Question:
They are in need of leash training (training in general really). The first thing I'm going to work on is leash training. They both walk on the leash fine, but like to pull and won't walk on the correct side of me when we are walking and go back and forth from side to side, etc. So, today I picked up two simple collars and leashes and was making sure this would be okay to use. We also have a pinch collar that will fit both of them, but I'd prefer to use just something simple so I don't have to get the looks, etc from people.
Is it true when training that you should only focus on one thing at a time until you a satisified with your results?
Also, our female is starting to get on the chunky side (I'm working on slimming her down), so I don't really want to train with food. What is the best method to train with? I've also heard that it's bad to work with them everyday - that they need a break. Is this true or should it be done daily?
The collar we picked up today - http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444181 3332&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025643&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&bmUID=1144557781922&itemNo=52&Nao=24&In=Dog&N=2025643&Ne=2
The leash we picked up today - (we picked up nylon instead of leather since it matched the collars)
http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=84552444178 1474&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302025643&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023689&bmUID=1144557953862&itemNo=158&Nao=96&In=Dog&N=2025643&Ne=2
Thanks in advance,
-Ashley (and Kai and Brawt) :)
Answer:
The collar is okay, as long as they listen to it (you don't want to get into a pulling contest), otherwise you might want to go to a training collar just to get their attention. I actually started the boys in heeling work using a rope slip lead and they did fine. Leather leads are usually easier on your hands (nylon can burn if they yank it through your fingers) but if they don't do that, then I don't see a problem with using nylon.
If you're starting to do heeling work, you're actually working on two behaviors anyway - walking by your left side and sitting when you halt. You can teach the 'sit' command independently (if they don't know it already). Once your dogs are getting close to an 'automatic' sit (their rumps hit the ground as soon as you halt), I would move on to other things (sit stays, downs, down stays, come when called, etc.) but keep up the heeling work as well. Working exclusively on one thing is going to bore all of you to death.
My dogs work for food, praise and toys. I mix the food and toy rewards but always praise them in a happy voice whenever they do well. Does your female like her kibble? Use a portion of her dinner to reward her or use treats and cut back on her meals a little more, if she's food-oriented.
You can train everyday, just keep the sessions short and fun and end on a good note. You want your dogs to look forward to training, not dread it. I work three dogs in obedience and they're always jostling each other at the gate to be the one 'chosen'.
Answer:
The collar is okay, as long as they listen to it (you don't want to get into a pulling contest), otherwise you might want to go to a training collar just to get their attention. I actually started the boys in heeling work using a rope slip lead and they did fine. Leather leads are usually easier on your hands (nylon can burn if they yank it through your fingers) but if they don't do that, then I don't see a problem with using nylon.
If you're starting to do heeling work, you're actually working on two behaviors anyway - walking by your left side and sitting when you halt. You can teach the 'sit' command independently (if they don't know it already). Once your dogs are getting close to an 'automatic' sit (their rumps hit the ground as soon as you halt), I would move on to other things (sit stays, downs, down stays, come when called, etc.) but keep up the heeling work as well. Working exclusively on one thing is going to bore all of you to death.
My dogs work for food, praise and toys. I mix the food and toy rewards but always praise them in a happy voice whenever they do well. Does your female like her kibble? Use a portion of her dinner to reward her or use treats and cut back on her meals a little more, if she's food-oriented.
You can train everyday, just keep the sessions short and fun and end on a good note. You want your dogs to look forward to training, not dread it. I work three dogs in obedience and they're always jostling each other at the gate to be the one 'chosen'.
By training collar, I'm assuming you mean a pinch collar? I have one on hand, so I'll see how it goes and go from there. My male is the one who really needs training - my female is very calm and needs a little training but nothing like my male. He is just WILD from time to time. Thanks for the insight on the leather - I'll probably pick one up - but they didn't have anything that looked good to me when I was at PetsMart - but I'll try another store.
So, now my question is - how to go about teaching the command. Just repeat, repeat, repeat? Do I need to start by doing in someplace quiet like home and then venture out into the public or what? It's mainly when we have him out in the public around other dogs and people that we have problems.
Kai does like her kibble and they are on a timed feeding schedule so I'm sure she wouldn't mind the snack mid-day. I'll also remember to cut back on her meals if I use treats.
So, I have a question in regards to my male. He will be 2 years old this month and he recently gotten very protective/aggressive toward strangers (mainly men and other dogs). He is only this way when Kai is around and this only started after Kai had puppies in June of last year. We can have them both out and another dog will walk up to sniff/say hi and as long as Kai shows no interest he is fine - the second she does he shows teeth/growls, etc. I'm VERY concerned with this behavior and am currently in search of a good trainer, but they are hard to come by in Oklahoma. The last guy we found wanted to keep them tied to a 2 ft square piece of board with about 2 inches of give for them to move when they were bad. My husband and I both got up and walked out of his house.
