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A. Our classes are open to any type of dog over four months old (for
puppies under four months please see 'Puppy Classes'). Dogs attending classes need to be reasonably friendly towards people
and other dogs. For dogs that have behavioural problems such as aggression or excessive barking, please see the page on 'Behaviour
Problems'. No dog is too old to start training, although the younger the dog is the better.
A. All of our classes are designed to produce well-behaved family
pets. We do not worry about precision heelwork or perfectly straight sits as some other classes geared towards competitive
obedience do.
Our Beginner classes cover basic training such as walking on a loose lead, coming to call, sit and down stays,
standing still for grooming and handling, not jumping-up at people, not snatching or stealing food and going into a down at
a distance.
Our Intermediate classes continue to improve on these basics whilst building-up the dog's ability to cope with
distractions. We also include a few tricks such as 'playing dead' and 'waving'. In our Advanced classes we also teach exercises
such as retrieve, sending the dog away to an object and scent work, however these are taught in a relaxed and fun way.
Progress
tests are run every couple of months to decide which dogs can move into the Advanced classes. These are lighthearted tests
with every dog receiving a rosette, though no customer is ever forced to take the test if they prefer not to.
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A. All of our training methods are reward based. The only punishment that is ever
used is withholding of a food reward. Dogs learn to respond to their handlers in order to receive praise and rewards - not
due to any fear of verbal or physical punishment. We do not allow the use of choke chains as they work by causing pain, and
it is possible to cause considerable physical and psychological damage to the dog using one. Generally small food treats are
used as reinforcement for the right behaviours; toys can be used as rewards if the handler prefers, although to do this does
require good timing skills. |
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A. All of our customers are encouraged to try clicker training (but it is not insisted
upon). Clicker training enables handlers to have far more precision in the timing of their reinforcements than praise and
food alone can offer. Using clicker training can greatly speed the learning process for the dog. | For
example, when first teaching a dog to walk on lead, the dog is only by your side on a loose lead for very short periods of
time. Very often, by the time you have said "good dog", or tried to give them a piece of food, the dog is back pulling on
the end of the lead. Therefore you have lost your chance to reward the right moment, i.e. the dog walking by your side. Using
a clicker you have the ability to let the dog know exactly what you want; i.e. you click when the lead is loose.
To get
an idea of how clicker training works, try a small experiment without your dog. Try throwing a ball into the air, and saying
"good ball" at the exact moment the ball is at its highest point. You probably found that your "good ball" covered the moment
the ball was at the highest point, but by the time you had finished, it was well on the way back down again. Now try throwing
the ball up in the air, and clapping your hands at the highest point. After a few attempts you can probably get the clap fairly
close to the right moment. Now if you assume the ball is a dog, that needs to know that the highest point of the flight is
the behaviour that you want, clapping your hands together would have far more chance of giving that information than saying
the drawn out "good dog". Clapping your hands is not always practical when training a dog, so this is where the clicker comes
in; it's quicker, and a lot more accurate, than verbal praise as a method of providing information to the dog. A more detailed
explanation of clicker training is given during our introductory lessons. |
A. Adult and adolescent dogs new to Armchair Dogs usually attend a
beginner course, the first class of which takes the form of an 'introductory lesson'. The introductory lesson allows us to
get an impression of how the dog will behave in a class environment and discuss basic training methods. Advanced booking by
phone is essential for all courses.
A. For those customers who cannot commit to reasonably frequent attendance
at classes, or those that prefer a one-to-one approach we can arrange sessions at your home or at our outdoor venue. For problems
that would not be dealt with in a normal class or dogs not suitable for classes please see the page on Behaviour.
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