# Help.. I can't get her attention at obedience class :(



## Lucy222 (Aug 15, 2016)

So yesterday, I took Lucy to our much anticipated first obedience class. Lucy is 6 months old now and has been doing great learning her basic commands at home, but I wanted to get her in a group class to practice with distractions and get some more instruction as I'd really like to try some competitive obedience and rally with her at some point!
The only problem is, she payed no attention to me during the whole class. Zero. I was waving her favourite treats (sliced up rollover sausage) in front of her nose and she would not take anything, the whole hour, she didn't take a single treat! It was like I was invisible and her nose had shut down.  
A little background: Lucy normally LOVES food! She is also used to going many different places. She comes to work with me every day downtown so she has been socialized to a lot of things, she comes to the barn with me multiple times a week to ride my horse, has gone to puppy socialization classes and took treats just fine there. The only other time she is like this is when we go to the off leash park. Just too much excitement I guess. 
I just don't know how we're ever going to get any training done if she won't pay any attention to me in these types of situations. She wouldn't even sit when I asked, which she knows very well! 
Any tips on how to work on this? Thanks everyone!


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Is the training location and/or trainer new? What about the other dogs in the class? Sounds like the environment was just too distracting. One thing you could try is getting to class early and doing a walk about in the training space so Lucy can acclimate or even just sitting quietly and doing some focus exercises before and during any lulls in class.


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## Dee's Gidget (Aug 14, 2016)

Agree 100% with the Z's suggestions. Might also try taking her hungry. I also always arrived early and briskly walked or lightly jogged before class. I had to have my 6-8 month old almost a bit tired or she'd be overwhelmed by the overload of stimuli. I think it took 4 classes or so before she wasn't nose to butt with all the other dogs. Also, try changing the environment in which you practice. (On your street, front yard, back yard, neighbor's yard...) 

Remember that the classes are for you to learn so that you can teach. For her it will be learning to focus on you despite the distractions.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

Looks like you may have tried to make the leap from 'kindergarten' to 'college' for your pup. Make it easy for her to succeed and reward her for it! She is doing well at home, try adding distractions there to start with, an empty food bowl on the floor, a food bowl with something in it on the floor, a toy not far away, someone in the room, someone walking by, perhaps playing with a toy, talking are all distractions that you can use to help her learn to focus on you despite what else is going on. Then take the sessions outside, in the yard on a quiet street, practice there, when she is doing well there, move to a new or slightly busier location, perhaps a playground, or outside a store, build her attention/focus there. 
We lay the foundation at home, with no/low distractions, we build on that foundation slowly, out in the real world, as they are able to learn, and succeed.


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## Lucy222 (Aug 15, 2016)

Thanks for the great advice everyone. I do think arriving early would help.. We only arrived about 5 minutes before class yesterday so the room was already full of new dogs. It is also a new location and trainer. They also run a doggie daycare during the day so I'm sure it was FULL of interesting smells.. I do like the trainer and everything that was said yesterday - I think we can learn a lot about obedience from her if we can get past this road block. I'll start working on her commands in different environments that have distractions but maybe not quite so overwhelming as a new room full of new dogs!

I also like the idea of bringing her there hungry. Now that I think of it, I did feed her dinner right before we left yesterday so maybe next week she'll have to wait until after class for dinner! 

The good news though is that she was not crazy like I thought she might be, just wanting to explore in her own world, where I apparently didn't exist. LOL


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## TheZ's (Jun 13, 2011)

Don't be discouraged. What you've experienced is very common, maybe more common than not.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

Try some very high-value treats. My pup was a bit distracted at first, but a bag full of cheese did the trick. He would sell his grandmother for a piece of cheese. He only gets it in class (to maintain its value).

It might also be a good idea to (temporarily) stop going to the off-leash dog park until he's got things together in training. 

Good luck - they do settle down, but it can be discouraging at first!


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

Piper totally ignored me when we first started puppy class. And then did the same thing when we started obedience classes at a different place. It was just the new location with new smells and sights and people and dogs. 

String cheese is my secret weapon though. She will almost always eventually get her attention back to me if I get some string cheese in front of her. I don't feed her on the days we go to training, so she's good and hungry (its just a morning meal she's missing). We also go for a long walk beforehand, so she's a little tired (not exhausted, but just not super hyper), and that helps a lot too. Otherwise she gets zoomie and wants to greet everyone.


