What am I doing wrong? o.o

[BeccaB00]

Quote:
Thats what I do with Bridgit. And I've got to be ROUGH before she gets it

through her brain. Or else she'll get up. Walk off, and start acting all happy.

Once again, today was good. She listened to me. I've got sit downpat and now

I'm hoping that shes actually learned it so I can tell her "sit bridgit!" when she tries

to storm onto the couch, or furniture. She only nips when we play, however I still

dont want her to nip even when were playing, I want you to know she doesn't charge at us,

or nip for absolutely no reason.

 

[elizabethbinary]

Quote:
Thats what I do with Bridgit. And I've got to be ROUGH before she gets it

through her brain. Or else she'll get up. Walk off, and start acting all happy.

Once again, today was good. She listened to me. I've got sit downpat and now

I'm hoping that shes actually learned it so I can tell her "sit bridgit!" when she tries

to storm onto the couch, or furniture. She only nips when we play, however I still

dont want her to nip even when were playing, I want you to know she doesn't charge at us,

or nip for absolutely no reason.

Any reason is no reason, though, that's the thing. At no point should a dog nip or slam or storm. At NO point so they nip for SURE. That can get your dog put down in a second.

And if she walks off and stops listening, grab her again and put her on her belly/back and punish her again. Or, if she's completely not listening - cage her. Take away everything she DOES want that she's trying to get to. Take her back out and try again after an hour or two. If she continues, put her right back. It won't take long.

Again you're saying "I hope she actually learns it" she DOES know it. She KNOWS you're telling her to do it. She is PURPOSEFULLY not listening if she knows the command and disobeys. And that's what you need to continue to punish/be mean/crate for. It's not tricks she doesn't know - it's behaviour. You're thinking of two different types of training entirely.

Trick training is not behaviour training but they can be done at the same time. Because she knows 'sit' doesn't mean she's trained. It means she knows 'sit' and will sometimes do it for you if SHE wants to. You're the boss. You're always the boss.

 

[FireTigeris]

no dog should EVER put their teeth on ANY human EVER

 

[BeccaB00]

Quote:
I didn't see this post some how. I did think she was playing. Because the only time she

does these things are when we're playing or when her and my other dog is playing.

Shes not fat, that was my other dog whos very well trained.

Bridgit is a really good

weight right now.

 

[elizabethbinary]

Quote:
I didn't see this post some how. I did think she was playing. Because the only time she

does these things are when we're playing or when her and my other dog is playing.

Shes not fat, that was my other dog whos very well trained.

Bridgit is a really good

weight right now.

You might not be aware but dogs use playing as a way to establish dominance. That's why you'll see them flop over sometimes and let the other dog 'win' and vice versa. You can tell by playing alone what pecking order the dogs have chosen amongst themselves. Playing aggression is akin to aggression aggression because it's their way of 'showing you' they're top dog. That's why this behaviour can't continue in playing either.

 

[BeccaB00]

yea. I feel really stupid now, but I guess I gotta learn somtime

So I flop her over on her back and correct her even when shes playing?

 

[elizabethbinary]

Quote:
Well my method is to either flop her over (and I put my foot GENTLY on her neck to 'pin' her there to establish, yes, I'm the top dog) or I grab her scruff and bring her down on her belly.. either way she really should be 'beneathe' you and yes, she should be punished even when she is playing. My method isn't everyone's method and some dogs react to different punishments differently though. If your dog LOVES attention, punish her by taking that away instead. things like that. My dog just react VERY well to being knocked over and firmly scolded with a stare straight in the eyes.

! yay!

 

[welsummerchicks]

The basic rule is to do no more than you need to do, no more than what works. And as the trainer told the lady in dog class when she asked how firm of a correction to make, 'To YOU, it's going to seem like a huge correction, because right now, you aren't making ANY corrections'.

A person has to know their dog and learn how it will react. I have one German Shepherd that is really sharp, distractible, high prey drive, I have a Collie, that if you frown at it, it goes into the bedroom and hides under the covers. If I handle one dog like the other, it's a disaster.

All the principles, the basic timing, everything, of training never vary, what varies is, how far up do you go up the ladder. It's just like a horse. When it's trained, you can make him go faster by just pressing your feet against the stirrup treads. If he doesn't react to that, there is a next step you go to; there is with all animal training.

Say I am heeling my collie. He 'Does a Doug' (Dog from movie, 'UP'), I say, 'bert, watch me'. We're done. That's all he needs. If I hadn't trained him for four years, I can probably just move the links of the collar a little, I don't even need to make a correction. He already WANTS to pay attention, but I taught him to pay attention by offering him a treat, AND correcting him when he did not respond.

But I spent four years training him every day. My friend's collie, she hasn't worked with like that, she was very erratic in working with him, and she could give him collar correction that would spin a wheel off a truck and he is at the end of the leash, barking and leaping.

He's also a different dog. He is extremely different from my dog. There IS no collie like mine. Mine is a rock, he is just like that. He's so easy that it is embarrassing. Same breed, very, very different kettle of fish. It takes a lot more work with hers, he's more distractable, he's far less steady (does more different things within a given time period). To a point, that is inborn. It is VERY hard to get something out if the Dear Lord didn't put it in there.

If the dog responds to a frown, that's all you need to do.

When it responds to nothing, you need to do a whole lot.

Dogs test out their role with play dominantion. Next, if they get away with that, comes serious domination.

I don't punish dogs for playing. I punish them for not responding to commands.

If a dog is tearing around and barking, I say 'SIT' and it doesn't SIT, I punish it. WHAT punishment? 'That depends'. Not one iota more than needed.

 

[pbjmaker]

Does a Doug

I do agree with you about knowing the dogs personality and using the minimum kind of correction for THAT dog.

I have two pups I am working on training with.

Tucker is quiet, a thinker and atheletic. He is pretty much alpha dog (of the actual dogs) in this house already. It takes my 80 lb dog (12 years old), his brother and his dad to corner him and get him down when they are play fighting. I have to use firm words, body positioning and get "in his face" when he is pushing boundries - which he does a lot with me lately. He is smart and wants to be the boss.

Sparky (his brother) on the other hand is a total goof ball and very submissive, but not to the point where he fearful. All I have to do is say his name sternly and he drops to the ground and rolls over. He also rarely is "naughty".

Good luck with your dog. I am just learning about training myself but find it does help to try and get in the dogs head to see where they are coming from. Works with kids too - sometimes it helps to understand their motivation.

 

[FireTigeris]

If she uses teeth when playing ~I~ would correct her and the game would be over.