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Answer:
The last guy we found wanted to keep them tied to a 2 ft square piece of board with about 2 inches of give for them to move when they were bad. My husband and I both got up and walked out of his house.
Good heavens! Aren't people stupid? And mean. I'm glad you left.
With the pulling, if you stop and don't move until the dog gives you some slack, he'll eventually figure out that tension in the leash means he won't get to go forward. (his goal) When there's tension on a dog's neck, their natural response is to pull against the pressure, so it's a vicious circle. Don't go one single step if there's pulling. You can also make random turns, turn back the way you came and keep him guessing. Food treats are usually great motivation for most dogs. That is a good idea to use some kibble from his meal, but often for training, it's a good idea to use a treat which the dog reeeeeeeeeeeelly loves. LOL. (like tiny pieces of skim milk mozerella cheese or fat free turkey hot dog pieces.) If you slice the hot dog lengthwise down the middle and then again lengthwise on the quarter, then crosswise teensy, teensy pieces, microwave for a minute or two and soak up with paper towel.... he won't end up getting too much. You make the treats about the size of a pea. That's all they need, just a quick taste.
It is a good idea to vary between a few skills to make training more fun. However, when you're training something which has different aspects to it, it's a good idea to teach the one aspect seperately from the other. For instance; the stay from a sit. Stay has three aspects to it. Distance (how far you stand from your dog) duration: (how long he has to hold the stay) and distractions. So, you don't try to do all things at once. Start say....with duration. Show him to stay and stand very close to him. Start with one second, reward, two seconds, reward and gradually lengthen the time he must stay. But you're still standing right in front of him. Once he starts getting the idea pretty well, you can try stepping away from him a few more inches, but do not ask him to stay for very long....a couple of seconds. Then step a teensy bit further and keep it short...one or two seconds. Then a little further still. Get the distance between your dog and you gradually further apart, but keep the duration very short. Once you're able to stand several feet away (and all this time, you're immediately returning to your dog) then start adding the two together.....a couple feet away and a couple of seconds and then gradually increase both distance and duration. When the dog has a very, very solid stay for up to a minute and with you quite a ways away, you can proceed to adding some distractions. This all takes time so don't rush it. If he breaks the stay at any point, go back to the place he was where he was able to hold it and work there some more. Be sure and reinforce improvements with a treat right away.
You can always break up training sessions with a little playtime or fetch and come back to something. It is important to make the sessions fun and interesting and end on a good note. Set the dog up for success so he can have lots of wins. Wins increase learning and increase HOW TO learn. So, you want lots of them.
I don't like so called training collars very well unless you have to go out in distractions and the dog isn't ready for them and the dog is very strong. They are punishment and the dog only is motivated by the absense of discomfort or pressure rather than being motivated soley for reward. It tends to put the brakes on the dog's drive. (IMO) So, if you can walk in low areas of distraction, so much the better. (for the time being) Reward often....every few steps when he is not pulling, while he's along side you. A lot of people have problems because they don't reward enough. Keep on walking, don't stop and as long as the dog is keeping slack in the leash, reward. When he pulls, just stop and stand there, silent until he figures out all by himself what he has to do. He'll turn and look at you, like, "what's your problem?" And you continue to stand there. Finally, he'll walk back to you, loosening the lead. Then you start walking again. You can vary that tactic with making random turns. Treat often while walking is good.
At seperate times, in the house even...you can teach, "watch me." Hold the treat up by your face and when he looks up at you (the treat), pop it in his mouth. Don't give a command right away. Get the behavior going and then start adding the word, "watch" or "watch me" or whatever you want to use. Always get the behavior first by luring before confusing the dog with some English words he doesn't understand yet. Then start tying the word with the behavior. Don't forget lots of reward and good timing with the reward. Ya gotta be on your toes and observant, watching for small improvements. Reward for even small improvement. Don't wait for perfection to reward. As the dog starts doing better but is stuck in one place.....withhold the reward and wait for him to give you more. He will. Then reward again for the next baby step. When that's getting good, withhold again and he'll try harder, giving you even more.
Hope that's a start and hope it helps a little. Good luck!
Oh...the aggression thing. How much socialization did the dog get? Dog to dog problems are differnet from dog to human and not uncommon. With the probable fear of men, desensatization can be helpful....distance, association with treats/fun. Punishment is NEVER a good idea with aggression problems. It just makes the dog associate the thing he's already afraid of with more of a rotten time. And makes him all the more reactive and afraid. That's something that's pretty hard to deal with on the Internet and I'm not really qualified, for one, with aggression. See what you can find online (make sure it sounds sensible and not advocating mistreatment of the dog) and when you find a trainer, make sure he is using operant/classical conditioning type training.....gentle methods. A behaviorist would be more knowledgeable about the aggression thing probably. There are some good books too out on aggression...forget what one in particular is called which is reputable. I'll think on that. Or someone will probably know.
