Gypsy Posted October 21, 2007 Report Share Posted October 21, 2007 So I signed Gypsy our 3 month old Puppy to a Novice Level Dog training course. I actually signed up one class too late, so I missed the first orientation class, and will be begining on class 2 this upcoming Wednesday night. (It's a 10 week course.. 1 class a week). I did see a bit of an intermediate class session when i went to sign up and register. The trainer seemed really good with his dog, and all the dogs in the class were pretty impressive. I can't wait to see the dogs in our course on Wednesday. There were some thing that the guy who registered us gave us suggestions on that we have to implement.. like taking away any cloth or plush toys.. which I didn't realize was a bad thing.. Gypsy did have several Teddy bears she adored. I've already taught Gypsy how to sit and lay down on command.. using treats.. she's extremely food oriented.. but the Dog Academy only treats 5% of the time.. so I look forward to seeing how that works. I was really impressed with what I saw the dogs in the Intermediate class accomplishing, so it should be interesting. I think I'm going to have alot of fun learning these things with Gypsy. I guess I just wanted to share some puppy updates. ~ ~*AnNa*~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Please keep us updated on her classes! I'd be interested on how his technic works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoBC Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 I hope Gypsy does really good at her classes. Be sure to let me know how you guys do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahoops Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 Why not soft toys?Good luck with your training I am sure you will both enjoy it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jzdrojowy Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 like taking away any cloth or plush toys.. which I didn't realize was a bad thing.. Since when are plush toys bad? Lindee loves hers! Then again, she's not a tearer/destroyer so we've never had any problem with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted October 22, 2007 Report Share Posted October 22, 2007 I'd be VERY cautious entering this class - it sounds like these may be punishment based methods given the comment about only using food 5% of the time. Do not hesitate to drop the course if you feel uncomfortable with the methods - you need to do right by *your* dog, not just do something because someone tells you that's how it's done (because it's almost guaranteed that there are other methods out there). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gypsy Posted October 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 Thanks everyone for your responses. I was also surprised by the no plush toys rule.. since I had already gotten Gypsy a few teddy bears that she loved. They said it was because of the texture mainly.. the soft cloth would feel no different to the puppy than a cloth couch, blankets, and so on. Gypsy does tend to rip apart these things (her teddy bear is missing a nose, and her bed lost its stuffing) so I'm not too disappointed over this rule. I really enjoyed the first class, there were a lot of young dogs there, it was a lot of fun. First class consisted of a lot of people instructions and a left heel sit. I like it very much so far. They definitely do not condone any negative punishment, but focus on mainly verbal commands and praise, rather than treats. They always have their own dogs to demonstrate certain things, and I really like watching that. Maybe next class I'll take some pictures... ~*AnNa*~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaisingRiver Posted October 28, 2007 Report Share Posted October 28, 2007 My dogs don't get any plush toys because I have kids who have stuffed animals.... don't need my dogs accidentally mouthing the wrong item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClickMeBC Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 Have fun and work hard in those classes! Please do keep us informed on how it goes. My dogs don't get any plush toys because I have kids who have stuffed animals.... don't need my dogs accidentally mouthing the wrong item. We restrict the plush toys for the exact same reason in my family. They simply can't discriminate between dog plush toys and people plush toys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet_ceana Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 They simply can't discriminate between dog plush toys and people plush toys. Ceana is the same way, except we do not have any children. I had two plush toys, a dog and a bear, that are now Ceana's. Once she saw them she instantly wanted the toys. It is odd though, all of her other toys she will tear apart, but not the ones that were mine. The dog toy is her "baby," and she cleans it and snuggles it. The bear toy gets more play, but never ruff enough to rip it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsy84 Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 They simply can't discriminate between dog plush toys and people plush toys. My Gypsy can. She knows exactly which toys are hers, and which ones she is not allowed. Her Giraffe, Tiger and Bunny are for playing with/sucking on/ripping apart or whatever else she wants to do with them, and anything else is not hers. Once something is given to her though, she knows that she is allowed to have it so I can't change my mind! But she is very good at distinguishing different toys from one another. Although when she was a bit younger, anything left on the ground (or within needle-sharp puppy teeth range) was fair game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WyoBC Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 It's funny. Black Jack really hasn't been to worried about ripping any toys apart. Except one poor moose. He's missing an arm and an antler But he's really good with his toys. He plays with them, but doesn't tear them apart, yet. I think he's finding out how much puppy chewing he missed out on though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClickMeBC Posted October 29, 2007 Report Share Posted October 29, 2007 My Gypsy can. She knows exactly which toys are hers, and which ones she is not allowed. I knew I would regret posting that the moment I hit the "submit" button. Who am I kidding? We're talking Border collies, here! I'm sure that Quynn knows what is what and whose are whose - he just doesn't care. Plush toys are plush toys, and the fact that he's ripping up someone else's doesn't take any of the fun out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 It's funny - Sammie can and will shred a plush toy in 2 seconds. One year at camp at GHF he shredded about 30 of them in a week! When we went to adopt Dean, we were wildly throwing all of the plush toys out of the area where my dogs were meeting the rescue dogs, and he still got about 6 of them. He's a dog on a shredding mission when there are plush toys about. Yet he has never shredded a single pillow or piece of furniture and he's always loose in the house even when we aren't home. We don't have plush toys in the house because of him, but Speedy has some that I keep at work and he plays with them there. He doesn't shred them, but he chaws at them and makes them squeak. Same thing - he never bothers pillows or the furniture or anything like that. I guess it depends on the dog. I caught Dean starting to open my pillow the other morning and he can't be bothered with plush toys. Hmmmmmmmmmmm . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoku's mum Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Hoku is exactly the same as Sammie, plush toys last about 2 nanoseconds and it's a flurry of stuffing But he has never destroyed a pillow, cushion, or anything else 'soft', and he has the run of the house while we are gone (and has since about 9 months of age). We get him the big knotted rope toys so he can tear something apart, and they last about 1-2 weeks... he LOVES them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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