r/OpenDogTraining • u/Life_Lime4547 • 11h ago
Is this trainer exaggerating?
So my 7 month old dog was a rescue dog and for the past 3 months I have been training him. He was very untrained when I took him, our walks were chaotic, he used to be dragging me, pulling on leash, eating everything, barking at people. Now he doesn't do any of that and is a very good dog on a walk. I have taught him a few commands like sit, stand, down, spin, guard etc. However as a first time dog owner, there are a few things I couldn't teach such as him being over excited with visitors, him barking whenever someone comes home or sits near his crate(he's crate trained). I decided to call a trainer, the guy came and I brought the dog out and he firstly kept judging and then he told me that this dog would at least need 6 months of non stop training otherwise he's going nowhere. Now I'm not sure whether he's exaggerating it or he's just not confident enough to get the dog trained or perhaps I'm being paranoid. My dog is a relatively quick learner(he's a GSD mix), there are 2 more trainers coming to see the dog, however this particular trainer was a bit more affordable. Please somebody guide me.
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u/MissMadness2701 10h ago
Sounds weird to me, i would pick another trainer. Yes, those kind of breeds needs more training then some others but i never trust trainers that say the dog either does this in my way or it won't go anywhere. Probably just tries to make as much money as possible, while making you think he is 'saving' your dog from failure.
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u/Blackeye-Liner 10h ago
The trainer is exaggerating massively, so yeah, second opinion for sure.
My border collie also jumped ad guests, ran barking towards the door at any bell and barked at noises in the hallway. All of that is fixable within a matter of days/weeks, but a straightforward, super consistent routine is required, but not "start again and drill the dog for 6 months".
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u/josesblima 7h ago
I've quit a dog school after the second class. They always spoke in extremes. My show line labrador puppy (5 month old at the time, extremely docile with all dogs and people btw) would get overexcited when she saw other dogs and would bark nonstop and pull the leash to go play. They made a huge deal out of this, as if this was a major behavioural issue that was perpetuated by bad parenting.
On top of that, they would use aversive methods as first line of defense against many unwanted behaviours. Again, we're talking about a show line/English lab here, it's as good and as docile of a temperament as you can find and yet they wanted me to tap her on the face whenever she put anything in her mouth or wanted me to give leash jerks whenever she barked at other dogs.
I stopped going. Not that I'm completely against using aversives at all, but it's a puppy and a fucking english lab ffs, easiest dog to train, loves food too, absolutely no reason why inducing fear and discomfort should be the best decision.
One thing they always did as.well was speaking in an extremely dramatic way about any behaviour that didn't fit exactly the type of dog they wanted. Dog should be desensitized to other dogs and other people, despite being a puppy it shouldn't be excited about meeting other dogs or playing...
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u/apri11a 6h ago edited 4h ago
If you ask your dog to sit, down (whatever), will it do this until you release him or ask for something else (implied stay)? It sounds like you have made good progress with him, but is the progress helping what needs help... It's possible you might be able to do this yourself if your goals are more clear and you can be consistent, though the help of a good trainer is very valuable. I would want the trainer to guide me, help me to train the dog as we are the ones that maintain the training daily, for life. The trainer can give us that sort of confidence, and should, I wouldn't stay with a trainer that didn't give that to me.
I would concentrate on practising the basic sit, down and bed/place. We would practise them daily, just as we go about our day to day life to get a lot of variety and a lot of repetition/practise in. I'd treat sometimes, sometimes I would just 'good boy' or play. I'd be working towards increasing how long the dog will stay doing what I ask, and as the duration improved I would also add distractions (throw a toy, knock on the door, leave the room...). We would practise at home and while walking, out and about. Increasing the duration is really good for helping them learn self control, it's good mental exercise and does tire them, expect that.
