Anyone ever heard of this?

[elegy]

i'm not a kid person AT ALL (i think i'm allergic, actually) but i'm totally in favor of kids in dog classes (and sports) provided that the dog is controlled and the kid remains on task and doesn't disrupt the class. sometimes kids can far outshine adults in training because they are often more creative, have fewer inhibitions about "looking stupid", and because they listen to what they're being told to do.

like danefied mentioned, this isn't going to work in a leash-jerking alpha-rolling environment, but in a reward-based training program? absolutely.

not to mention, the more kids are taught to interact safely and respectfully with dogs, the more kids learn to understand how dogs function and to read their responses to things, the more safe kids we have.

i've seen under-12-ers rocking it out in the rally ring with dogs they've trained themselves, and there are several kids running high-drive dogs in flyball tournaments in my area. with parental supervision, but doing a great job. kudos to them and to their parents, i say.

 

[Laurelin]

Wow, I have to say I love the perseverance of this one lol. How many screen names is that now?

 

[Dekka]

but most importantly, when training a dog new behaviors it is better to have one person teach those behaviors till they become "trained" then pass them off to others. Sure you can do it with multiple people, it just causes some confusion and usually it takes longer. I think everyone could agree on that.

I agree. This is why Darien is the only one who has taken classes with Sport. The kids I taught in agility were the only ones taking the classes.

There is an awesome young man who runs in regionals with his golden, starting when he was 11. He totally trained the dog, and they are awesome. He is a fantastic trainer.

This is why I personally am picking on this. If these people think their system is such hot stuff and works sooooo much better than other methods why can't a 9 year old do it? And if they can't how can they call other methods that allow a young child to successfully train and work with a dog less effective than their own?

 

[release the hounds]

i'm not saying kids can't do it at all. I encourage them, neighbor kids are over all the time, and gasp, my dogs do bitework regularly. We have kids of all ages at our club, some handle dogs, some just play on the sidelines.

But I can certainly see why someone might not allow young kids in a training group. There have been some kids that love training a dog, start to finish. Most lost interest the first time something doesn't "work" or soon thereafter leaving the training to someone else. Short attention spans on kids aren't exactly uncommon.

eta, i should say, "had kids" of all ages. Now most of them have grown up a bit and are now teenagers and a few with the younger ones have lost interest with 4 kids under age 7 other things are higher on their priority list now.

 

[Sit Stay]

Loving the pictures of the dogs & their kids! I wish I could post pictures of Quinn and her old kids (breeder's children), but I definitely don't feel comfortable posting the pictures without permission. Quinn is an absolute freak for kids - not only did her breeder have her own kids (not super young but still in elementary school) but did a ton of trips to schools and soccer games with the puppies. Kids are by far her favorite 'kind' of people, lol.

 

[Dekka]

But I can certainly see why someone might not allow young kids in a training group. There have been some kids that love training a dog, start to finish. Most lost interest the first time something doesn't "work" or soon thereafter leaving the training to someone else. Short attention spans on kids aren't exactly uncommon.

A lot of adults loose interest too. Doesn't mean we have to lock them in their cars.

Heck even in classes where kids didn't handle the dogs they weren't made to stay in cars. Distractions can be great for training we used to borrow the kids from time to time and incorporated them into lessons.

 

[release the hounds]

Really?

 

[Dekka]

Really to which? I know when I was taking classes they were always much smaller by the end. Or was it really to using children in the classes as pylons in family dog classes or for proofing stays in the open classes?

 

[Whisper]

I love those pictures.

I wish I had pictures of Harley and me. He was a Rottweiler bought when I was in first grade *gasp* that of course was mainly taken care of my my mom, but I trained him tricks *gasp* and took over his training as we got older together, much of which was while I was under 12. *gasp*

 

[release the hounds]

Really to which? I know when I was taking classes they were always much smaller by the end. Or was it really to using children in the classes as pylons in family dog classes or for proofing stays in the open classes?

both, and i wasn't really serious, it was more of a thanks for stating the obvious.

