Training class very upsetting today

Hi all. Zara is 12 weeks old and today was her second puppy training class. On arrival all the puppies have 15 mins off lead time to play and interact with the other dogs. Zara is great with other dogs and I felt confident just letting her play and watching her. However after the play time in the garden we go indoors to begin training. Again they allow the pups off lead before doing recalls. So as my back was turned for literally a few mins whilst signing in apparently Zara locked onto a spaniels mouth and would not let go and it happened twice. The trainer told me Zara was trying to dominate the spaniel. They was gonna muzzle her but gave her a chance. One of the trainers kept her on lead and let her interact with the other dogs but every time she went to bite again he told her leave. Which worked well. They said she is better with the bigger dogs and I should only allow her to play with calm dogs. Anyway we carried on with the rest of the class which didn't go very well as I kept doing everything wrong. Couldn't get my body positions right in the basic commands. I felt so stupid and useless. I ended up in tears. Silly I know. I will take her back as I need the info to improve my training techniques with her. To top it all off. My 3 year old daughter has bitten her friend so hard today she left teeth marks. Feel abit down about the training and now I'm worrying Zara will be aggressive. Sorry to go on but I just wanted to share this with you all

Oh poor you, I really feel for you. Some days are just better than others aren't they? You're not useless at all! A 3 year old plus a puppy is going to be very trying at times  

Thank you for your reply Jo Garnett I'm feeling much better now just writing this post has helped

Ahhh poor u xx Dont worry to much at the moment,  Zara is till only a puppy and she will learn with you the correct way of meeting and greeting other dogs.   I take Elsie to school and I also had a problem at first to get the body position right.  We practice every day and its starting to come together.  At 12 weeks she is not aggressive, just being over excited.  Chin up lovey   next week  will be different for you both x

Thank you Suz. It can only get better

Absolutely, a 12 week puppy is not aggressive, just playful. It is tough at times but don't let it get you down, you putting all the effort in now so she will be good when she's older  

At twelve weeks our breeds pup's can be boisterious but not aggresive. Don't feel bad. When Tip was doing puppy classes we had to take a time out on our second lesson too. Tip told a very pushy Jack Russel to back off and it earned us a time out. Your pup is still only a little girl. It does get better.

As above , please don't get yourself too worked up about this , sometimes you just think they were put on this earth to test you . My boy in fits and starts has been a terror and gets you down a little at times but you just have to say it was an off day , chin up and carry on . Puppy behaviour is unpredictable to say the least ( as is the behaviour of a 3 year old ) HOWEVER , there is a pretty realistic chance you can train the puppy

Personally any 'trainer' that believes and talks about 'dominance' isn't worth your money...

A 12 week old puppy is not aggresive. Are there any other training classes in your area ?

Thank you for your replies. I am considering trying another training class as I didn't think she was being aggressive and I felt she was singled out because of her breed. Although I am gonna try again next week as I may have been a little over sensitive and I want to prove them all wrong. I recognise I have to get to grips with my body positioning. I just felt a little humiliated when one of the trainers came up to and said she's just been run over by a truck because I let her move forward!!! Its all new to me too. I wish my husband could come along to the classes but he has to work. Onwards and upwards . Zara's a lovely little girl and she's doing so well

Try another class, maybe so your OH can attend too.

Yes I think I'm going to try and find one that he can come too

Find another puppy class. The trainers there are rude, impatient and seem to have no idea whatsoever about puppy behaviour. Muzzling a 12 week old pup? I'd shoot them for even sugesting it!

As for belittling you with lines like "She's just been run over....etc", well, I'd leave even if there were no other classes to go to. You'll end up lacking in confidence yourself and your pup will learn nothing.

I really don't like these free-for-alls in puppy training. The period outside in the garden beforehand isn't too bad, but that should be it. Once inside they should be on lead & calming down. If they get too much free play they're just going to be hyper or too tired.

The trainer should never have taken your dog's lead - she should have instructed you in what to do so that you could do it yourself.

No, find somewhere else. Somewhere with proper, qualified trainers who use positive reinforcement methods and don't spout off about domination!

Thank you for all your support. I feel much better today and will not be returning there. Here is a photo of my Zara in play mode with her friend the frenchie xx

Whoops that's not the frenchie ha ha. That's the cat

Love the way Frenchie just carries on with his chew  

Awww, how cute!