I found out from the Yankee Golden Retriever web site that there were puppy obedience classes specifically for Golden Retrievers. We thought it would be a lot of fun and a good opportunity to learn the right way to train a dog.
We were not prepared for Boomer getting into a fight in the parking lot!
As soon as we arrived at the class we bumped into a handful of other Golden Retriever puppies that were waiting with their owners. After sniffing each other they started snarling and wrestling right there in the parking lot! We were shocked and had to break it up.
That was nothing compared to what we experienced inside the building. The puppies ran amok and fought and wrestled like crazy. The dog trainers encouraged it and said that it was a good way for them to learn how to socialize with other dogs.
So half of the class was allowing them to play with each other. Sometime it was hard to pick out whose puppy was whose! Boomer held his own in every battle he got into, so we were proud of him.
The other time spent in the class was spent with one on one training with the dogs.
The most interesting thing that we learned was to put the puppies on their backs, cradle their heads towards the body, and then massage them. They hated being on their backs but the massage would eventually calm them down. They learned to be submissive. Boomer of course hated it but eventually did give in. We enjoyed the course so much that we decided to sign up for another one to learn more about individualized training. Below are some pictures that show a bigger Boomer being held in the submissive pose.
