Poor Baron...

[Hanne]

Gloria - I do not think poor Baron will receive reward regardless of whether he is very hungry or the goodies are really good, as long as his little body is so full of stress.

I think that your loving and calm voice with nice praise does a good job at his stress level

 

[Caro]

I don't think breeders teach their dogs to sit - don't want a dog sitting in the show ring.

I'm really sorry Baron's first experience with obedience was frightening. First classes are always overwhelming - there is so much going on it's hard for dogs to concentrate. I hope your next classes get better, at least you know who to avoid standing near. If it happens again with the other dog I'll let the instructor know so that they're aware and keep the other dog away from you.

 

[tesslynn]

Forgot to mention I went on the Official Shetland Sheep Dog website to research obedience clubs/training in my area. You guessed it, the place I am going is listed there! Both trainers are competing... one has two Shelties and the other does agility.

sometimes the best research and intentions backfires, doesn't it

 

[ghggp]

Gloria - I do not think poor Baron will receive reward regardless of whether he is very hungry or the goodies are really good, as long as his little body is so full of stress.

I think that your loving and calm voice with nice praise does a good job at his stress level

He did do better when I praised him. My voice does seem to help calm him...

 

[Sharon7]

Gloria, I'm sorry Baron is having such trouble. My Brooke is very nervous in new situations too, even though she was a show dog for 7 years and exposed to lots of new people and situations, and very well treated. If it's any consolation, I gave up trying to get Brooke to sit for a treat. She was taught as a show dog NOT to sit - a no-no in the show ring. If I bring out any kind of treat she "stacks" or poses beautifully, like she is still in the ring, LOL. She will sit when heeling - in other words, when I'm walking them and come to a stop, she and Faith will sit, although slooowwwly.

I agree, lots of praise and try to exude confidence, he will pick up on that. They really do want to please but sometimes the fear and anxiety just overcomes all else. Doesn't help that there is apparently a crazyish dog and owner in class with you. Hang in there and hope the next class will be much better. Baby steps.....

 

[Cara Sandler]

I personally would not finish out this class. Seems as though this has the potential to cause far more harm than good.

 

[ghggp]

Well, I did decide to go to class! I was pleasantly surprised that the large dog left the class after 15 minutes. Thank goodness...

Baron did better at healing, about turn, and did much better at the recall. He did horrible on recalls for the past two classes. He seemed frightened that the trainers held him as I moved 10 ft away for the recall. I asked them at this session to NOT hold Baron. I would put him in a sit stay and then call him. He did a perfect recall! He just did not understand why they were holding him before. The trainer explained that in Beginners obedience classes they don't normally allow dogs to be off the lead for obvious reasons. Since Baron is so timid and docile they allowed it. The result spoke for itself!

Still having problems with SIT and walking around him. When I get to the back of him and he can't see me he gets nervous and gets up. I am sure over time he will gain confidence and understand he will be OK after I get all the way around him. But, for now, we really need to work on that!

 

[Piper's mom]

If I recall (I've been to so many classes with so many different instructors lol), when we started with the recall we would just go a couple of steps away from the dog (who was in a sit/wait) when we'd call them and then run and then towards the end of the class we were starting to go further away but the instructors never held the dogs in place. I can see how this would create anxiety for a dog...they're thinking 'my owner is leaving me and there are these strangers holding onto me???'. Good on you for telling them how it should be done, recalls are the most fun exercise you do in obedience, they shouldn't cause anxiety.

 

[Hanne]

Gloria, it was really nice to read that you both had a good experience

Why do not you just do the things that Baron is safe / comfort at ??

The most important thing is that both of you have a good experience -It will make him stronger gradually.

He only has you to take care of him
he does not have to do all these "nasty" things, the most important thing is that he is happy

We pay and we decide over our beloved fur-kids

 

[Calliesmom]

Well, I did decide to go to class! I was pleasantly surprised that the large dog left the class after 15 minutes. Thank goodness...

Baron did better at healing, about turn, and did much better at the recall. He did horrible on recalls for the past two classes. He seemed frightened that the trainers held him as I moved 10 ft away for the recall. I asked them at this session to NOT hold Baron. I would put him in a sit stay and then call him. He did a perfect recall! He just did not understand why they were holding him before. The trainer explained that in Beginners obedience classes they don't normally allow dogs to be off the lead for obvious reasons. Since Baron is so timid and docile they allowed it. The result spoke for itself!

Still having problems with SIT and walking around him. When I get to the back of him and he can't see me he gets nervous and gets up. I am sure over time he will gain confidence and understand he will be OK after I get all the way around him. But, for now, we really need to work on that!

glad that it went better and that the big dog left so you could get some good training time.
When I was working with Callie on the sit and walk around, I had to start with a very large circle around her so that as she turned her head, she could still see me the whole way around. Then I could start to make the circle smaller as she got adjusted to that. I also would sit her in front of her food bowl and walk around her and the bowl, then she could have what was in the bowl.