Chaz Puppies of 2015

[Elrohwen]

We have a dutch shepherd in our puppy class. Should be interested to see how she does! Right now she's pretty terrified of everything, poor pup.

They did a pass the puppy thing, where puppies went to different people. During hand offs, Hazel tried to play with the dutch shep and barked at her until she was hiding under a chair. Yay, my puppy terrorizes the others. During play time I said she would probably do better with the big pups, but they wanted to keep her with the small and timid puppies. Not a single one would play with her and a couple growled, though she was more polite than I expected and didn't jump on anybody's heads. She tried so hard, and would get them all together and take off running, but most would only chase her about 10ft away from their people.

I hope they put her with puppies who will actually interact next time. She holds her own with Watson so I think she'll be fine with a 20lb puppy.

 

[FG167]

We have a dutch shepherd in our puppy class. Should be interested to see how she does! Right now she's pretty terrified of everything, poor pup.

They did a pass the puppy thing, where puppies went to different people. During hand offs, Hazel tried to play with the dutch shep and barked at her until she was hiding under a chair.

Yikes, I hope those people find a good trainer soon. I had a DS and went to a puppy class that sounds very similar. I refused the pass the puppy exercise and also did not allow him to participate in the puppy play time. I was told by my next (much more knowledgeable trainer) that it was lucky I had not exposed him to more negative things (like that puppy class) and had such a good bond with him. I'm so glad I didn't, he grew up to be very sharp and willing to bite. If those people keep trying to make their worried new pup "social"...very bad things could happen. They are not a breed for everyone.

 

[Elrohwen]

Yikes, I hope those people find a good trainer soon. I had a DS and went to a puppy class that sounds very similar. I refused the pass the puppy exercise and also did not allow him to participate in the puppy play time. I was told by my next (much more knowledgeable trainer) that it was lucky I had not exposed him to more negative things (like that puppy class) and had such a good bond with him. I'm so glad I didn't, he grew up to be very sharp and willing to bite. If those people keep trying to make their worried new pup "social"...very bad things could happen. They are not a breed for everyone.

Yeah, I don't mind pass the puppy and play time for a dog like Hazel - she is fearless and loves everyone (but then what's the point? she's not getting anything out of it), and learning to play with dogs other than Watson will be good for her. It was probably good that she had to deal with shy puppies who didn't want to play with her, because she seemed to learn to read their signals and roll with it.

Reading my post I should have been more clear with my pronouns - Hazel barked at the dutch shep puppy, just being obnoxious and trying to play (super big play bows), but the dutch shep looked terrified and hid under a chair. I wouldn't have let her get away with that, but they were across the room and I had someone else's puppy. That's my own personal issue with pass the puppy - everybody let her get away with so much obnoxious behavior that I would never allow. It made me twitchy.

For some of the shy puppies, the whole thing was way too chaotic and a terrible idea. The dutch shep especially should not have been passed around. I got a schnauzer that was pretty nervous and when I touched his side he whipped his head around in a way that makes me think he might bite someone some day.

This is the same place I've trained with Watson for years, and the head trainers are actually pretty good for the most part, but breeds like dutch sheps are not in their wheelhouse. I hope the owners stick with training and maybe do private lessons. The worst thing will be if they just do puppy class and then quit and keep the dog at home as it gets more and more fearful - I see that happen a lot.

 

[sassafras]

A lot of puppies don't like "pass the puppy." Neither Squash nor Toast liked it, I actually just didn't do it with them. The instructors we had at their respective puppy classes were really flexible and I just carried or walked each of them around the outside of the circle and stopped for treats near each person.

I don't think Squash's puppy class even had play time, but during Toast's the only puppy in class he liked was this tiny little shih tzu so it was just the two of them on the shy/small dog side. They didn't even really interact with each other that much, there was just a lot of mutual coexistence and treat tossing.

 

[PWCorgi]

We play pass the puppy in my puppy classes too, and I like it, but I feel like I run it in a more structured manner?