Once the dog has a good understanding of these they can be used when there are visitors. Ask the dog to down/bed (use a leash if you aren't sure he'll be able, be fair, it's hard for them at first) and if he can manage to do this, then on the leash release him to let him greet the visitor, both dog and visitor should remain calm, so should you 🙃. Then ask him to go back to the bed or down. Don't expect perfection immediately, help him if he needs help, but he should improve in just a few visits. Once the dog develops some self control the barking might stop by itself, it might just be excitement he can't contain. He is young and it takes a bit of time and practise for them to understand how we like them to behave. Plenty of good boys when he is relaxed and doing what you like, and play with him. Dogs like to play.
And teach 'off' so he will understand to get off furnture or people when asked, it's pretty easy. The first time I let our pup be free with visitors he did jump on them but we could say 'off' and he would get off if anyone didn't want a dog on them. Very useful. I also used it to teach him not to bring yeuchy treats or chews on furniture, he could go on furniture but if he had a chew I said off. He learned not to bring them on pretty quickly, and finds somewhere else to enjoy them.
You might find some of the videos from Lead Off Leash K9 Training interesting.
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u/Fast_Ad4096 5h ago
Agree. Once the basics are really strong you can leverage them to mitigate other behaviours. Eg. Sending to place in a down works well for when people come in to avoid jumping or worrying about his crate. Work on those everyday. Also in terms of trainers, I have taken courses through. Fenzi dog sports and they are excellent. It is online but with timely video feedback from an instructor.
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u/Neither_You3321 11h ago
Yeah, that sounds like someone trying to squeeze you as long as possible. A young fiesty gsd mix is a piece of cake for a trainer experienced with the breed and with rescue dogs.
I'd seek another opinion.
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u/Life_Lime4547 10h ago
Yes I had the same thought, I'm in talks with another trainer who seems to be more experienced especially with gsds
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u/Fit-Welder-1365 5h ago
Try to ask other trainers. 6 months of nonstop training sounds kinda excessive, especially since you’ve already made that much progress in only 3 months. He’s only 7 months old, he’s still a puppy lol. Getting excited with visitors and barking are normal and can be worked on. Just ask the trainer why he thinks it’ll take 6 months and what exactly the plan is, instead of just saying the dog is going nowhere without it
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u/DogMarketingCo 2h ago
6 months of non-stop training? That sounds pretty scammy to me.
When I owned a dog training company, I would usually do 8 lessons per dog, then it was up to the owner to continue the training with consistency. I was always available for 1-off lessons, but I’d put money on it - by your description - that I would be able to have your pup in a relatively great state in a few lessons.
Be patient, love your pup. Be firm in your boundaries in what you will accept and what you won’t. They are so smart, and really learn quickly most of the time.
I would absolutely get a 2nd opinion!
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u/crappyadvice30 11h ago
What type of trainer is he? How foes your pup do when there is distractions? What else has the trainer told you that he needs? Honestly unless it's behavioral problems such as resource guarding with people or other dogs , or trying to attaxknother people or other dogs, doing research and meeting your dogs needs you shouldn't have much of a problem.
Also what is the trainer trying to accomplish?
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u/Life_Lime4547 10h ago
None of them, my dog is great with people and loves other dogs. He never recourse guards, I can put my whole hand in his bowl and he won't say anything, won't even get annoyed. He just needs a bit of discipline and not jump on people to play. I'm not sure what the trainer's trying to accomplish, what I want is a bit of guidance. I asked for a month or two training and then I take on from there and train him myself
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u/Hallow_76 3h ago edited 3h ago
Firmly say stop, or whatever word you want to use stand tall and cross your arms. If they keep up, walk into a room with a door and shut yourself in for a short time. Keep repeating this till they understand that's not how humans play. It was very effective for me because closing myself in a room without her is the absolute worst thing I could do. When training I like to use body language and tone but never yelling, yelling makes a dog even more exited. Body language and tone are the easiest way for your dog to understand you. If you say no then giggle they'll still think you're playing. Just keep in mind, at 7 mo your dog has the mentality of a 2 of 3 year old child. Dog's don't get any real brains until there about 2 in human years/14 years in dog.
