Dog Training

[chickentrains]

yeah, he's a good dog but sometimes he gets bored and thinks, well how about we make mom REAL mad today? *refuses to plant butt on ground*

yeah! get a shorter one, 15-20 ft is good. It drags but not too bad. If you have a runner you still only need to get atleast 15 feet behind them to step on em. My dog is slow, its doable.

too focused shouldn't be a word, but it is! haha. he will not take his eyes off me.

today im going to record all the novice tricks for a friend, I'll post it here

 

[ShrekDawg]

yeah, he's a good dog but sometimes he gets bored and thinks, well how about we make mom REAL mad today? *refuses to plant butt on ground*

yeah! get a shorter one, 15-20 ft is good. It drags but not too bad. If you have a runner you still only need to get atleast 15 feet behind them to step on em. My dog is slow, its doable.

too focused shouldn't be a word, but it is! haha. he will not take his eyes off me.

today im going to record all the novice tricks for a friend, I'll post it here

Totally understandable lol DB’s dogs get like that sometimes too and so did my last one

And yeah I might have to look into the shorter ones! I like the longer ones for dog sitting though so they can run around and be kinda “off leash” without really being off leash since I’m paranoid hahah but maybe a shorter one would work just as well!

And yeah it’s weird cause you wouldn’t think it’s be bad since most people struggle to get it hahah but definitely can be

And yay!!

 

[Mellowmalt]

If anyone is thinking about getting an e-collar to let their dog off the lead, that could be a bad idea.
I have an e-collar. I used it to discourage constant barking. First 2 days I had to use it, then my dog learnt. After a week he was back at it - out came the collar again. Soon he started ignoring level 3 (which hurt me testing it). I went up to level 99 a couple of times. That got the message across but he would still ignore it to this day if something really provoked him.

I believe level 99 would take down an elephant but my guy would carry on chasing a squirrel if he had the chance so no way would an e-collar be a safe insurance for me.
I can't let him off the lead unfortunately.

Surprisingly I have over 6 years manage to persuade him to not chase cats anymore! He is still fascinated by them but just walks by a cat if he sees it now - that is as long as he knows he is on the lead...

He is so intelligent he knows not to even bother but I also believe as soon as I were to let him off he'd try his luck chasing one again.

 

[chickentrains]

If anyone is thinking about getting an e-collar to let their dog off the lead, that could be a bad idea.
I have an e-collar. I used it to discourage constant barking. First 2 days I had to use it, then my dog learnt. After a week he was back at it - out came the collar again. Soon he started ignoring level 3 (which hurt me testing it). I went up to level 99 a couple of times. That got the message across but he would still ignore it to this day if something really provoked him.

I believe level 99 would take down an elephant but my guy would carry on chasing a squirrel if he had the chance so no way would an e-collar be a safe insurance for me.
I can't let him off the lead unfortunately.

Surprisingly I have over 6 years manage to persuade him to not chase cats anymore! He is still fascinated by them but just walks by a cat if he sees it now - that is as long as he knows he is on the lead...

He is so intelligent he knows not to even bother but I also believe as soon as I were to let him off he'd try his luck chasing one again.

Yeah thats your fault not the collars fault

 

[sourland]

Dogs like people are individuals, and what works for one will not work for others. The first trainer we worked with was a Bouvier breeder and knew all about dealing with dominant type dogs, but adapted his methods to the student/dog involved. Two stories. Very first class we went to there was an older lady with a medium sized mongrel. During every exercise the dog would growl and snap at the owner. The trainer took the lead and in 15 minutes had the dog heeling, sitting and following all of his commands - 100% negative reinforcement. He then told the lady that the dog was not trainable by her and that he would refund her money - can't teach an old dog new tricks. There was also a young girl with a doberman puppy. This girl was harsher with her methods than most thought appropriate, but he said nothing. As classes progressed the pup grew. Finally after one uncalled for negative correction the pup jumped up on the girl and knocked her to the ground. As the parents jumped up the trainer waved them off. He said to the girl, "You have a very good, patient dog, but she is tired of your bull. Now, do you want to learn how to really train her?" They became among the best dog/owner pairs in the class. The bottom line is work with a basic plan and adapt it to whatever works for your dog. For a variety of reasons we have always obedience trained all of our dogs. Tonight Maggie Mae goes to her first puppy class. She already knows leave it, come, sit, stay, wait, go to your place, and NO. The last is the one she frequently disregards. She is high energy, easily distracted so tonight will be interesting.

