[Fasave]

I have a great relationship with a small local chain of pet stores in the Boston area. I'm also part of Greyhound Adventures walking club and when I hear chatter on our walks about obedience training, I've approached this pet store chain about doing an all greyhound class and they've been great about accommodating us. I think obedience training is great. I don't do it to get my dog to sit and shake hands but I do think it's important that they know basic commands like "wait" and "come" for their safety. I also think it helps to build the bond by spending good quality time together. In fact, I am in an all grey class right now with my newbie. The class is limited to six greys and they all have different challenges from shyness to jumping on people to socialization issues with non-greys. There was such a demand for this class they had to set up a second class now starting in March. The instructor also talked about being willing to do an all grey CGC training class and only needed three participants to sign up.

You might want to ask your adoption group if this is something they have done in the past. We have a lot of greyhounds in the Boston market so it might not be as easy where you are located but it's definitely worth a shot. It's been a few years since I took my first greyhound and it's been a great refresher class for me. It's also been a ton of fun for both me and my pup.

[rschultz]

Hi,
I see you are in Ohio. I could reccomend several good trainers but ehy are about an hour from u. Maybe one of them would know someone closer to you. PM if u want. I also am not in favor of the "petsmart" places for greys. They need a teacher or trainer who has experience with greys. We waited about 3 monhts before we started with classes so she could get use to our environment but she was extremely shy. I think it depends on how fast your grey adapts to your environment. GL

[Chiieddy]

Fasave, on 08 February 2010 - 06:00 PM, said:

I have a great relationship with a small local chain of pet stores in the Boston area. I'm also part of Greyhound Adventures walking club and when I hear chatter on our walks about obedience training, I've approached this pet store chain about doing an all greyhound class and they've been great about accommodating us. I think obedience training is great. I don't do it to get my dog to sit and shake hands but I do think it's important that they know basic commands like "wait" and "come" for their safety. I also think it helps to build the bond by spending good quality time together. In fact, I am in an all grey class right now with my newbie. The class is limited to six greys and they all have different challenges from shyness to jumping on people to socialization issues with non-greys. There was such a demand for this class they had to set up a second class now starting in March. The instructor also talked about being willing to do an all grey CGC training class and only needed three participants to sign up.

You might want to ask your adoption group if this is something they have done in the past. We have a lot of greyhounds in the Boston market so it might not be as easy where you are located but it's definitely worth a shot. It's been a few years since I took my first greyhound and it's been a great refresher class for me. It's also been a ton of fun for both me and my pup.

Fasave - Could you post or pm me the information on the all greyhound obedience classes? We're adopting from G.A.S. on Saturday and would like to discuss class options when our dog is ready for that step.

Thanks,
Elana

[spider9174]

greynewb, on 05 February 2010 - 09:41 PM, said:

I just wanted to get other peoples take on group obedience classes like the ones at Petsmart. If or when I get my grey I was thinking of taking him or her to these classes and just wanted someone elses opinions and experiences.

Not worth your time. Find a good trainer that does obedience judging and showing and one that has experience in greyhounds. The better trainers will modify their training methods to your dog, not vice versa. I've taken a few different classes and the best were ones who were aware of greyhound limitations (attention span, sitting, standing waits, come/recall, etc).

[Sighthounds4me]

Oh, and one thing I want to mention about training classes...

Our trainer tells us flat-out that classes are far too long for the dogs. Training sessions should be 5-10 minutes, tops (unless you have a more advanced dog), so a class that is 30 minutes (or longer) is too long for a beginner's dog. The longer class is really so the human can get more info. Therefore, she encourages us to sit out and observe, if our dog is acting up, or losing focus. She'd rather we did not leave the building, but stay to observe - you can still learn something!

This post has been edited by Sighthounds4me: 09 February 2010 - 06:27 PM

[GreyFan09]

Greyt_dog_lover, on 05 February 2010 - 04:23 PM, said:

Personally I would not take my hound to a "petsmart" type of training class. Mainly because the greyhound breed has such a unique background that most trainers are not familiar with the specific challenges that a greyhound faces as they are used to training dogs that have been raised in "human" environments, whereas a greyhound has been raised as a pack animal not in a "human" environment. I would ask the group that you adopt from if they recommend an obedience class. I know that here in Chicago, our group has its own trainer that does basic/advanced obedience as well as other classes. Just my opinion, not to bash any trainer at all, its just that greyhounds are not like any other "dog" people come into contact with.

Chad

Hi Chad, I was wondering if you can give me some information on the trainer your group uses. We took our Comet to a local training class and it wasn't the greatest for him. The instructor had no knowledge of Greyhounds and didn't understand why he wouldn't sit like other dogs. Tried explaining it and he looked at us like we were crazy. Comet did very well with "stay", "come" and "leave it", but haven't figured out how to get him to laydown and sit (if possible). We went and checked out one school in Chicago but they used prong collars and very aggresive teaching methods which arn't for us. Would like something more Greyhound specific. Thanks!

[Greyt_dog_lover]

Here is a clip from the email that is sent out to Greyhound Only people:


Windy City K-9 is right off 90/94 and is located at the corner of Elston and North Avenues. There is ample parking.

Please contact Karen Banks directly to register for this class at 773-736-5172 or via email at fdmaster "at" comcast "dot" net.

If you have already taken the beginning obedience class and are interested in an advanced class, cross-training (flyball and agility) are also available. If you are interested in those classes, contact Karen Banks.

If you are new to greyhound ownership and are curious about these training opportunities, feel free to visit a class and see how much fun it is for the dogs and their owners. Training classes are a great bonding experience for both you and your dog!

[GreyFan09]

Greyt_dog_lover, on 09 February 2010 - 06:08 PM, said:

Here is a clip from the email that is sent out to Greyhound Only people:


Windy City K-9 is right off 90/94 and is located at the corner of Elston and North Avenues. There is ample parking.

Please contact Karen Banks directly to register for this class at 773-736-5172 or via email at fdmaster "at" comcast "dot" net.

If you have already taken the beginning obedience class and are interested in an advanced class, cross-training (flyball and agility) are also available. If you are interested in those classes, contact Karen Banks.

If you are new to greyhound ownership and are curious about these training opportunities, feel free to visit a class and see how much fun it is for the dogs and their owners. Training classes are a great bonding experience for both you and your dog!

Thanks for the information!

[dancewkathylee]

greynewb, on 05 February 2010 - 04:41 PM, said:

I just wanted to get other peoples take on group obedience classes like the ones at Petsmart. If or when I get my grey I was thinking of taking him or her to these classes and just wanted someone elses opinions and experiences.

I tried a class at a Petsmart and didn't care for it. Actually, we did a few private lessons there. The trainer seemed to know enough but seemed bored with the idea. The classes were all full of young hyper pups and my grey was 4. Neither of us cared for the group thing. He's pretty well behaved anyway. The only major thing I'd like to improve is getting him to come consistently when called when we are outside.