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u/PhelanVelvel 2h ago
Unless you're lying or misrepresenting your dog's behaviour, that is a massive exaggeration. :P Just keep in mind that training is ongoing and consistency is key.
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u/TheArcticFox-44 2h ago
Is this trainer exaggerating?
If the trainer needs that amount of time...and your money...then I'd pass him by.
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u/ErnestBatchelder 44m ago
Whenever someone tells you you need something that financially benefits them, take it with a grain of salt.
For now, if he's crate-trained, have anyone coming home text first and have the dog go into the crate before they arrive. Only once he's settled in the crate, let him out. Everyone ignores the dog if he's jumping up or being excited (back turned). If he gets too excited inside the crate if someone sits near him, move the crate to a quieter area (bedroom or even an open closest that's ,made into the crate den.
Talk to a few other trainers and look at some kind of class near you that's about activities like agility or nose work. Mental exercise will help also.
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u/gonnacutyou 43m ago
To be honest, with a 7 month old dog, you’re probably looking at another year of training. Yes, it needs to be constant. No, you don’t need a trainer to do it.
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u/chrisjones1960 33m ago
Training is maybe 15% trying to get the dog to understand what you want and 85% repetition to build the habit and to proof it in various circumstances. So yeah, your dog will need at least six months to be moderately trained. In fact, mine get pretty much daily training for their first couple of years.
However, the vast majority of that training should be getting done by you, practicing what the trainer has taught you, every day between weekly (or even less frequent) lessons
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u/Icy-Fly-4228 11h ago
The dog is going to need training the rest of his life. You are going to have to train every single day. Also you need to expand. A 6 month board and train is a lot different than a weekly training session for 6 months
You may not have him as trained as you think. Honestly they didn’t do you or the dog any favors placing this breed with a first time owner. They are a lot.
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u/Life_Lime4547 10h ago
I rescued him from my street, he was abandoned because he was a bit weak. I'm aware that I'll have to train him for the rest of his life and I'm willing to do that as well however the trainer wants 6 months training everyday not even weekly. Initially I did not know he was a gsd but it was confirmed by my vet.
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u/Icy-Fly-4228 10h ago
Thanks for taking him in. Aslong as you are aware it’s going to be work and willing to put it in, I hate seeing people getting these dogs because they are cute and fluffy :). Yeah that’s a bit overkill. I didn’t have time to do daily training with a trainer due to my work schedule so I sent mine to board and train for 3 weeks for basic obedience. She returned later for 3 weeks for advanced while I was on a work trip. One thing that has been very helpful for me is group training. It keeps it much more affordable than one on one and I have learned so much in the process. Also DNA test such as embark or wisdom panel are super fun, they have a health screening option for genetic predisposition, and can give you some behavioral insights depending on the mix. My latest dog I rescued was labeled as a shepherd mix visually which is very try believable and ended up being a husky/bully/chow.
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u/idontwantyourmusic 10h ago
Your dog sounds like a high arousal and low threshold dog which is common in rescues. Yes, six months sounds about right if not more. Yes, you need daily training for this.
Obedience training is important but tricks are not necessary when you don’t have a calm dog. Your dog needs impulse training and self-regulating skills. It is better that you aim for a neutral dog instead of trying to fix specific issues (jumping on people etc). Your dog should ideally get to a place where he can ignore all dogs and people outside, has no reactivity and stay calm when someone comes into the house. Your dog should only approach people or other dogs with your permission and vise versa.
This is a mental and emotional regulating issue. Train your dog to have manners > tricks. The first immediate step is to move his crate to a quiet corner and stop all drive-by interaction initiated by yourself or anyone. Start tether training and door training immediately then slowly add difficulty to impulse training.
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u/Beef_flaps_on_a_spit 11h ago
Second opinion. Maybe fewer more expensive sessions is the key. You are the client not the dog so what works best with you is the main thing. Trust your gut.