So I have just got home from obedience class with Orion and wow was that an experience! Obedience class is held at our local A&P Show Ground which is just a field essentially and since it is winter here it was pitch black and foggy when we arrived which wasn't a great start. We left the dogs in the car for 10 mins did a quick intro and run down of the class then were told to grab our dogs and lets go. So I went and got Orion, well everyone else's dog toodles out nicely on a leash and Orion... well Orion leaps and lunges and starts wooing for all he's worth, cue everyone staring at me:oops: 

I finally get him settled and we line up - the instructor says now one by one walk your dogs down the line and introduce yourselves and your dogs, of course the first person to go does wonderfully every dog is lovely and polite then there Orion and I at the end and what happens? He tries to eat the damn mini poodle!  

Next was "Loose leash walking" with a sibe? you kidding?!" Everyone just walk around the cones one at a time so we can see how your dogs walk." Now Orion can loose leash walk but he was so hyped at that stage I didn't stand a chance! He trotted nicely up to the first cone looked up at me then dived on the cone snatched it up and proceeded to shake the shit out of it making growly noises (everyone took another step back) I took it away and he dropped to the ground going completely limp and dead weight refusing to move! I had to pick him up and carry him off.

We moved onto commands and once I had his attention he was fine he executed everything flawlessly (one time where his intensity comes in handy!) but that first half hour was awful! The tutor actually had a word to the class about him at the end lol "now I'm sure you've all noticed Olivia's dog's behaviour tonight, Sibes are notoriously vocal and difficult so give her space, also their natural stance is similar to an aggressive stance in other dogs so you would have noticed that your dogs don't seem to like him, thats ok he is a very different dog to anything else here."
Have to admit I'm glad she doesn't just think I'm a terrible person with a brat of a dog but it certainly doesn't look like Orion will get any new friends out of it no one will come near us!

Please someone tell me their dog is just as spastic?!

Haha, wow. The part about the cone literally made me giggle out loud. I can't say that I've had a similar experience, but maybe next class do some good exercise beforehand so he is tired out?

In my class, the "bad" puppies get barriers around them. It is just to calm them down. It is for puppies under 5 months. I thought loki would go crazy but he has been good. The only thing is he has been labeled the rough player during class so his play buddies are the ones beyond the tarps when puppies get free play. Hopefully he stays tarpless. I do not think anyone looks badly at you though. It is training class afterall so you are trying.

Ha! Yesterday was our training class. Normally Dizzy goes to day care on Mondays so he's pretty laid back, but I wasn't able to get him in yesterday and he was 'that' dog last night too... It was annoying, but hard not to laugh at his antics last night. While the instructor was talking, normally he just lays down and scopes out the room, but now he knows that I have treats and when we go there, he does stuff and I give him treats. Well last night, he wanted those treats so badly, he started running through the stuff he's learned while the instructor was talking (did everything in about 15 seconds). When that didn't work, he laid down on the floor and started rolling around and wooing, kicking his feet in the air, a little puppy temper tantrum. He's never done that one before and it was embarrassing, but hilarious at the same time! Needless to say I will never miss another Monday daycare.

Every once in a while Loki is "that dog" in class. Normally wooing through the entire class and refusing to get up from a down command. It is great to have understanding trainers.

This so made me laugh. Glad that your trainer was understanding and attempted to inform the other participants so they would be too.

And yes Saphire has been "that" dog more than once. But that is what I love about her. If I wanted an easy dog I would have gotten a lab. Just saying.

Good luck in the future

This made me laugh and think yupp, i know i've been there too!!
Dakota was "that dog" in beginner obedience class, we started her young at around 14 wks, and the trainer was really good about knowing her breed and age that she would have her moments! she would just roll on her back and try to bite the leash and that was her way of saying "ok mom im bored I have had enough lets just play " haha, and that usually happened at the end of the class , she made it through beginner and now on to intermediate and is doing great!! I can even get her in a sit , and walk away without holding her leash and she will stay!!! such a big progress ...only thing I am having issues with is when she does lay down on command all she wants to do is eat the darn grass haha

I think all husky owners can say at one point or another they have had "that dog"!! lol

MGoBlue wrote:

Haha, wow. The part about the cone literally made me giggle out loud.

