I'm trying to decide whether to enroll Star in obedience classes in the fall. There's a group nearby who does classes from basic puppy to canine good citizen to agility, etc. I wanted to run this by the group and see what ya'll thought.
Star is a 5 year old rescue Great Dane who we've had for seven months. She had lived in a home setting before, but her last foster was in a kennel. She came to us housetrained, she has learned "sit" and "lay down." She is food motivated, but has to sit before getting food (either in her bowl, or treats). She does have a lot of energy, but has learned not to jump up on people to get attention. Overall, she's better behaved than our chow mix who we've had for 12 years!
Her one issue is dog aggression. I'm sure she has lots of reasons to be defensive against other dogs (she probably was bred extensively, and may have been protecting puppies), but she is fixated on other dogs. She and Max (chow mix) have worked things out, and they play fight/wrestle but haven't really gotten into it in months. When I walk her and Max, if she sees another dog, as soon as that dog barks or makes any type of posturing, Star is ready to fight. Judging by the scars she has, she's probably not been the winner in the past.
What I'd like is to be able to work with her around other dogs who are under their owners control. (So the dog park is out as an alternative!) I'd want her to be relaxed or at least not anxious around other dogs, and maybe that could be a prelude into being more social. Would obedience classes be helpful, or would they be either a waste of money and/or distracting to the other participants?
Thanks for your input!
Tracy