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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:The heartworm issue is really lovely, but all it means is we'll need to put in extra effort and have a lot more patience than normal, and I feel like I'm willing to do it. Baby steps, man, baby steps. And when I say 'alpha' I don't mean it in some tired and traditional way of asserting dominance over the dog through physical or psychological intimidation. When I say it I mean that the dogs knows me and my wife are in charge, and the dog needs to listen to us. I don't mean it in any other way. With this sort of thinking, you have to think: why? Why does the dog need to listen to you? Why? You need to demonstrate to the dog why - and positive-based methods / NILIF works well for teaching that there are positive outcomes to correct behaviours. The dog's probably been used to getting on furniture in a previous home. If you don't want that to happen, make sure there's an area that is hers, keep a lead on her so you/your wife can calmly remove her from furniture without having to grab her collar or similar to haul her off. Teach her to jump on and off the furniture on cue. Treat for her to jump on, treat off, treat on, treat off. Then have it so that she gets no treat for getting on, but always gets a treat when answering the cue to get off. Reaching in and pulling a dog off the furniture or similar is a pretty good way to make them start guarding it. I also work with a rescue and we generally won't home a resource guarder with children, fwiw. All it takes is a kid to reach past the dog, for the dog to think the child wants what it has, and then you've got a bitten child and a dog with a bite history
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Feb 22, 2015 14:39
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Engineer Lenk posted:It means that my shelter will not adopt a dog out who has exhibited resource guarding to a household with members under the age of 18. I've seen one dog come back from an 'adult-only' household for biting a kid. This was a situation where the adopters were fully briefed about the importance of management and the potential risks of having this dog around kids. They conveniently failed to mention during the adoption process that a family friend with kids was over all the time. I don't believe I mentioned she was rough when I try to take something away. When I first tried that method I saw on the kikopup video she responded well. No growling or snapping. She traded up as they said and took the treat and I took the toy.
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Feb 22, 2015 15:04
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Fraction posted:With this sort of thinking, you have to think: why? Why does the dog need to listen to you? Why? You need to demonstrate to the dog why - and positive-based methods / NILIF works well for teaching that there are positive outcomes to correct behaviours. Most of the resources I've seen tend to champion positive reinforcement for good behavior: get treats or praise for sitting, coming when called, dropping a toy etc. so long as we show there's good reason to do as we ask, things should go in a positive direction. I'll use that furniture idea extensively today as she's getting on the couch!
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Feb 22, 2015 15:07
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PRESIDENT GOKU posted:I have given my new dog chew toys to chew on. She's chewing these toys, a rawhide bone right now, with a gusto. What I want to learn is how do I take something away from her once she already has it? If she gets a hold of a shoe, the remote, or something else she isn't supposed to have, what is a good way to train/condition her not to tear my hand off if I reach in and try to take it? Hyperbole aside, this is not how you describe a dog whose issues are minor.
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Feb 22, 2015 15:22
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Engineer Lenk posted:Hyperbole aside, this is not how you describe a dog whose issues are minor. I didn't think it meant she was being insanely vicious. She was happily chewing on her toy. I just tried the on the couch off the couch, with a lead and leash, and treats. She got up on the couch happily because she already wants to, but getting her off was more troubling. I'd say the success rate was about 50 50. These things take time and more than one session, don't they. Positively interrupting undesirable behavior is becoming more important. lite_sleepr fucked around with this message at 16:08 on Feb 22, 2015 |
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Feb 22, 2015 15:29
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The first step is management, always. Having a dog that will listen to you cheerily is awesome, but the best way to handle does is to preempt possible issues. Be proactive, not reactive. Working on getting on/off the couch during training sessions is great, but I would tether the dog nearby its bed when you're not training so you don't have to 'make her get off when she doesn't want to'.
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Feb 22, 2015 17:02
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I made a video. (Fraction, avert your eyes.) It's a how-to video to teach your dog to beg/sit pretty, and then hug a toy. It's pretty cute. Check it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13yK5lugP2U Like this. Only without the head balancing component. 
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Feb 22, 2015 17:04
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Goku why don't you come back to your thread where there are tons of people willing and able to help you make a Good Decision, as you put it?
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Feb 22, 2015 17:53
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wtftastic posted:Goku why don't you come back to your thread where there are tons of people willing and able to help you make a Good Decision, as you put it? Applying dominance theory to a poorly bred shelter pit is really, really dangerous and it would really help if you could come back to your thread and lay out a very clear picture of all of her behavior, how she reacts in certain situations, and what training styles and approaches you're planning on applying to her so that we can help you come up with a concrete gameplan. You have a kid and a cat and this kind of dog is not something you want to screw up with.
