Since the age of 8 weeks my Sprocker (Cocker x Springer) called Sprocket has been fed Bakers Puppy complete. I started to attend Vets puppy classes after he had his second jab. He was so hyper and panted all the way through the sessions which were over a 6 wk period.
During this time the behaviourist allowed us to let all 8 puppies off the lead to socialise...little did I realise this only promoted bad behaviour as it encourages the puppies to approach any dog which is certainly a bad thing if they meet an aggressive dog! Sprocket and his little spaniel friend raced around the small reception area banging off the walls and pouncing on each other.
Anyway when these classes finished, I decided to look for more in depth training. I found a fantastic lady at Stonham Barns in Suffolk. Henri has been fantastic, she took one look at Sprocket and asked me whether I fed him Bakers, I was a little shocked, as this was the first thing she asked me, I said yes I did - and in a slightly paniced voice I asked why?
Apparently even though Bakers is made by Purina (approved by vets) it's full of E numbers and additives so I've basically been giving my puppy smarties...and as you can imagine a springer cocker cross is mad anyway without extra help! I was so mad with myself I should have checked, but I guess you just trust brands to be 'good' for your dog. Don't worry I'm not trying to panic people from using bakers, it just made Sprocket very very hyper and he'd only slept till about 3am every morning and was banging off the walls for the rest of the night...after taking him off bakers, 2 weeks on and I've noticed a real difference, he now sleeps until 6am (which is way more manageable and I'm feeling less tired and frustrated). Some of my friends dogs have been on bakers all their life and have been fine, I guess it depends on the breed.
I not a professional and certainly not wanting to preach, but certainly for working dogs a good trainer is essential so look into it carefully, vets 'puppy' classes only promote bad behaviour and now that Sprocket is on Field & Trial - a museli based dog food he's calmed down allot and is just being a normal teenage dog (still giving me a run for my money just with a calmer attitude).
So the moral of this story is that some vets classes aren't a good way to train your puppy (some other vets classes may be better managed) but seek an approved dog trainer and also check what's in your dogs/puppies food even if it's by a recognised brand!
Thanks for reading and I hope you got some tips :-)
For anyone local to Suffolk interested in the classes I use, have a look at their website:
http://www.petdogtrainingcentre.co.uk
They also do advance dog training & agility classes.
