Anyone do obedience classes at Petsmart?

[Rock'n Robin]

I need to start our dog on obedience. I have put it off and now he had a "fear response" at the vet last week. He judges people right off--if he likes them he is fine, if not, bark bark bark and backing up. He did NOT like the vet. We had to muzzle him and hold him down to examine his allergy, and then he peed on the floor. It seems to be some men (not all) and bigger women (like the vet) that he does not like. She tells me he will turn agressive without obedience. DH says one more biting dog and we will not have dogs anymore!
He has no problem with my family or the kids who always come in here to play with my kids. He did bark at my BIL on Thanksgiving, but got over it--but when BIL came over again on Saturday he barked again.
I looked at the schedule for the local place I took my last dog to, and the "4 months-1 year" classes started LAST WEEK. They will not let him into the 1 year and up class as he won't be one year until end of January. It is a shame because 2 of those classes are good for me now--the reason I haven't had him in yet is because it is just me running 3 kids hither and yon and in the spring there are 3 soccer practices added to the schedule (DH works later).
There is a Petsmart opening very soon very close to me. Has anyone ever taken the obedience classes there? If not, any good ideas on books to use to do it myself? The vet says he needs confidence.
BTW he is a 10 month old black lab/? mix we got when he was 9 weeks old. I did everything "right"--socialized him as much as possible, take him to soccer games with us, etc. We do not hit him or abuse him in any way. He is kenneled during the day but we are weaning him off of it as he is fine without it (I'm waiting until our Christmas trees are back down). His only other problem is that he still poops in the basement occasionally--if the steps are blocked off he is fine. DH is so distressed--every time we have a rescue dog it has mental issues of some kind, but the two purebreds we have had died young from physical problems.
Robin M.

 

[goofy!]

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[maxiesmom]

I just finished a course at Petsmart last month with my Yellow Lab Emma. She absolutely loved it! And I really liked our trainer. Every week we would focus on a new skill, such as sit or stay or down. You just have to make sure you work on the skill every day, and not just at class.

Having said that, I understand some of what you are going thru. My last dog Maxine had issues. She was also a rescue dog, and had many different health problems, which meant almost monthy trips to the vet. She hated the male vets, but did ok with the female ones. The male vet wanted to muzzle her all the time which I hated! It sounds like your dog may be what they call fear aggressive, which is what Maxine was. Everything I have read says that that is extremely difficult to correct. Was this your first trip to the vet? Or maybe a different vet that cause that response? If you take your dog out with you and he does ok it sounds like more a vet problem than a dog problem. The vet clinic I go to has more than one vet, so I just avoided the ones Maxine didn't like. Good luck and if you have any questions please pm me!

 

[simba928]

We brought Jake to PetsMart for obedience. She did wonderfully in the class. The instructor was wonderful. She also trained dogs for peole who are blind on the side. The one thing that you HAVE to do is practice outside of class. I am now regretting not doing anything with Jake outside of the class because she has not retained anything of what she learned there. She will sit, but only if she feels like it or if I offer her a treat. The same goes for laying down. A friend of mine also had that problem with her Japanese Chin, Annie, AKA My Belle. Once My Belle "graduated" from the class, she just totally "forgot" everything she learned. Of course, that dog is spoiled so badly and gets away with anything.
I say go for it. I would bring a muzzle or something to the first class, though, just to make sure she's alright.

 

[drayke]

I used the book The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller & Jean Donaldson and found it very useful. I've watched some of the petsmart trainers in my area and didn't like what I saw. Lots of distaction and the trainers didn't always seem to know how to handle dogs that didn't fit generic behavior modes. I talked with my local rescue org to find out who their trainers were and found someone that way. I was very happy with the result and successfully graduated my pit/lab/boxer mix to canine good citizen (though we still need practice with not jumping occasionally).

From the behaviour you are discribing, a professional trainer may be a better choice than the classes, as the many other dogs and the distraction of the store noises may make the class enviornment difficult for your dog.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

When your dog is barking and backing up what do you do?
Any trainer is going to tell you that this is unacceptable and must be corrected.

I also have a rescue dog with issues, he is 8 months old now.

The main thing is to train 15 mins a day. Basic commands, sit, down stay, & heel. You can even do this at home. It is better if you get instruction from an experienced trainer. They can "read" your dog.

Our solution, daily walks for 45 mins a day. 15 mins of training and exposure to things that freak him out.
The dog was a complete mess when we got him. Afraid of EVERYTHING!!! And I mean everything. He is 80% better. He still has some fears we are working on. But you should see how proud he acted everytime he faced a fear and LIVED THROUGH IT! He trusts me now for most things, not everything.
Now if we can get them to face the evil animated SNOWMEN!!!

What it boils down to is that the dog does not trust you to his safety. You have to alpha the dog and let him know that he cannot act bratty and get away with it.

Leash the dog when BIL (or guests) visit. Have the dog in a down/stay and ignore him. No loving, no acknowlegment, no nothing except discipline. Step on the leash so he can't get up if you have to. He must face his fear and behave appropriately. Dogs "get it" almost immediately actually. Their world is black and white.

Good Luck!!!

 

[airhead]

Its a start and then try to find an obedience club in your area to continue training even if you have no intention (right now) of showing. The advice I give to my clients who say they don't have a lot of time,is to pick one thing and practice in your kitchen(or where ever) for 10 minutes sessions as many times a day as you have time for. Lots and lots of praise and good bait.
Good luck and don't give up!