Same here. I just love how obnoxious young huskies are....lol

I would definitely wear him out before you go next time, as impossible as that may seem.

wpskier222 wrote:

While the instructor was talking, normally he just lays down and scopes out the room, but now he knows that I have treats and when we go there, he does stuff and I give him treats. Well last night, he wanted those treats so badly, he started running through the stuff he's learned while the instructor was talking (did everything in about 15 seconds). When that didn't work, he laid down on the floor and started rolling around and wooing, kicking his feet in the air, a little puppy temper tantrum. He's never done that one before and it was embarrassing, but hilarious at the same time!

Oh goodness, it is so hard not to laugh when they do such cute things like that.... I mean, it is not cute ...but it is. Ha ha. It's just hard to be mad when they get in trouble like that. It really is an art to train a dog that makes you laugh all the time.

CavingSiberian wrote:

Oh goodness, it is so hard not to laugh when they do such cute things like that.... I mean, it is not cute ...but it is. Ha ha. It's just hard to be mad when they get in trouble like that. It really is an art to train a dog that makes you laugh all the time.

Yes. I felt like I should have an appropriately annoyed expression on my face, but I couldn't help it, I cracked a bewildered smile followed by a few giggles. He really was in rare form last night. On the way there, even though he had his seat belt on, somehow, he managed to cram his face under the drivers seat (from the back seat) and got black grease all over his face. On the way home, he unearthed a tp roll my hubby had in there for his allergies and shredded it in the back seat. But, as soon as we got home, he drank some water and put himself straight to bed in his crate... Silly puppy. 

wpskier222 wrote:

Ha! Yesterday was our training class. Normally Dizzy goes to day care on Mondays so he's pretty laid back, but I wasn't able to get him in yesterday and he was 'that' dog last night too... It was annoying, but hard not to laugh at his antics last night. While the instructor was talking, normally he just lays down and scopes out the room, but now he knows that I have treats and when we go there, he does stuff and I give him treats. Well last night, he wanted those treats so badly, he started running through the stuff he's learned while the instructor was talking (did everything in about 15 seconds). When that didn't work, he laid down on the floor and started rolling around and wooing, kicking his feet in the air, a little puppy temper tantrum. He's never done that one before and it was embarrassing, but hilarious at the same time! Needless to say I will never miss another Monday daycare.

Thats hillarious! Nikolai does that too when you have treats, he goes through every trick known to man kind just to see what will get him it! If I was the parent of any other dog in that class I would of been super impressed with your smart puppy!  

Lol, they all looked shocked and a little scared since he was so Jeckyl and Hyde, they've only seen post daycare Dizzy... He also lunged at a couple other dogs in the class because he wanted to play. The other head scratcher was that he kept spooking at someones bag on the side of the room. So I had to leave a little trail of treats leading over to it. I always make him approach and sniff stuff that spooks him, because I don't want him to develop a bad habit. It took at least 5 minutes for him to realize it wasn't going to eat him. I think what happened is a big metal door happened to slam at the instant he looked at that bag the first time, so it was a connection in his mind.

Hahaha I love all these stories! I've definitely had "that" dog in puppy class. Nova is an extreme talker, she has gotten alot better but at her worst if she wanted to meet a dog and couldn't she barked at them, if a person walked by her and didn't stop to pet her and coo at her she would bark at them, pretty much if she ever wanted anything she would bark, it was a constant sound in our lives for alittle while. So in puppy class we would all be sitting in our chairs and everyone else's pup would be laying on the floor being cute and perfect and then there was Nova, she would bark at the other pups and get everyone riled up until i could get her to refocus on me. So she learned that if she barked at the other puppies and then looked at me and sat she would get a treat, after maybe the second class if she got bored because we were sitting and talking she would bark a couple of times, get the other puppies up and barking then instantly sit and look at me like okay look at how nice I'm acting compared to them time for treats!

I love this! Huskies can be so crazy at times. Danzig was actually a good pup in training and the trainer used him in examples. But.... he would not SHUT UP in class. At first people expressed shock, then it was funny and by the end they stopped paying any attention.

Love this thread. I was practically crying at the cone part. So, so funny. At least the trainer was understanding!


