of little puppies

lauren

Hmm. I think one of the biggest problems would be not so much control of the "aggressive" dog, but control of the puppies which would not know to not go up to it and could, if the worst happened, be very traumatised if there was an incident of the aggressive dog going for a puppy.

It's too easy for owners to drop the lead or not realise they are closer to the dog than they thought with their pup.

Also it depends - some people can think a dog is aggressive if they just see it telling another, rude dog off - and that's not aggression

I'd want more info and would speak to the trainers I think with your concerns, which are valid.

Wys
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