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## Lucy222 (Aug 15, 2016)

Thanks for all the reassurance. After reading these tips, I definitely have some things that I can work on and try out for next week.
I was just feeling a little discouraged after being so excited for our first class but I guess it makes sense since it was so many new things all at once for Lucy.
I'll keep everyone posted on how it goes next week!


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## Dee's Gidget (Aug 14, 2016)

It's all about the journey! That's where the bond and lifetime memories are created.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Denise Fenzi has several books with ideas that really help  Also her online classroom has a few classes starting up that may be helpful to you( Relationship building through play, Focus Games) 

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=denise+fenzi
Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - Schedule

The classes are $65 USD to audit


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## Lucy222 (Aug 15, 2016)

Sunrise said:


> Denise Fenzi has several books with ideas that really help  Also her online classroom has a few classes starting up that may be helpful to you( Relationship building through play, Focus Games)
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=aps&field-keywords=denise+fenzi
> Fenzi Dog Sports Academy - Schedule
> ...


Wow!! These look fantastic! I had no idea there were online courses like this - there are quite a few that look like they would be both interesting and helpful. Thank you so much for this!


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## Pilgrim123 (Jul 26, 2014)

Pilgrim was the same at training classes. Even the trainer couldn't get him to cooperate. It took a long time for me to realize he got dreadfully nauseous in the car and was still sick an hour later. We ended up just training him at home, and dosing him up with pills if he had to be in the car for more than five minutes.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Your dog is young. You need to do attention work. Also, your dog may just be too much of a puppy at this point. Don't give up.


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## B and G Mom (Oct 29, 2014)

Gunner was the same way.... I had to go REALLY high value treats and make sure he was hungry. He loves Zukes, goes nuts for them at home, ignored them and me in class, next week I tried cheese - NOTHING!

I ended up buying roast beef ends at the supermarket and that worked... cut them into little pieces and freeze them. Take a bag out before class and by the time we get to school they are defrosted enough but they're not gross to handle. 

It took maybe 4 or class sessions for him to get used to the environment as well, so many new dogs, so many new smells, so many new sounds.


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## danoon58 (Jul 1, 2015)

When Seamus was in his puppy class we had brought what WE thought were high value treats -- kibble and liver treats. However, Seamus was more interested in the string cheese that the trainer had. I asked her about it and she said that she's never seen a dog refuse it! She was giving them pieces about 1/16th of an inch x 1/16th of an inch.


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## Lucy222 (Aug 15, 2016)

Thanks everyone for the tips and positive thoughts!
Big news - yesterday we had our third obedience class and Lucy finally took some treats!!  Liver treats did the trick! I may try some cheese string as well next week.
This made for a MUCH better experience for the first 45 minutes of class.. She then proceeded to have a complete melt down in the last 15 minutes, jumping and growling and biting at the leash and my hands. But in her defense, an hour of training is A LOT for a puppy, especially when I know all she really wanted to do was play with the other dogs. The trainer said not to worry and that she had just had enough for today. We finished off with some simple "come" commands on leash and a little party to get her happy again.
But I am very excited that we seem to have had a break through!


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## B and G Mom (Oct 29, 2014)

Yay!!!!! Great news!!!! 

We had school last night and the beginners class is before ours, there are two Golden pups in that class - one had a total meltdown at the end. The trainer always talks as the dog and she was going "Dad I just can't anymore, my brain has sunk"... everyone laughed and then she went over to help him get the pups attention back (go back to basics she tells them)... Golden puppies are just golden puppies! Sometimes their brains sink... Gunner has definitely gotten better... last session I would lose him a little at the end of class as well. An hour is a long time for a pup to focus!


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## Kaja (Oct 1, 2016)

Just wondering if this an only-puppies class?
If so that could be an issue. I think that puppies learn the most from adult dogs and therefore it should be a mixed class.

Training is, at least in my mind a serious thing. A class of just little cuteness wouldn't cut it for me.


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## glenhaven504 (Sep 4, 2007)

I think that we have all been there. You might need a higher valued treat. If the treat is good enough they will pay attention. Also keep practicing Watch Me. I recently had the same experience. The second class was much better. They need to get used to their surroundings also.


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