Will not pay attention! I was so embarrassed!

[Vicky & Pebbles 59]

My dear Pebbles is being very hard headed lately.

I went to puppy kinder on Saturday and all the other doggies were there sitting calmly by their owners feet making eye contact and what was mine doing? She was pulling on her leash trying to get away and to play with the other dogs. She follow the commands she felt like doing and the rest of the time she was just trying to get attention from other dogs.

I was so embarrassed!!! I'm doing exactly what the trainer tells me at home and Pebbles will be a perfect student when the trainer works with her and a little devil with me.

She does follow commands sometimes but only when she wants to and doesn't really seem to care if I stop training and take away the treats.

It's also very frustrating that there were a pair of very young kids in class this Saturday and they kept wanting to play with my dog. I know my dog is cute but we a trying to train!

Will she ever get it? A coworker told me today "I thought Shih Tzu dogs were not trainable" which got me sooo anxious!

Pebbles is 12 weeks and sits for everything but goes "down" when she wants to. She also Goes from down back to sit after telling her 5 times. She's perfectly litter trained now, waits for the "ok" to eat and follows the "leave it" and "go get it" command during training... Most of the time anyway!

It's the whole lack of attention that's really worrying me because she ignores me when there's anything else around she can distract herself with.

I don't know what to do!!!

Sorry about the rant!

[Sunlite 9,106]

2 quotes from your post that stick out....

" which got me sooo anxious!

The more anxious you get, the more it reflects and the harder it will be on you both,

also

and "Pebbles is 12 weeks old"

She's a baby, she is very young. When you start to get anxious, remind yourself of that and just start again. She'll get it but it takes time. You'll both be fine!

[Scout's Mom 730]

I agree with Sunlite, Pebbles will be fine. I am also in puppy training with Scout. There have been a few things that were easier to teach Scout than others but she is making progress and it sounds like Pebbles is making progress too. Also, Scout is the only puppy in the class that barks the entire time unless the teacher is giving her direct attention, so I completely understand how things can be embarrassing...but they are just babies! Just remember to breathe and keep working with her, it will be just fine!

[Vicky & Pebbles 59]

Thanks!

I do have to remind myself that she's just a baby. I'm very patient and calm around her but I get frustrated at myself because I don't want to mess up her training.

I've been wondering if I should've waited a little longer for such an organized training class. When I signed up I didn't want to do the wrong thing by waiting too long... Such decisions are never easy, I guess.

This Saturday is our last class and I won't sign her up for a repeat because we are going on vacation and it will probably make us miss a couple of sessions. I have a trainer friend who does puppy socialization groups on Saturdays so ill probably take her to those until another obedience class cycle starts. The puppy socialization is 40 miles away but it's worth it cause its free and I get to have lunch with a friend :)

[ShihTzusAreCute 3,662]

I also have three things to say:

1."I thought Shih Tzu dogs were not trainable" is absolutely NOT true

2. "I've been wondering if I should've waited a little longer for such an organized training class." As far as I know, the sooner the better. It is much easier to just teach them the right stuff rather than having to unteach them the wrong stuff they've learned.

3. I think the puppy socialization is an awesome idea, maybe you could use that to start to teach her to only go to another dog when you say she's allowed.I say start to because I suspect it will take a while. Lexie loves kids and it took me so long to teach her to only go towards them(and lick them of course lol) when I say it's okay.If I say "you're not allowed" she gets it. but it was HARD WORK and it took TIME.

Hang in there

[Marlen 5,860]

First of all, never be embarrassed for your dog's behavior unless she's aggressive which I highly doubt. She's also extremely young, a puppy. At 3 months, nobody can expect from her to behave like a "grown up" or like a dog that has been trained for years, because let's face it, a dog's training lasts as long as his/her lifetime. If you don't let her go play with the rest of them, you'll have far more serious problems later, trust me. My advice, find a puppy class, not just a group training class. They usually offer those for free (that's what happens where I live) and it's basically a puppy "meeting" and the main purpose is socialization. I don't care if my dog can't do a fancy trick as long as he's well behaved in general. All in all, you started well, taking her to a class, however, I would recommend going to another one once she's close to 6-7 months old. The puppyhood and the "adolescence" are the two most important periods. All dogs are "trainable", that's for sure!