In my classes, shy/nervous puppies do not get passed. Instead their owners walk them around the outside of the circle and practice being rewarded for being close to people, but not being held by them. Sometimes for mildly timid puppies I will have the people turn around and feed the puppy a treat as they go by, but nothing is forced. Super obnoxious puppies also do not get passed, because I don't want them moving in a circle and practicing jumping/biting a bunch of people, lol, so those puppies move with their owners too and just practice polite greetings/petting.

The rest of the puppies get passed, and when they move to each new person, they start with a sit and the person will pet them if they stay seated (practicing polite greetings), and then we do minor handling (touch the paw, treat. Touch the ear, treat) so puppy gets used to having those things touched not only by owners.

I really like the activity, the people LOVE the activity (THEY GET TO PLAY WITH EVERYBODY ELSE'S PUPPY!), but I feel like I'm also super aware of puppies feeling overwhelmed and guide the owners how to help their puppies.

Siri would have never played pass the puppy, and I'm pretty sure it would have scarred her for life. But the majority of the people I get in class have doodles, labs, the type of dogs that are PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE! And love the interaction.

 

[PWCorgi]

A lot of puppies don't like "pass the puppy." Neither Squash nor Toast liked it, I actually just didn't do it with them. The instructors we had at their respective puppy classes were really flexible and I just carried or walked each of them around the outside of the circle and stopped for treats near each person.

I don't think Squash's puppy class even had play time, but during Toast's the only puppy in class he liked was this tiny little shih tzu so it was just the two of them on the shy/small dog side. They didn't even really interact with each other that much, there was just a lot of mutual coexistence and treat tossing.

:lol-sign:

I train where Sass took puppy class

 

[Elrohwen]

We play pass the puppy in my puppy classes too, and I like it, but I feel like I run it in a more structured manner?

In my classes, shy/nervous puppies do not get passed. Instead their owners walk them around the outside of the circle and practice being rewarded for being close to people, but not being held by them. Sometimes for mildly timid puppies I will have the people turn around and feed the puppy a treat as they go by, but nothing is forced. Super obnoxious puppies also do not get passed, because I don't want them moving in a circle and practicing jumping/biting a bunch of people, lol, so those puppies move with their owners too and just practice polite greetings/petting.

The rest of the puppies get passed, and when they move to each new person, they start with a sit and the person will pet them if they stay seated (practicing polite greetings), and then we do minor handling (touch the paw, treat. Touch the ear, treat) so puppy gets used to having those things touched not only by owners.

I really like the activity, the people LOVE the activity (THEY GET TO PLAY WITH EVERYBODY ELSE'S PUPPY!), but I feel like I'm also super aware of puppies feeling overwhelmed and guide the owners how to help their puppies.

I like this way much better! We did something closer to that in Watson's class, which was at the same place with the same trainers. I think the difference is that this class is really big (I guess people like summer puppies?) and it's so chaotic trying to pass puppies around. They are basically taking a puppy and walking it all the way across the room to a stranger and then leaving it there while they get other puppies. Fine for some, not so much for others. They may not have passed the dutch shep, I didn't keep my eye on her, but a couple of the puppies I got were quite shy and would have done better with a more controlled method that involved their owners nearby. I don't care about the lack of individual instruction, I can train the exercises, but I think it really shows in these types of exercises that there are just too many puppies for one class.

 

[PWCorgi]

I have my class sit in a little circle for pass the puppy (this is how we do lecture time each week, and before we play the lecture is about how to let people interact with your puppy/how to protect them from people/things they may find scary), that way I can keep a closer eye on everyone, owners can still watch their own puppies, and everyone just passes their puppies to the right when I say switch!

 

[Elrohwen]

I have my class sit in a little circle for pass the puppy (this is how we do lecture time each week, and before we play the lecture is about how to let people interact with your puppy/how to protect them from people/things they may find scary), that way I can keep a closer eye on everyone, owners can still watch their own puppies, and everyone just passes their puppies to the right when I say switch!

