She is 10 months old now. She went through puppy class at 5 months, and that covered basic leash walking, "watch me", sit, lay down, and some other things. Then she did three nosework classes, where in between turns she would have to be in the other room and we would practice (usually she got three turns, before having to rest in her crate until the next set of three turns). We have not been able to do long walks from about June through August/most of September. It was too hot here, and unless there was shade, she didn't want to be out. But we did try to practice it when we could.
TLDR; about 5 months.
The clicker makes her engaged inside. She loves that instant click gratification. She will usually get more focused. So, she usually does MUCH better inside, but keeps looking at us and not where she is going.
The trainers are about positivity but still use the leash pop. I know this trainer/group well now, and was very surprised to see it. The first class she shut down afterwards. I had to ask the trainer for alternate methods, which she gave us and she will probably go over in class. That is the new method I have been trying.
And they told us we needed to have some basic obedience before we could do foundation agility.
They are *babies*. The fact that they keep their kennel clean and poop and pee in their litter is a good enough foundation. If you want a trained dog, get a *dog*, not a puppy. You are going to, you know. Crate train and house break a puppy when you bring it home at 7 weeks. They don't come with bladder control and an understanding of being alone.
