Horrid night at dog class :(

It was awful...no it was horrendous. We have worked pretty faithfully with Malone on heeling and staying these past couple of weeks and he was even getting pretty good at it. Not that anybody would *EVER* guess. *sigh*

So we had puppy class tonight. He did OK (yes, only OK) at the beginning and soon degraded to ignoring anything I said. So I hand him over to Mark (he tends to listen to Mark a tad bit better). Mark can't even make him behave. He keeps going in opposite directions and jumping up as soon as he sits. And at the end of class we were working on heeling again, and he just takes off pell-mell running in circles as far as the leash would allow him, and as fast as he could.

I don't know *what* it was...but it was pretty discouraging. I hope it's just a case of having too much pent up energy (we only got to run around about 15 minutes before it was time to leave for class). I feel like such a bad mommy. :(

OMG....don't even worry about it. They all have nights like that! LOL Your pup may even be hitting the dreaded "plateau" where they act like they've never heard a command in their entire life. This usually happens around week 4-5 in training. Generally it willl last for 1-2 weeks and then they whip back into shape. :)

Just keep on working, it'll pass.

Oh, yeah. Both of mine have pulled that really cute little stunt. Makes you want to slink off in a corner and hide. :rolleyes: Especially if you been working really hard.

I'll bet next time he does great. :D

No, No, No - you are not a bad mommy!!!!

I think, and I am no class trainer myself - not with my spotties - that he was still excited about you coming home. Such a short time to play with him BEFORE he was expected to be "good".

Funny thing, Captain was soooooo good when I trained him at home, but even though I walked 4 km's to training every Saturday, and he was still so good - the moment we got to the class - IGNORING ME!!!!!

I think he was just so happy to see you, Mark and ANYONE else - rather than be trained - he wanted to PLAY!

I bet next time he will be the ANGEL dog - and everyone at class will think you swopped Malone for another dog!!!!! :D

Bella has not had any *formal* obedience training but my husband did take our previous two poodles. I was unable to attend any of the classes because at that time I worked in the evenings. He told me about one little girl puppy (I believe it was a yorkie) who each week would poop in class. Talk about embarrassing! :o :eek:

You sure Malone and Nebo don't secretly converse? Sounds just like a Nebo stunt. He can be SO frustrating sometimes!! He listens great at home, but he's a terror in public--especially when he went to class!

Belive me, Roxey had those days too (luckily she never got away from me). She was just the worse, but then the next week she would be just super. I guess everyone (even dogs) have their off days:D

What happened last night is in the past now and all you can do is move on. Just give more hugs and kisses when he does do well and concentrate on what goes on now and write last night off as a "bad night". I guess even dogs can have a bad day. Good Luck with the training. I'm sure he will do great!!

Oh Malone!!!!
I'm sure it will get better next time--He just wanted to embarrass you a little:o
He must have just been super excited--I know he'll do better next time:)

Anna, sometimes group settings are just too much for our exuberant dogs! I remember the last class we took, Helen was training Honey and I was training Lilly. It was a HUGE class, and just too much for poor Honey. She decided that she had enough, and she just laid down while we were walking around the ring. She would do nothing! And she never got over it either and we ended up having to stop the class. It wasn't the same as what you experienced with Malone, but it was embarassing and frustrating for me. You might do better with some one on one training with Malone. It isn't cheap, but it might work better for some of the initial training at least, so your boy wouldn't have anyone to socialize with!!!! :D He sounds like a perfect candidate for agility too! Maybe once the basic commands are learned you could try that! It is terrific for energetic dogs!!

Don't feel badly, as you can tell, many have experienced the exact same thing!!!

You are not a bad mommy! But I do know how embarressing it can be! Kia did the same kind of stuff in class. :o :mad:

The nice thing about it, I can laugh thinking about it now. :)

hey Cookieb!

Don't feel bad. I think we've all experienced pretty much the
same thing with our dogs. And isn't Malone around a year old?
He's in those rebellious teenage months, so it's probably
magnified for you right now. But just hang in there and stay
consistent and eventually he'll come around. Maybe even by
next week. Oz could be like a different dog from week to week.

Par...

Just an idea - but maybe you could really poop Malone out with some exercise before the next class? Get all that pent-up engergy out so he'll be more attentive? I wouldn't feel too bad about it if I were you! Everything will get better - it always does! Good luck.

Not to worry, Mom!!:D Malone was just being a typical young, strong willed, easily distracted Lab!! Labs do not lose their puppy mentality until about age 3 or 4!!:eek: And at age 1, Malone is just past the official puppy stage...just like human kids, they have a limited attention span and sometimes can get spazzy, bored or just tired after about 1/2 hr. To paraphrase Cindy Lauper, "Labs just wanna have fun!!" What I love most about Labs is their goofiness and their unending quest for fun, fun, fun!!:D But they are also VERY smart; he'll soon learn to enjoy the challenge and settle down before you know it!

Don't give up!!! We, THEY, have all had those days in school! Keep up the practice at home, and while one on one training at home is good to really hone those skills, I'm a firm believer in "group class" not only for socialization, but they have to learn to be able to accept those commands in settings other than home, while being around other dogs, people and despite being tempted by a lot of distractions/noise, etc! My Lab Star would be PERFECT at home, say in the long down forever, etc...at class, she'd break after a few seconds to go play with her pals!!:rolleyes: AND, she never failed to stop for a poop every now and then, right in the middle of class!!:o Too much "stimulation!":D I had to hold off on dinner till after class! Lots of other dogs would just flop down and refuse to get up!! And like you, whenever we had a "bad" night, I would go home in tears, feeling like the worst Mom!! It was so nerve wracking at first; I was a wreck, wanting my girl to do well. After I relaxed, she did fine!! Don't worry, Malone will do great! I took Star through basic 2x (most trainers suggest that) the second time, she was a dream and was 1st in her class! Since then we've gone on to advanced (totally off lead work) and agility. I know Malone will be the star of his class before you know it!:)

I agree with tatsxxx11! He just had a mind of his own and exercised it a little. (we all do it) Your not a bad mommy and your pup will get it, give him time none of us are perfect.....Things could of been worse! Hang in there.

Thank you everyone for the encouragement!!! I'm printing this thread out to hang on the refrigerator for those "bad" days. ;) We have kept working with Malone throughout the week and I wasn't noticing any improvement really. However, at Dog class last night, he was MUCH better!!! He had a couple "moments" but he really did heal nicely, and wasn't so obstinant.

I think part of it is that we are trying to teach him to many things at once. Everyweek, we have 5 new things to work on :eek: and there isn't enough time to get even 2 of them down pat. I can sense that he gets confused, and then frustrated and then I get frustrated. So I have started taking notes on all the things that we should be accomplishing, and I think I will work on 2 or 3 areas at a time, instead of everything at once.

We only have two classes left, but I'm really thinking of taking this course again.

I'm glad to hear that he was much better this week:D
Taking the class again would be great for him I think. I took Roxey to many of the same classes because they didn't have any others around here, she just loved going!