This finally came home to me completely with doorbell behavior. FINALLY .... "what do I want the dogs to do when someone is at the door?" Not the past protocol of yelling at each dog, grabbing at them, shouting "just a second" to whoever is outside ..... FINALLY, using my brain (supposedly bigger than the dog's brain! ) and teaching a behavior to command every time there's someone at the door.

And FINALLY, this leaked into all training. Once that lighbulb goes on, it illuminates virtually every facet of training.

Too bad it took me decades.

I agree with all this, that was one of the big issues I had with the class I mentioned. I just didn't get the no talking part, it didn't make any sense to me to not at least praise the dog when it did what was requested, and there was no rationale explained for this.

 Quote: Duane Hull

For that reason, he charges an eval fee. I paid the $30 fee

WOW - what a difference in CA prices. An eval, even with a substandard trainer, is at least $100. Most good trainers charge $85-100/per private session.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

 Quote: Bob Scott

The Schutzhund club I belonged to didn't allow physical correction of any kind. NONE! Not even in bite work.
I had many yrs of dog training before I joined but the club helped me tremendously in learning marker training.

I hope Bob won't be PO'd that I tell this: Bob took his GSD to SchH 3 with zero physical corrections in training any phase.





"The biggest negative I see with positive only is that it teaches nothing about pack leadership. That's a HUGE part of getting your dog's respect and the folks that left the club without learning anything were weak in that area. "

Big fat ditto. I'm not even saying that physical corrections have to be a big part of pack leadership. But It does seem that the all-posi classes and text sometimes completely disregard this crucial aspect of living with a dog.





ETA

I was thinking about physical corrections and that they are needed less from me as the years pass (although I do use them when I need to). Two significant reasons: learning to train what I want in place of training by correcting what I don't want, and learning marker training.

JMHO!

He...ck no I wont get PO'd.
I'm very proud of the fact that Thunder has never had a physical correction in training. That goes for his CDX, his HT, CGC, TT, SAR training in cadaver, boat work, article search and live find. Other then bite work 95% of his training has been off lead.

Now.....I can't say that being under a lot of stress a few yrs ago I didn't get upset and go off on Thunder at club once. He just looked at me with a "Get it out of your system you old fart, I want to train".
That does nothing but set the dog back in training and in trust. Luckily Thunder is way smarter then I am.

 Quote: Tanya Moyer

 Quote: Duane Hull

For that reason, he charges an eval fee. I paid the $30 fee

WOW - what a difference in CA prices. An eval, even with a substandard trainer, is at least $100. Most good trainers charge $85-100/per private session.

TD's prices do not represent the local market. He is sincere about helping the dogs, their owners, and the family, and doesn't want to exclude someone with a real need for the sake of money. He is unique in that regard. I was lucky; I stumbled into his barn one day (because I saw a kennel full of GSDs) and asked his wife if he knew anything about local SchH clubs.

He doesn't have advertising or administrative overhead. You won't find him in a magazine or some big yellow pages ad. However, if you go anywhere within a couple of hundred miles where there are several people working dogs, someone will know him, and many would recommend him. He gets referrals from some of the well-known trainers around the country.

IMHO, that's how you find the best dog people. Rather than depending on some ad to steer you to someone that can help, do a little legwork. Get out to the local trials and events, even if you're not competing. Be around dog people. Ask questions and listen. Talk "dogs" at your vet's office and at the pet store. Ignore the prices. Find out who the good dog people respect.

My vets office recommended petco's socialization class while muzzled.

 Quote: Brianah Maloney

My vets office recommended petco's socialization class while muzzled.

For what purpose?

You mean their puppy kindergarten class? Muzzled? For what reason was this suggested?

The problem with Petco is that the quality of teachers can be so random. All that's need to teach a class there is a written test.
You could possible get an excellent trainer OR you could get someone that has never actually trained a dog. Anyone can read a book and tell you how to do it but that doesn't mean that can do it them self.

 Quote: Brianah Maloney

My vets office recommended petco's socialization class while muzzled.

Prime example! Obviously not well-informed dog people, cookie cutter answer. One place NOT to get advice about how to raise your dog... Move on.

"One place NOT to get advice about how to raise your dog... Move on. ... "


Ditto. My vet's job is my dog's health. I have no right to expect (and should not even ask) my vet to also be some kind of a training concierge.