Answer:
By training collar, I'm assuming you mean a pinch collar? I have one on hand, so I'll see how it goes and go from there. My male is the one who really needs training - my female is very calm and needs a little training but nothing like my male. He is just WILD from time to time. Thanks for the insight on the leather - I'll probably pick one up - but they didn't have anything that looked good to me when I was at PetsMart - but I'll try another store.
So, now my question is - how to go about teaching the command. Just repeat, repeat, repeat? Do I need to start by doing in someplace quiet like home and then venture out into the public or what? It's mainly when we have him out in the public around other dogs and people that we have problems.
Kai does like her kibble and they are on a timed feeding schedule so I'm sure she wouldn't mind the snack mid-day. I'll also remember to cut back on her meals if I use treats.
So, I have a question in regards to my male. He will be 2 years old this month and he recently gotten very protective/aggressive toward strangers (mainly men and other dogs). He is only this way when Kai is around and this only started after Kai had puppies in June of last year. We can have them both out and another dog will walk up to sniff/say hi and as long as Kai shows no interest he is fine - the second she does he shows teeth/growls, etc. I'm VERY concerned with this behavior and am currently in search of a good trainer, but they are hard to come by in Oklahoma. The last guy we found wanted to keep them tied to a 2 ft square piece of board with about 2 inches of give for them to move when they were bad. My husband and I both got up and walked out of his house.
Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Hmmm, 'pinch collar' to me means a prong collar; I was talking about what is commonly called a 'choke chain', a chain collar with rings at both ends. I bought my leather leashes from J&J Dog Supply (they have a catalog and a website), they're good quality and last for years (the one I'm using now is over fifteen years old).
Yeah, repetition is the key but you don't want to nag at the dog. Do the exercise maybe three or four times then play or go on to something else. You can always come back to that exercise later. You can do training around the house, all the time, if you want. Just randomly ask for a sit or a down or a come, praise or treat when the dog does the behavior, then release the dog and go on with whatever you were doing. (You will need some kind of 'release' word or phrase so the dog knows he's free to do something else or the exercise is over. Something like, 'take a break, that's all, we're done, etc.)
A quiet, familiar place is best to start with, once the dog is comfortable doing the commands, you can 'push' his envelope a little by going somewhere else to train. It's actually better to practice in many different areas so the dog knows he's supposed to obey the command everywhere instead of just at home.
There are a few schools of thought in the teaching techniques... most obedience instructors will have you say the command, such as 'sit' and physically place the dog in the position you want (pull up on the lead, push down on the rump) then praise. I used to do that, but now I prefer to 'lure' the dog into position, hold a treat over his head, move it backward a little and usually the dog sits because it's easier. He immediately gets the treat and a 'Good sit!'. I've been working the 'down' the same way (my obedience instructor wanted us to physically knock the dogs over but Murphy did MUCH better following my hand with the treat to the ground. Now Murphy will 'down', off lead, when I'm standing in front of him. Positive motivation works better for us than negative or force!)
For the aggressive behavior, teach him the sit-stay and as Doverluv mentioned, the 'watch me' command is very useful. Keep his attention on you. (I don't let other dogs just walk up and sniff my dogs anyway, unless I'm well acquainted with them and their owners.) I also use an kind of verbal reprimand (how the heck do you spell a gutteral sound??), it's not quite a growl but it gets the dog's attention and let's him know I'm not happy with his behavior (the cats and horses also know 'the sound', and usually cease and desist with whatever bad behavior they're doing. Lol!)
Most PetsMarts have obedience classes, some have better trainers than others but it's better than nothing (or the idiot you walked out on - good for you!)
Answer:
Great tips Snark! That really is helpful and easy to do little practices in the house, just while you're doing house work or watching TV. And easy on the dogs too!
The "no reward marker" is also a great help....letting the dog know he's got it wrong and to try again. LOL. :)
Answer:
Great tips Snark! That really is helpful and easy to do little practices in the house, just while you're doing house work or watching TV. And easy on the dogs too!
The "no reward marker" is also a great help....letting the dog know he's got it wrong and to try again. LOL. :)
Actually, 'the growl sound' is more for 'bad' behavior, like chasing the cat or lifting a leg in an inappropriate place (like the sofa) or, for the horse, when he's thinking of kicking me while I'm cleaning his feet. ;)
When I'm training the dogs, I usually say something like, 'Uh oh' or 'Too bad' to let the dog know he didn't do it right or missed my cue. (I've had soft dogs who would literally wilt and shut down completely if they thought they were being reprimanded, so I try to keep my corrections upbeat. It's enough that they don't get their treat or toy or 'what a good dog!' Lol!)