 

[ihartgonzo]

both, and i wasn't really serious, it was more of a thanks for stating the obvious.

Sassy!

I "trained" my BC/Aussie to do agility as a 6 year-old... in my backyard! I made my Mom get a teeter, I had a table, made jumps, and taught him to climb the ladder and go down the slide on our playground. Using cheese, luring and praise. Such an awesome dog. I also taught him to heel and recall perfectly off leash, at that age. I begged my Mom to get me into lessons, but no one would allow me, and my parents had no interest in going to classes. I finally got to take classes when I was 13. But, I definitely think I would've done better and been more committed at 6 than most adults. It definitely should be a case by case basis, and the kids should be given a chance. I was beating my trainers and their dogs in rallyo at 14.

 

[Dekka]

both, and i wasn't really serious, it was more of a thanks for stating the obvious.

:rofl1::rofl1: carry on then

 

[Annalisa]

I took my Doberman, Moxie, to dog training recently. I am all for kids learning how to handle dogs. Especially from a young age. What I didn't like about the class I attended was that there were several single parents there with dogs. The kids were disruptive. The parents didn't seem to be able to control their dogs and kids at the same time. One little boy ran past a dog and got snapped at. Then this little girl, about 6 years old, who was sitting behind the dogs began tossing rocks at the dogs while the teacher was trying to instruct. More than once the teacher had to stop teaching and ask the children to settle. I paid for dog training, not unsupervised child daycare with a few dogs peppered in the mix. I personally would prefer a more adult based program. I would also like to make a comment about only one person in the family training the dog. My dog is a family dog. I want my 15 year old daughter and my husband to be able to handle the dog equally.

 

[MyHorseMyRules]

Children and dogs can get along? :yikes: Raja hates children. She thinks they're evil.

OH NOEZ! Tempie's ripping her face off!!!

Jeeze, what torture... Making those poor dogs be around children like that...

 

[Dekka]

I took my Doberman, Moxie, to dog training recently. I am all for kids learning how to handle dogs. Especially from a young age. What I didn't like about the class I attended was that there were several single parents there with dogs. The kids were disruptive. The parents didn't seem to be able to control their dogs and kids at the same time. One little boy ran past a dog and got snapped at. Then this little girl, about 6 years old, who was sitting behind the dogs began tossing rocks at the dogs while the teacher was trying to instruct. More than once the teacher had to stop teaching and ask the children to settle. I paid for dog training, not unsupervised child daycare with a few dogs peppered in the mix. I personally would prefer a more adult based program. I would also like to make a comment about only one person in the family training the dog. My dog is a family dog. I want my 15 year old daughter and my husband to be able to handle the dog equally.

The parents of ill behaved children should be told not to come back with them. (same as adults who are ill behaved.. it happens)

But to the bolded part..
In the INITIAL training stages it is so much easier on the dog if one person does the classes. Yes of course everyone can handle the dog. But people aren't terribly consistent person to person when training. Once the dog understands 'sit' 'off' 'come' etc the cues are easily transferable to others.

 

[Danefied]

LOL, just perused more of the JCM website, its really entertaining! Has anyone read the reasoning for not training with treats?

 

[Annalisa]

...just perused more of the JCM website, its really entertaining!

I guess if everyone thought the same, and felt the same it would be a pretty boring world. LOL.

 

[Danefied]

...just perused more of the JCM website, its really entertaining!

I guess if everyone thought the same, and felt the same it would be a pretty boring world. LOL.

Some things are universal. I don't find it boring that most people accept that the earth is round... Or that hypothesizing about dog behavior based on observations of captive wolves makes about as much sense as hypothesizing about human behavior based on observing how serial killers behave in maximum security prisons.

 

[Zoom]

^^Like!

 

[Annalisa]

Like, whatever.