I am afraid my pup will fail school of obedience so i'll not send him to obedience school. right decision?

Question

my 9 week old pup has very poor response and he does not understand anything. He tries to hide from everyone and is terrified of strangers. I am 100% sure it will be very scary for him to go into obedience school and he will feel very uneasy interacting with strangers.

So because I don't want to make my pup feel bad and fear that he will fail school of obedience, i decided not to send him. Is this good decision?

Answer 1

no it is not because you don't know how they work in that school he might pass but do it anyway

Answer 2

Take that pup out with you to the store, and events and hand her around to every person you can! This will help your pup get used to people and not be so scared. Just don't let anyone steal your cutie!

Answer 3

Taking him to obedience school will help with the timidness. He is young though, so give him a chance as he will learn things in a controlled environment. Just make sure you inform your trainer about the timidness in your dog. So, its a bad decision to not send him.

I would let him try, dogs don't really understand failure, if you have to take the class more than once to have him get it right, its worth it. You will hopefully end up with a more self assured dog.

Good luck,

Answer 4

Well, 9 week old puppies rarely understand much. At this age, they shouldn't go to actual obedience classes, but puppy classes. Puppy classes are low demand classes that focus mainly on socialization and education of new puppy owners, and less on training, although the puppy will learn some of the basics.

Since your puppy is terrified of strangers you need to socialize him intensively and not shelter him from the world. The main socialization period for dogs is 8-12 weeks. The POSITIVE new experiences a puppy can get during this time will act as a reference for the dog in adult life. A good puppy class trainer can help you by showing you how to introduce your puppy to new situations while supporting him mentally at the same time and not push him too much. Talk to the vet about when and how it is safe to socialize your puppy.

Answer 5

no, that is no a good decision. It would be better for the dog to get socialized and good for you to learn how to train her. Dogs are only as good and their trainer.  

Answer 6

he is a pup now, and he is scared of everything.  He is cute and defenseless and I understand that you do not want to send him to be trained.  However, when he is a fully grown dog (you didn't list the breed) he may or maynot (depending on his size) be a threat to the public due to a lack of socialization.  Training would be the best thing you could do for him.

Answer 7

Hey don't worry about it right now.  Your puppy is to young anyway.  All obedience classes require that the puppy has had all their vaccines, incuding Rabies.  Rabies is done a 16 weeks at the earliest.  Now is the time for the puppy to bond with you and learn some basic manners, like how to be gentle, and come to their name.  

Answer 8

He is very young - it won't hurt to wait a while for obedience school. But i wouldn't keep him cooped up in the house. Take him out to explore, encourage him to walk around out side. After he's had his shots of course.

Once he's had his shots then i would bring him in - everything is going to be scary for a little pup, but the only way to help them get over it is to sort of help them along by bringing them places and introducing them to new people. Most obedience schools take the dog's temperament into consideration throughout the course, so they won't push you if your dog is terrified to do something.

If you keep him in the house or you don't bring him places, he'll never get over his fear. You don't want that for him, right?

Answer 9

No that is not a good decision ,  but wait until the pup is 12 weeks old.

I know you care about your pup.

If your child was afraid of school would you let him stay home?

The teacher at the dog school will be kind and help your pup to be less afraid.

He will still get a certificate for trying.

Please go and learn more about your pup.

Answer 10

I think it's fine that you don't take him to school but if you don't start getting him to socialize now he'll be scared all his life. Just try taking him to a park (once he's a bit bigger)  and ease him into a routine of meeting people and other dogs. It will be hard for him at first but he should get used to it.

       As to getting him to be more obedient if you don't take him to school you'll have to do it yourself otherwise he'll grow up to be a mess. By a book and start training him before it gets too late.

Answer 11

9 weeks is very young to  consider anything more than puppy kindergarten once it has had its vaccinations. This will help with socialization skills. Consider starting basic obedience classes around 6-9 months. You can start with basic commands at home right now though.

Answer 12

Well, that's kind of the point of a Puppy Kindergarten-type obedience class -- to get puppies used to dealing with strangers and other dogs. Really, I value the socialization aspect of a Puppy K class over any commands they might learn while they're involved.

If you take him to a decent class, taught by someone who knows what they're doing (i.e. not a box store obedience class), they can also help you address his poor response/not understanding anything issues.

I'm guessing you just haven't learned how to communicate with him, yet. He is just a baby, after all. :)

At 9 weeks, he is perfectly ready for Puppy K.

Answer 13

would you do this to your children too? hold them back and not trust them? sure he's a pup, but he has to learn somewhere. the other pups will mess up too, that's what they are all there for. don't be so afraid to do something that you hold someone (or something) back from being successful. maybe this is just what the pup needs to be a good dog and to lead a happy, obedient, healthy life.

Answer 14

If he is only nine weeks old, he is too young. You need to wait two or three  more months to put him in obedience class. Right now, he is so young he is just being a puppy, and doing what puppies do. At his age, he is just not ready yet. Let him grow and mature a bit more, then put him in obedience class

Answer 15

I don't think this is a good decision at all. By not introducing things to your puppy, you're reinforcing this behaviour, when dogs are scared it can turn into aggression and this is the very last thing you want.  The socialisation is great and you learn lots of useful things.

My puppy was exactly the same as yours and now at his 3rd week at the class, he is the top of the class and a lot more out-going.