And everything you said about Dizzy sounds exactly like Pippa, who is about a year and a half. Hopefully he settles down more than her!

I have these moments with Pippa on an almost daily basis, but I love her

Ditto on crying laughing at the cone part, in the moment not so funny, but from afar or in retrospect...priceless.  Reminds me of the video of the Husky running crazy around the agility course jumping over tunnels and running through the rings.

Link's nickname in puppy class was Too Bad because the trainer would have to pick him up and remove him from playing too hard with the other puppies and she would always say "too bad..." It just stuck.  

He too was a lesson for everyone in dog communication: so you see Link, you all know him as Too Bad, is a typical Husky and they have a very specific play style and attitude and he is not going be accepted well by most dogs, and if you have a shy or timid dog, well, just stay far away from Too Bad.  Huskies are basically always screaming in your face in dog body language and most dogs just get defensive or go away.  This is why Huskies like to play together.  But he sits and goes down so well, like a little robot when you have a treat, see...sit Too Bad!

This was Link's contribution to puppy class.

These stories are awesome! So glad to hear one about Link... He always looks like such and angel.

Dizzy's nick name is 'and then.' He's like that kid that never stops talking and trying to play with the other kids and eventually the other kid snaps and says something mean. You know, like, "today we went to the store and then this guy took the last bag of oreos and then my mom said we would have to get chips ahoy instead but i don't like chips ahoy and my mom said too bad no cookies and then..." you get the idea.

Haha. Yep.

It's like they're always screaming " because I waaannnnnnttttttt tttttttttoooooo!!!!!"

Thank you so much for all the stories! I feel so much better knowing it isn't just me & Orion!
I played with him for a good half an hour in the backyard at home before we went to try get some energy out of him but I have arranged next week to finish work and hour early so I am going to take him to the beach for a good romp round for an hour atleast! The beach is his favourite place in the world and he is always pooped after going

I suppose I should have expected something to happen, but he did so well in puppy obedience that I guess I was hoping he would just continue to do well in the next stage but I suppose he is the youngest there so I'll cut him some slack.

Lol I love Dizzy's trick run through - Orion does exactly the same thing when he wants something it is hilarious he looks like a whack a mole game when he does it - sit, lie down roll over pop up real quick look for treat - rinse and repeat over and over!

There was one lady laughing when Orion stole the cone and I have to admit I had an incredibly hard time trying not to giggle, it was so naughty but he is just such a character. I totally love that about him though he has so much personality I definitely wouldn't trade him for the world!

wow...everything in this thread just about sums up Harry lol.  We havent done puppy classes, but I can only imagine the bewildered looks of the other dog owners when he gets into some of his antics.

The part about the cone was completely hilarious. Granted, it was probably embarrassing at the time. One the upside, at least he's got a personality and is smart enough to get in trouble.

I LOL'd so hard at this post. Caper and I are starting an obedience class next Wednesday and your story was like a play-by-play of what I imagined our first day would be like.  

I brought bella to a class about three months ago figuring I'll bring the one that listens better at home and seems to respond to me better, yeah, no. We were asked to leave not even two minutes in because she spazzed and started barking, yipping, making all sorts of sounds and falling over on the tiled floor. To make it worse I work for the trainer so I never hear the end of it! Our routine was to take the dog out of the room and walk for a bit till they calm then try to rejoin, that first day we walked around the building inside and out for an hour and a half without rejoining bella just wouldnt calm down. She was ok after that some whining and complaining in every class but her focus kinda sucks even with treats in her face. And when the other husky in class jessie saw bella she would just start howling and complaining so the trainer would have to wait a couple minutes for our two too yell at each other every class. I have to say though in my opinion the little dog that was barking and going after every other dog was worse then our to complainers. I'm debating whether or not to bring jasper in september because he's worse then bella in the vocal department if he is left and bella's taken and he doesnt want to listen to me as it is I think i training class may send me into hiding with embarassment from him. I have talked to the boss/trainer and we are thinking of having me bring my sisters pittie instead to try working on her dog aggression, we wanted to do both her and jasper because that she had a familiar dog there that she doesnt have a problem with but it starts right after my sisters due date so thats a no go.

These stories are hilarious!

