Advice/Opinions

[staffiedownwest 6]

Hi guys

 

I had to share a telephone call with you as it has really upset me and I don't know where to go/turn to, to make a diffierence, or whether I should just "chin up and move on".

 

I received a telephone call last night, from a friend, who had been asked by my local ring craft class to call me and explain that a committee decision had been taken and could I not attend any more with "Dempsey", by 22 month old Staff.

 

Apparently, some of the other members are frightened by him and some of the trainers are scared to go over him in the run of the class.

 

Dempsey is a typical staff and will "fire up" if he his stared at or another dog barks at him.

 

When i first started in the class, Dempsey was 10 times worse, and I, together with the club's trainers, have put a lot of effort into him and whilst he still is a noisy little bugger, I am able to get him back under control to show (something about 6-10 mths ago I wouldn't have been able to do).

 

I was given a number of reasons last night, the above being the main, secondly, he was noisy, thirdly, owners of bigger breeds were concerned about the safety of their dogs and finally, their dwindling attendance numbers was laid firmly at my door, apparenty because Dempsey was there, other members were refusing to attend.

 

this final reason holds no weight as I have been unable to attend since the middle of May and only went last week, when the renewed my membership and Dempsey behaved impecably. I feel that this has been brewing for a while and they have taken any excuse to ask the Staff owner to leave.

 

This however leaves me with a predicament, Dempsey is the type of dog that needs to have that constant training, surrounded by other dogs, otherwise his behaviour at shows deteriorates. He lives with 5 other dogs and attends local lurcher and terrrier shows with no problems whatsoever. In fact, when we attended Paignton this week, he travelled in the back of my truck with my friends two whippets, never heard a murmer from him. He walked through the show did not look at another dog and only went nuts in the ring when another staff started barking at him (joined in by a third in the ring).

 

so, do I put it down to narrow mindedness and think that these women just want their cute and fluffies to be in an unreal environment, or should I take the hint and believe that my stafford is vicious and should be kept indoors.

 

What really upsets me is that i do not have the mentality of letting Dempsey stand and bark and I am always at pains to make him stop - whether that is embarassement or whether it is becuase I keep 4 other dogs who show and do not make a sound, I'm not sure.

 

I guess my question is, should i walk away and take it on the chin, or should I make a fuss and complain to the committee that they are sterio typing my dog. I was told when i first joined that they had only ever had one other staff and that had been asked to leave, but having made it past a year as a member I thought they had accepted me and my dog! Comments would be appreciated

[jacob 28]

whats a ring craft class ?

[BlueCoyote 0]

i dont know what a ring craft is either but honestly it sounds like you're not wanted there even if your dog does behave. i dont know about you, but i'm not one to hang around some place i'm not wanted

- except for maybe this forum lol -

what ever the class/training is, do you think you could continue on your own and just expose your dog to as many situations as possible to keep his training fresh in his mind?

[Neal 1,873]

I'd agree with BlueCoyote; it's no fun being somewhere where you're not wanted...apparently!

One other thing though: I'd be tempted initially to write a sh*tty letter but on second thought maybe the better option would be to write a very polite letter thanking them for allowing you to attend for the last year and point out how much he's improved over the last year, partly thanks to attending the club. Revenge is sweet but it's so much nicer standing on the moral high ground looking down.

[Guest WILF]

Feck em!!

[littlefish 587]

You might be better joining a general dog training club which works on socialising and training for good behaviour rather than fruiting about with rosette hunting kennel club lovies tut-tutting at your dog. On the other hand some dogs can be scary and perhaps people are genuinely intimidated by your dog.

 

I think it might be a good idea to send them a polite card thanking them for helping you get the improvement in your dog so far. It might redden somebody's face and make them think twice next time if it was a genuine case of picking on your dog.

 

Good luck with your showing.

[Guest oneredtrim]

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Edited August 9, 2008 by oneredtrim

[bigbird 7]

try and find a training and obedience class to attend where the trainer actually has a qualification, most ringcraft class are just run by the local dog showclub, so that members can practice for shows, and people who are judging/going over your dog have little or no idea what they are doing themselves. don't let them upset you.

[undisputed 1,664]

Maybe you could research training/ringcraft clubs for likeminded owners of staffy's...or even start one yourself....goood luck!

[BlueCoyote 0]

Maybe you could research training/ringcraft clubs for likeminded owners of staffy's...or even start one yourself....goood luck!

thats the best idea yet. how many other people have been kicked out just because they own a staffy?

would they kick out a labrador if it acted the same way?

[Kay 3,709]

Personally i would tell then to stick there classes, they cant be much of trainers if there scared of a dog, whats that all about, maybe your right & they can only deal with yappy lap dogs

 

Out of interest do you have to have recognised qualifications to do this dog training inview of the fact these classes arnt free ?