Maxx at training

[Lab_adore]

Our first day of any type of formal training went pretty well. He was a nightmare of course, lunging and pulling but there were 9 of us in Kindergarten and two other, younger, labs who were the same. Maxx had to sit at the end to try and calm him down

Anyway the trainer was awesome and she has 7 labs herself! She said all the things that you guys say but we could practice it at the same time. By the end Maxx was calmly walking forward with OH and executing a perfectly passable about turn. He got 'most improved'

It is a huge club, the biggest in the state and all of the trainers are volunteers. There are lots of different classes and you have to pass Kindy (which we did today) in order to move to first class next week. There are lots of trainers and they keep the classes small. We sat and watched 4th class...WOW! I've never seen a line of dogs so perfectly co-ordinated and obedient. They are training for some sort of competition in a few weeks.

Can't wait for next week!

 

[Emily]

Sounds fantastic! Our club is a similar setup when you have to pass each class before you can move to the next.

 

[SwampDonkey]

Sounds good. Maxx sounds like he enjoyed it too XXX

 

[Oberon]

Great stuff! Would’ve been a big challenge but you nailed it.

 

[Xena Dog Princess]

I'm glad that you had such a positive first lesson! I know what it feels like to look at the obedience groups doing their thing - seriously impressive! That takes more effort than I'm prepared to give, but kudos to anybody who is that dedicated.

 

[Selina27]

This is great Robyn @Lab_adore , I'm so pleased you found the whole experience so positive. I can't wait to hear about his progress.

 

[HAH]

That sounds fantastic @Lab_adore , and great all 3 of you could go too - I bet Maxx loved it

 

[Joy]

Really glad you had such a good experience.

 

[Lab_adore]

Thanks everyone, I was so proud of both boys. Hubby seems to have finally seen the light and has thrown himself in full heartedly

We struggle to get Maxx to focus on us rather than all the goings-on around him. The trainer was funny - she said to do the Kath and Kim thing (for those who know this show) which is ''look at moiee' in a totally awful Aussie accent but in a really high and excited squeak. It worked a bit but we need to work on that a lot

We just did our 5 minutes of daily practice and he was great!

And you should have seen the two Labrador puppies that were in the class with us......awwwww so cute!

 

[Atemas]

Hubby seems to have finally seen the light and has thrown himself in full heartedly

That’s brill. Sometimes they just need direction from other people. DH never came to any training with me but when he saw what Red and me were doing he liked the results, so he started to take it on board himself. He was very much of the old school thinking

 

[Atemas]

in a really high and excited squeak. It worked a bit but we need to work on that a lot

I would say find your own way of getting a Maxx to look at you. It doesn’t have to be so dramatic. We go for a quiet approach with our dogs - one that feels natural to us

 

[MrChew]

The trainer was funny - she said to do the Kath and Kim thing (for those who know this show) which is ''look at moiee' in a totally awful Aussie accent but in a really high and excited squeak. It worked a bit but we need to work on that a lot

Imagine doing that in public, outside training?!

I agree with Atemas, you will find something that works for you. I prefer a calm, but cheerful voice like you would use with a young child, and that seems to work for us.

 

[Leanne]

I bet Maxx is suddenly going to go ‘ooh I’ve got a job to do’ and Absolutley nail it

 

[Jen]

I lost my dignity a long time ago when walking Stanley so the high pitched voice wouldn’t bother me

 

[Cupcase]

I'm soooooo chuffed for you and for Maxx.

 

[Naya]

Sounds like it was a really good session . It is amazing how quickly our dogs learn.

 

[Leanne]

I lost my dignity a long time ago when walking Stanley so the high pitched voice wouldn’t bother me

Yup. This.
My recall is as high pitched as a whistle

 

[snowbunny]

Yup. This.
My recall is as high pitched as a whistle

@HAH anything to add?

 

[HAH]

@HAH anything to add?

No dignity left...

 

[NicW]

Thanks everyone, I was so proud of both boys. Hubby seems to have finally seen the light and has thrown himself in full heartedly

We struggle to get Maxx to focus on us rather than all the goings-on around him. The trainer was funny - she said to do the Kath and Kim thing (for those who know this show) which is ''look at moiee' in a totally awful Aussie accent but in a really high and excited squeak.

We struggle with the same thing with Buddy and have had a couple of training sessions with a local trainer. She wanted us to use the same high pitch, and kept telling OH to go higher. For a man who is 6 foot 3 and a big guy, this was not happening, the look on his face as she was telling him to go higher was a picture!