Puppy classes for Sophie

There is only one person in our area who offers puppy classes, so I called her and she said I should wait until after she's had her 2nd set of vaccinations. That will be in April, so she set us up for a class starting the 1st week in May. I told my sister since she just got a puppy too and told her what puppy classes are all about and she said that it seems like too much work. That's what I was afraid of. I hope Tootsie does get the proper training :(

If Tootsie doesn't get proper training, I would certainly not let my little Beagle play with her... I'm so glad you are getting the training though. It is easier and more fun when a dog is properly trained. http://pages.prodigy.net/indianahawkeye/newpage28/20.gif

You could take your pup to puppy class, and then under the pretense of 'socializing' your puppy with your sisters pup, you could do some of the same things your teacher shows you with Tootsie :D
It will give you some extra practice on the exercises, and Tootsie will get some training at the same time, and while your doing that, your puppy can learn patience! LOL win win all around :D

wjranch, I was thinking the same thing. If my sister sees me doing the things with Sophie and especially Tootsie she will probably want to do them too to keep up.

I highly recommend puppy school! I think it does wonders for them and us as well. Because I mean come on they are training us not the other way around and we all know that. LOL :D

Maybe you could pass it off as something fun to do together with your sister? You know... "we don't spend enough time together... we'd have fun doing this... " That kind of stuff.

Lyne

Tried that, mesaana, that's when she said it sounded like too much work.

Tootsie is a PB, right? Maybe remind her that a properly trained PB is an example to society, and by training her dog in the correct manner, from puppyhood. Appeal to her "ego", for lack of a better word, and try fluffing things up by saying she could become like a spokesperson against BSL, or something like that.

It wouldn't seem like so much work if she could show off how well trained her dog is!

Just a thought.

I believe you said that Tootsie is "shy"? No pit bull puppy who was properly socialized and has correct temperament should be shy. This is a serious fault, and I highly suggest your sister work to overcome this.

If she doesnt' want to do anything that sounds like "work" she should not have gotten a puppy, especially a pit bull.

Lucky Rescue, that's what I was worried about from the start, when she said they were getting a pit bull. I knew that neither her nor her boyfriend, who pretends to know everything about dogs but has never had one, would want to make the effort to train her properly. I think I will go shopping for a book or two on pit bulls that tells how important it is to train them. I just hope reading it isn't too much work for them. ;) I hope I can at least get her to do the training techniques I learn at puppy school, and I will keep trying to convince her to take Tootsie. It's not expensive at all, so that shouldn't be an excuse. It's only $80 for 8 sessions.

As for Tootsie being shy, they'd only had her for a couple of days when they brought her here. I don't think she's so shy anymore, besides she had worms and that's been taken care of so she seems a lot spunkier.

Dahlia, here are two sites with fantastic info, from very knowledgeable and experienced people. I hope it's not too much work for your sister to read it.;)

The Working Pit bull (http://www.workingpitbull.com/)

The Real Pit Bull (http://www.realpitbull.com/)

This really is not a breed for clueless people who don't want to do their homework, bother with training or socializing or take precautions.

Thank you, LR! There is some really interesting stuff on those sites.