Having a home visit for Poppy

[milli]

I took Poppy ( my little year old Shih Tzu ) to puppy classes last year as I felt she needed socializing with other dogs, even though she gets on extremely well with our 2 Jack Russels, she kept barking at other dogs when we were out walking. She was doing very well, sit and stay, wait, down, finish. I carried on going each week so as to keep up the good work, until 1 evening at the class they had a couple of new dogs who were particularly noisy and would not stop barking. To get their attention one of the trainers kept slamming a plastic bottle of pebbles onto the floor which made such a loud noise on the wood. She did this about 5 times and my poor Poppy just sat and shook in a heap! That was just about it for the rest of the lesson, she would not even walk accross the floor with me and would not do anything but shake. She was fine when we left the hall and back to her usual confident little self, so I took her back the following week to see how she would get on, but she was reluctant to go in and would not do any of the obedience tasks, she just shook again, so I decided to abandon those classes.
I chatted with a lady I see walking her 2 spaniels ( who are so beautifully behaved ) and she has put me in touch with a dog trainer/behaviourist/obedience judge etc who does home sessions as well as classes, so she is coming tomorrow to spend a couple of hours with us. I am really looking forward to her visit and fingers crossed she will be able to help us, or me I should say as it's probably me that needs the training I'll let you know how we get on, cross your fingers for us.

[Bollybarb]

I hope that the home visit goes well, and i look forward to hearing about it

[Annie]

Not all dog classes work as well as they should, they must have known the reason Milli was there to begin with and its a shame that with a bit of thought this could have been avoided. I am sure you will both get on great with a bit of one to one attention, then maybe you could try classes with this lady to carry on with Milli's socialisation.

[milli]

Annie, I know I'm a bit naughty at times, but it wasn't me who barked at other dogs it is Poppy who needs socialization

[Annie]

Annie, I know I'm a bit naughty at times, but it wasn't me who barked at other dogs it is Poppy who needs socialization

oops, that will teach me to carry on posting when my eyes are crossing with tiredness ! Sorry for the fauz pas Milli x

[wendy]

I hope all goes well with todays visit.

What a shame some clubs feel you have to throw dogs in and start training straight away.
I have had one very badly treated lurcher type sitting in the back of the classes for about 2 months now. Slowly building her confidence and curing her fearfulness. I don't charge for this, just want her to be happy around other dogs and then, hopefully, she can join in.

[Mercedes]

It's funny you mention about the plastic bottle of pebbles because it's what they suggest on the Shih Tzu forum for when your puppy or dog is misbehaving. I've never tried it on Daisy and after reading how Poppy reacted to it I don't think I will.

We haven't had a problem with Daisy barking at other dogs so far, in fact she rarely barks at all. However when she does bark it's always when she hears something that startles her, like when OH puts his key in the front door she will start to bark and growl, then she sees it's him and stops. They are basically watch dogs and they will react when they hear something that spooks them.

I hope you have success with this home visit

[wendy]

Oh no I didn't see the pebbles thingy. Certainly a no no for a shy barker

[milli]

Hi everyone, I'm really happy to say todays session went very well. The trainer spent about an hour indoors with us seeing how our little happy band got along together and then her and I took Poppy out for a walk around the block. I rang one of our friends who has a very laid back Chow called Bear and they met us so she could see how Poppy reacts. She showed me how to put Poppy behind and to the side of me so she realizes that her behaviour is not going to be tolerated. Poppy looked quite shocked the first 2 times but thats all it took for her to see she had to walk behind Bear for a time until she behaved and then could walk along side him. We actually walked all around the block and could have a conversation with me just correcting her a couple of times. It has given me much more confidence with her now and I have to admit everything I was told that the trainer saw indoors is true: Poppy has been seeing me as 'her' puppy and she was the one incharge and warning off the dogs outside, she had also started to boss the other 2 about. So I have to continue that training with her and we will enjoy our walks as much as we did today.
Lyn, Poppy does exactly the same as Daisy, when I was doing my research which breed of dog I wanted, I read that Shih Tzus were bred as companions for the Chinese Royals in their Palaces and were to allert them if anyone came near, so our girls are doing their job really well

[MissEllie]

So glad it went well today Milli, it sounds like poppy will get the message before to long. I'd love to see a pic of her

[milli]

Here you are Ellie



I know I am very biased but she is sooo cute !

[LittleBrownFrog]

Very cute! I'm glad your session was a success

[wendy]

well done

[MissEllie]

Aw thank you Milli, she is soo sweet, what beautiful big eyes

[Mercedes]

Here you are Ellie



I know I am very biased but she is sooo cute !

She is totally gorgeous and of course as a fellow shih tzu owner I know I am biased too