Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
so i rescued Toby, a 2 yr old male bichon 4 weeks ago. He is a fantastic dog and we all love him and feel like he's been with us forever. Anyway, I don't really have any info on his background and for the the most part he's well behaved. He knows the command sit and will do it occasionally but knows no other command. I also would like him to properly walk on a leash and be friendlier with other dogs.
So being new to dog training, I would like him to go to obedience classes. Someone told me that it takes a while for rescue dogs to fully accept and respect the new owner, due to trauma of going from former owner, to pound, to rescue, to me. Toby is definitely more comfortable in his new home and he absolutely loves me, but I don't want to take him to obedience classes if he isn't ready. So how do I know? Just wondering what other ppls' experiences are with rescue dogs and obedience classes...
Very strange. We also rescued a 2 year old Bichon named Toby 4 weeks ago! For the first 2 weeks he was perfect little gentleman and was getting to know our 2 cats and 9 year old Bichon Lucy. Then he started peeing and pooping in the house so now I am crate training him and starting from scratch. I hadn't even thought of obedience school but it might be a good idea. He won't pee and poop unless he is on the leash outside but for the first 2 weeks we would go outside to the front yard to do his business with Lucy and come back in. This was very convenient for everybody. Then it all broke down. He discovered the 2 door down neighbor dog has tennis balls in his yard so now Toby makes a bee line to steal his balls and bring them back to me. Not what I want to do at 11 at night.
Firstly, thank you both for bringing a rescue into your lives.
You both should bring the Twin Toby's to obedience training. Preferably a real trainer, rather than PetSmart classes (which are fine for owners who have trained dogs before, but it sounds like you guys are a bit new at this). Especially with rescues, finding a well qualified trainer is important.
Our rescue schnauzer mix was well behaved and crate trained when we got him, but we wanted to have him walk properly on a leash, etc. After dumping the first trainer, who seemed to be scaring the dog with negative motivation techniques, our second trainer spotted something very interesting to us within the first ten minutes of class. Riley was not making eye contact with us at all. We had been living with him for over a month, and really hadn't noticed it.
So - first lesson for us and Riley was to train him to make eye contact with us. Took about 6 minutes of positive motivation techniques. And we ended that first class with a different dog - connected, happier, and super excited about learning new things.
We later realized that the poor guy probably had been depressed for all that time. And it took a good trainer to spot that. Eight years later, Riley is still with us, traveling around the states and through Mexico (Gringo Dog). He passed his canine good citizenship test ad remains crate trained, which has allowed us to rent places that normally say "no pets." The crate keeps him safe and secure in hotel rooms and in the car when we travel.
I cannot say enough positive stuff about obedience and crate training. Get your entire family involved. It's a perfect way of making sure Toby bonds with all of you, that you are all consistent with his training, and that all of you keep him safe and happy.
I don't see any benefit in waiting, and whoever told you that the dog has to wait a while to "trust and fully respect the owner" is, basically, wrong.
Training helps a dog trust and fully respect a new owner. The longer you put it off, the more likely you are to fall into bad habits with Toby, and the harder it will be to change behaviours.
Find a good class that emphasizes positive/motivational training methods, and have fun!
Just FIY - while PetsMart classes are poorly run by people without extensive experience, I know a couple of very, very knowledgeable dog people who run PetsMart classes. I think they are underachieving LOL....but they do know their stuff! So if that's your only option, it's not necessarily a horrible choice (and better than doing nothing.)
Have either of you contacted the rescue? Some people in rescue ARE trainers & IF you live close enough would [sometimes at a reduced rate] help train you to train the dogs. Also contact your local SPCA they to have trainers that work with rescues & new owners.
AH that's so funny that the PP poster is in such a similar situation with their bichon Toby!!! Unfortunately, my Toby doesn't know how to play with toys, so he definitely wouldn't steal anyone's balls! He might take off to attack a squirrel tho...
I kept thinking that the sooner I take Toby to classes/trainer the better, so I've started to look online for some nearby options. I took Toby to Petsmart to be groomed when I first got him b/c he needed to be shaved down due to all of his mats. He was all uneven and the didn't clip all of his nails, so I am VERY hesitant to take him back. I wasn't planning on taking him there for grooming, just figured I might as well save a few dollars the first time.
The rescue agency I went to was kind of far from my house, so I don't think that is an option, but I live in an area with plenty of options, so I'm not too concerned...
I don't see any benefit in waiting, and whoever told you that the dog has to wait a while to "trust and fully respect the owner" is, basically, wrong.
Training helps a dog trust and fully respect a new owner. The longer you put it off, the more likely you are to fall into bad habits with Toby, and the harder it will be to change behaviours.
Find a good class that emphasizes positive/motivational training methods, and have fun!
Just FIY - while PetsMart classes are poorly run by people without extensive experience, I know a couple of very, very knowledgeable dog people who run PetsMart classes. I think they are underachieving LOL....but they do know their stuff! So if that's your only option, it's not necessarily a horrible choice (and better than doing nothing.)
PS, major kudos to you for going to training.
I agree that there's no real point in waiting. We waited almost a year after adopting our beagle mix to enroll him in an obedience training series, and I wish we'd done it sooner. We wanted to give him a chance to get used to us, the new surroundings, and give us a chance to get to know him and assess what works best with him. Our biggest issues were separation anxiety and related destructive behavior if left alone uncrated, and not being properly trained to walk on a loose leash without pulling. We played around with a few different things crating-related and tried a few different halter systems and leash training methods, to varying degrees of success. Because I work in a behavioral science related field, I started taking data on what was going on with him, and looked at the patterns of behavior over time...things would get a lot better, and then there would be spikes, here and there. When we hit a spike where it appeared that he was starting to get increasingly anxious and to mark and defecate inappropriately in the house/crate, I said no more waiting and trying stuff on our own.
We did a 9-week weekly series with a local trainer, not a pet store chain class. It was good...the classes allowed us to help get him to a level of calmness that he wasn't getting caught in negative behavior patterns anymore. But it would have been better not to let some of the new stuff form in the first place.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