 

[chickentrains]

Dogs like people are individuals, and what works for one will not work for others. The first trainer we worked with was a Bouvier breeder and knew all about dealing with dominant type dogs, but adapted his methods to the student/dog involved. Two stories. Very first class we went to there was an older lady with a medium sized mongrel. During every exercise the dog would growl and snap at the owner. The trainer took the lead and in 15 minutes had the dog heeling, sitting and following all of his commands - 100% negative reinforcement. He then told the lady that the dog was not trainable by her and that he would refund her money - can't teach an old dog new tricks. There was also a young girl with a doberman puppy. This girl was harsher with her methods than most thought appropriate, but he said nothing. As classes progressed the pup grew. Finally after one uncalled for negative correction the pup jumped up on the girl and knocked her to the ground. As the parents jumped up the trainer waved them off. He said to the girl, "You have a very good, patient dog, but she is tired of your bull. Now, do you want to learn how to really train her?" They became among the best dog/owner pairs in the class. The bottom line is work with a basic plan and adapt it to whatever works for your dog. For a variety of reasons we have always obedience trained all of our dogs. Tonight Maggie Mae goes to her first puppy class. She already knows leave it, come, sit, stay, wait, go to your place, and NO. The last is the one she frequently disregards. She is high energy, easily distracted so tonight will be interesting.

Good luck to you and your pup!

I've worked with lots of dogs, deacon cowers at a stern voice, but takes a leash tug just fine. I've met dogs who would pee themselves if you even looked at them a certain way. It all has to do with your dog, and finding what works best for them.

 

[EverythingDucks]

I use positive training only. I think positive reinforcement is always better than hurting your dog, or trying to dominate them.
When they do something wrong I redirect them and teach them what I want them to do.
This doesn't mean there are no consequences at all. If they have an accident or bark at someone I say "no" firmly and if they don't stop they don't get rewarded and sometimes get timeout.

I've recently gotten a job training the neighbors two dogs. A 1 year old pom, and now 15 week old shih tzu pup.

Both are very smart. I've tought Finn, the pom, sit, lay down, shake, come, stay, and I'm working on spin.
Roxie, the shih tzu, knows sit, lay down, sit pretty, spin, and I'm working on stay and roll over.

They both walk on a leash fine but I'm going to work with them to sit and stay whenever you stop, and walk right next to you nicely, etc.
If y'all have any ideas on what else to work with for leash training that would be great.


Next time I'm going to work on reinforcing everywhere they know outside. I want them to get used to distractions and focus only on owner when she tells them what to do.

If y'all have any suggestions or ideas I'm open to them.

 

[chickentrains]

I use positive training only. I think positive reinforcement is always better than hurting your dog, or trying to dominate them.
When they do something wrong I redirect them and teach them what I want them to do.
This doesn't mean there are no consequences at all. If they have an accident or bark at someone I say "no" firmly and if they don't stop they don't get rewarded and sometimes get timeout.

I've recently gotten a job training the neighbors two dogs. A 1 year old pom, and now 15 week old shih tzu pup.

Both are very smart. I've tought Finn, the pom, sit, lay down, shake, come, stay, and I'm working on spin.
Roxie, the shih tzu, knows sit, lay down, sit pretty, spin, and I'm working on stay and roll over.

They both walk on a leash fine but I'm going to work with them to sit and stay whenever you stop, and walk right next to you nicely, etc.
If y'all have any ideas on what else to work with for leash training that would be great.


Next time I'm going to work on reinforcing everywhere they know outside. I want them to get used to distractions and focus only on owner when she tells them what to do.

If y'all have any suggestions or ideas I'm open to them.

if you say no its not positive only

If I gave my dog a firm no, he'd cower. He doesn't care if he gets a pop with the prong

every dog is different and positive only rarely works

good luck tho

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What we call training is really just communicating. Imagine you are sitting in a chair and I say to you, "Oogala." You don't move, just give me a blank stare. I say it again, louder this time. You fidget nervously a little but still don't move. I get impatient, say it a little louder. "OOGALA! OOGALA!" As I wave my arms and jump up and down. Why won't you oogala? You must be stupid, or stubborn. Or you're trying to make me mad. Should I hit you? Put a leash around your neck and jerk it? No, of course not. But this is what we do to our dogs. We tell them Sit and they don't know what that means. Now, suppose I take you by the hand and, as I calmly say "Oogala," I pull you forward into a standing position. Then, while you're standing, I smile, pat you on the back, and repeat the word calmly. Now you know what Oogala means! Probably after repeating the exercise a few times I could simply say the word and you would happily jump to your feet.

This is what we need to do with our animals. The purpose of collar and leash is not to control or force them to do what we want, but to show them. So for example, when teaching (not "training") a dog to Sit, I lightly pull up on the leash while at the same time using my other hand to gently squeeze just in front of the dog's hip bones, where he is ticklish. At the same time I calmly say Sit. Most dogs sit. And IMMEDIATELY, I drop slack into the leash and remove my hand from the dog's loins, and praise. Timing is critical. All touch must cease when the dog's hips drop. That's the reward that tells the dog he made the right choice. That's the communication, you see, that's essential to success. It's a Red Light, Green Light game, and if done properly the dog will learn Sit in a matter of minutes. (NOTE: don't press down on a dog's hips to make him sit, he can resist. This teaches him that Sit means "resist going into the sit position.")