Mishka was "The Bipolar Puppy" in class. At first he wanted to be mean to everyone then he wanted to be everyone's friend and play. By the end of every class he wanted to be mean to everyone again. I just didn't get it! Lol. By the last two classes he was cool and wanted to play with everyone.

They all thought he was nuts though when we worked on recall. The trainer would hold everyone's dogs and we would have to walk a good 30 feet away, back turned, and call our dogs. As soon as I got 2 feet away from Mishka he would jump and bark and throw a fit! It was so funny. Thankfully the other husky in the class was just the same so everyone just thought both our dogs were nutso. Whatever works. Lol.

simplify wrote:

These stories are hilarious!

Mishka was "The Bipolar Puppy" in class. At first he wanted to be mean to everyone then he wanted to be everyone's friend and play. By the end of every class he wanted to be mean to everyone again. I just didn't get it! Lol. By the last two classes he was cool and wanted to play with everyone.

They all thought he was nuts though when we worked on recall. The trainer would hold everyone's dogs and we would have to walk a good 30 feet away, back turned, and call our dogs. As soon as I got 2 feet away from Mishka he would jump and bark and throw a fit! It was so funny. Thankfully the other husky in the class was just the same so everyone just thought both our dogs were nutso. Whatever works. Lol.

I can totally see Dizzy doing that when the recall class comes. Sometimes when my hubby and I walk him together, my hubby will take the trash over to the building trash cans. I don't let Diz near there and he flips out when Pat walks away. He does the same thing if one of us goes into a store and the other one waits outside with him. That's funny about Mishka and being bipolar. Dizzy has a one track mind when it comes to any other dog... play, play, play, play, play, sniff, play, play...

Well Loki was "that dog".  Just captain asshat tonight.  Didn't want to walk loose leash nicely, tried to go after to a poodle mix and woo-ed through half the class.  When it came to the fly ball demonstration he wouldn't be quiet and the lady giving the demo (not a teacher) asked us to keep him calm. I was like really have you been watching class tonight.  Surprisingly Loki did get the hang of fly ball and calmed down once he was running around the class.  Kevin told me he ran Loki earlier today before I got home from work so not sure why he was being a royal pain. Ah teenage years gotta love them.

GeorginaMay wrote:

So I have just got home from obedience class with Orion and wow was that an experience! Obedience class is held at our local A&P Show Ground which is just a field essentially and since it is winter here it was pitch black and foggy when we arrived which wasn't a great start. We left the dogs in the car for 10 mins did a quick intro and run down of the class then were told to grab our dogs and lets go. So I went and got Orion, well everyone else's dog toodles out nicely on a leash and Orion... well Orion leaps and lunges and starts wooing for all he's worth, cue everyone staring at me:oops: 

I finally get him settled and we line up - the instructor says now one by one walk your dogs down the line and introduce yourselves and your dogs, of course the first person to go does wonderfully every dog is lovely and polite then there Orion and I at the end and what happens? He tries to eat the damn mini poodle!  

Next was "Loose leash walking" with a sibe? you kidding?!" Everyone just walk around the cones one at a time so we can see how your dogs walk." Now Orion can loose leash walk but he was so hyped at that stage I didn't stand a chance! He trotted nicely up to the first cone looked up at me then dived on the cone snatched it up and proceeded to shake the shit out of it making growly noises (everyone took another step back) I took it away and he dropped to the ground going completely limp and dead weight refusing to move! I had to pick him up and carry him off.

We moved onto commands and once I had his attention he was fine he executed everything flawlessly (one time where his intensity comes in handy!) but that first half hour was awful! The tutor actually had a word to the class about him at the end lol "now I'm sure you've all noticed Olivia's dog's behaviour tonight, Sibes are notoriously vocal and difficult so give her space, also their natural stance is similar to an aggressive stance in other dogs so you would have noticed that your dogs don't seem to like him, thats ok  he is a very different dog to anything else here."
Have to admit I'm glad she doesn't just think I'm a terrible person with a brat of a dog but it certainly doesn't look like Orion will get any new friends out of it no one will come near us!

Please someone tell me their dog is just as spastic?!

This post is gold! Very very funny, nice piece of writing. Thanks so much for sharing your experience, I was definitely chuckling reading this.

I am selfishly hoping to read more of Orion's future obedience class adventures