That's how we did it in Watson's class!

I don't think we could even fit in a circle with this huge class. I think they should take two or three groups, have a trainer with each (there are 3 trainers) and then do it the way you described.

 

[PlottMom]

The universe is against me. I need all the vibes in the world that this bitch goes back into heat and manages to get bred this time. The breeder and I are heartbroken

 

[Elrohwen]

The universe is against me. I need all the vibes in the world that this bitch goes back into heat and manages to get bred this time. The breeder and I are heartbroken

All the vibes!!

 

[darkchild16]

Went to 3rd Friday today and he had a blast. He saw a ton of dogs, screaming kids, everything and anything you would expect. Not a single thing phased him. He finally sat when I told him to while Jeremy was holding the leash thats been our only sit obstacle. He did pee and poop in the walkway where everyone was watching. Even when he was given plenty of grass time lol. He got lots of attention and OMG HES GOING TO BE GIANT comments. He walked great with me and sat up when I stopped. Everyone was shocked by his age because he has manners lmao. A lot of are you SUREE hes a GSD hes NOT black and tan. Today we introduced him to a motorcycle starting randomly and he jumped for a second and then recovered. Overall its been a great day after a week of being cooped inside because sick kids.

 

[Southpaw]

Full mask boy it is.

IMG_2181 by cinSun9, on Flickr

It came down to the 2 masked boys, which sucked because based on looks alone they were my favorites anyway. Plain faced boy is much more quiet/reserved than these other 2, so he's going to a family with kids.
So, between these 2, their personalities thus far are really similar. Half mask boy seemed more independent while I was there and I just feel like I've been drawn to full mask boy this whole time sooo.

It was really nice to snuggle puppies today!!!

20150619_192715 by cinSun9, on Flickr

He won't be mine but he's freaking adorable too. I love how dark he is.

20150619_192652 by cinSun9, on Flickr

 

[Annabell]

Congrats, Southpaw! He is so handsome! Are they 6 weeks now? I'm so excited for you and incredibly jealous.

 

[Southpaw]

They are! Pick up is July 1 which works out perfectly because I took that week off work anyway, so that will give me a few days to get adjusted to all this
You will be the 1st person I'll send him to when I'm sick of puppy nonsense.

 

[Annabell]

Sounds good! I'll PM you my address and will even reimburse you for shipping costs.

But you're seriously going to have so much fun together. The puppy stage may be exhausting and frustrating at times, but it's also one of the most fun times (IMO) in a dog's life and all your hard work will pay off when you have a *real* dog at the end of it all. I wish you the best of luck with him!

 

[Elrohwen]

Puppies are exhausting. Especially when you have an adult dog. I don't know how anybody ever gets more than two dogs!

 

[Grab]

Puppies are exhausting. Especially when you have an adult dog. I don't know how anybody ever gets more than two dogs!

They get Chows, and then the puppies just act like tiny adults

 

[PerformanceDog]

Full mask boy it is.

IMG_2181 by cinSun9, on Flickr

It came down to the 2 masked boys, which sucked because based on looks alone they were my favorites anyway. Plain faced boy is much more quiet/reserved than these other 2, so he's going to a family with kids.
So, between these 2, their personalities thus far are really similar. Half mask boy seemed more independent while I was there and I just feel like I've been drawn to full mask boy this whole time sooo.

It was really nice to snuggle puppies today!!!

20150619_192715 by cinSun9, on Flickr

He won't be mine but he's freaking adorable too. I love how dark he is.

20150619_192652 by cinSun9, on Flickr

Oh my gosh! I am so happy it's the full masked boy he is so handsome!

 

[Elrohwen]

They get Chows, and then the puppies just act like tiny adults

See, that's where I went wrong. I have an adult who still acts like and oversized puppy. Lol. I'm doing it wrong.

Congrats Southpaw! He's adorable! Can't wait til you bring him home.