Yes but every dog can behave "out of character" so to speak.

Last year when we had Cherry I booked obedience classes for her as she really liked doing things even though she was 10 years old by then. When I went to the first class with Parker I realised it was not a suitable class for Cherry as small room with too many dogs and a very reactive Staffy who barked continously.

I kept taking Parker as I had paid for the whole course and he did everything perfectly every week and was like "robot dog" until one week when he decided he was not going to do heelwork off-lead but he was going to go and sort out the chocolate Labrador which for some reason unknown to me he decided he couldn't stand!

Very embarassing although no harm done but Parker is not an aggressive or reactive dog and usually has very good social skills except on this occasion!

What I mean to say is just because you dog has shown one experience of reactive behaviour doesn't mean it is going to always be like that in the class. You know your own dog best though and can evaluate whether it is happy in the training environment.

I really empathise. Dex behaved in a similar way at several indoor training classes - lunging, barking, trying to leap at every dog he could see to engage it in play. He disrupted the entire class and by halfway through I was a trembling wreck, frankly.

I suspect lovely Kestral was maybe just overwhelmed, much like Dex was. Sounds like she had a bit of an adrenaline rush and got over-excited and/or over anxious.

Was she on a lead the whole time? I find that when Dex is on a lead, he's a nightmare around other dogs as the frustration in not being free to engage with them drives him nuts. Off lead, he's totally different.

I also agree with the point about indoor classes often being too much for some dogs - the only training class that Dex has ever been able to cope with is an outdoor one.

Don't feel too demoralised; you did your best and it might just have been too much for Kestral, on that particular day...

It's strange isn't it how these things can happen. I am sure indoor classes are a bit of a challenge for most dogs, and they must be throwing all sorts of signals at eachother that sometimes we just miss.

Yes I think your right, she must have been anxious, had a huge kind of rush and just went in to a nervous/aggressive frenzy.

It wasn't really indoors as such, it was in a huge semi-open riding arena but I think it was too much for her to cope with.

Thanks for the support all Am feeling better about things now, I think just that night I was a bit shocked and upset by what happened.