Had our first class today, it was orientation though, so no dogs, but we all introduced ourselves and our dogs. There were three other people and I'm a little bummed because all of the other dogs are puppies (once they hit 6 months they can't be in puppy class) and big dogs. A bloodhound, a pit/boxer type thingy, and a lab/pointer type thingy. The bloodhound is only 4 months, pit/boxer is 6 months, didn't hear how old the lab/pointer was but under a year. On the one hand Tucker is going to look so much better behaved than them (yes, I'm a terrible person), on the other hand there is almost zero chance of him ever warming up to them and making friends (not the point of me going but I sort of hoped he might make a friend).
Home work this week is charging the clicker, practicing sit, and getting the dog to immediately look at you when you say his name.
The trainer was great. She asked us all to talk about the issues we're having with our dogs and she gave a little bit of advice to each of us, all of which was advice that jives well with me. The boxer/pit bull mix's owner said her dog was dominant so the trainer gave a lesson on what dominance really was and how it's used to describe dogs way too much and how we can be good leaders without using fear/pain. She also told the girl that her dog is likely fearful and insecure rather than dominant, at least with people (dogs might be a different story, hard to say without seeing it). Anyway, I really like the trainer. She did seem a little rushed though (class went over time) and over simplified/skimmed over a few things, like the purpose of a clicker, which wasn't a big problem for me this time around since I knew what she was talking about but I do worry some of the other people might not follow.
Anyway, I'm really excited for next week!