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Feb 22, 2015 18:01
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My puppy is seven months old now and hasn't eliminated inside for over two of those months. Since its been so long I decided to expand the area she can go while supervised to to up stairs sitting room. I taught her to carefully use the stairs and I moved the gate to the upstairs hallway. When she got upstairs for the first time she immediately pooped. How do I make her know the same rules apply upstairs as they do downstairs?
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Feb 22, 2015 18:03
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Superconsndar posted:Applying dominance theory to a poorly bred shelter pit is really, really dangerous and it would really help if you could come back to your thread and lay out a very clear picture of all of her behavior, how she reacts in certain situations, and what training styles and approaches you're planning on applying to her so that we can help you come up with a concrete gameplan. You have a kid and a cat and this kind of dog is not something you want to screw up with. I want to see him tsst that dog until it eats his face. That is my helpful post. It is the most helpful post. He's already screwed up by adopting a dog he's poo poo prepared for and it's going to be oxford comma or maremma levels of fun.
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Feb 22, 2015 18:07
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hatty posted:My puppy is seven months old now and hasn't eliminated inside for over two of those months. Since its been so long I decided to expand the area she can go while supervised to to up stairs sitting room. I taught her to carefully use the stairs and I moved the gate to the upstairs hallway. When she got upstairs for the first time she immediately pooped. How do I make her know the same rules apply upstairs as they do downstairs? poo poo happens, deal with it. (seriously though tether her to you while you're upstairs and you'll see her going !!!! I have to poo poo!!!! or I have to pee!!!! sniffing and then you can run her outside and pet her and oh my good lord GOOD DOG screaming just like you did for downstairs. She'll get it.)
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Feb 22, 2015 18:09
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hatty posted:My puppy is seven months old now and hasn't eliminated inside for over two of those months. Since its been so long I decided to expand the area she can go while supervised to to up stairs sitting room. I taught her to carefully use the stairs and I moved the gate to the upstairs hallway. When she got upstairs for the first time she immediately pooped. How do I make her know the same rules apply upstairs as they do downstairs? just do the same thing you did downstairs when she was new p much
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Feb 22, 2015 18:09
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Fluffy Bunnies posted:I want to see him tsst that dog until it eats his face. That is my helpful post. It is the most helpful post. He's already screwed up by adopting a dog he's poo poo prepared for and it's going to be oxford comma or maremma levels of fun. ILL STILL HELP HIM IF HELL QUIT BEING A BABY
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Feb 22, 2015 18:09
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hatty posted:My puppy is seven months old now and hasn't eliminated inside for over two of those months. Since its been so long I decided to expand the area she can go while supervised to to up stairs sitting room. I taught her to carefully use the stairs and I moved the gate to the upstairs hallway. When she got upstairs for the first time she immediately pooped. How do I make her know the same rules apply upstairs as they do downstairs? Basically you have to do the same thing you did downstairs upstairs again. Dogs are lovely at generalizing and your pup probably thinks upstairs is outside of the area he is not allowed to eliminate in. Tether, watch, set timers, etc.
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Feb 22, 2015 18:12
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Thanks, it's kinda obvious what to do now that it was spelled out for me. Got to get timer out again I guess
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Feb 22, 2015 18:21
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Within 3 minutes 3 pi posters posted the same thing about A Man And His Dog Question. hatty posted:Thanks, it's kinda obvious what to do now that it was spelled out for me. Got to get timer out again I guess Eh it doesn't have to be exact timing. Just you know, if you do need an alarm by all means.
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Feb 22, 2015 18:22
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hatty posted:Thanks, it's kinda obvious what to do now that it was spelled out for me. Got to get timer out again I guess Eh, its okay, I think pretty much anyone would have done what you did and been equally puzzled. Some dogs just aren't good generalizers.
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Feb 22, 2015 18:29
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a life less posted:I made a video. (Fraction, avert your eyes.) WHERE IS THE LIKE BUTTON I CAN'T FIND IT good dog cohen 
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Feb 22, 2015 18:36
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Can any of you recommend one or two of the books from the list in the OP as a comprehensive resource on newer methods of training? I'm pretty experienced with handling and training dogs. However, everything I learned was definitely "old school." Main reason I'm asking is that we just bought a labradoodle pup and I want to make sure I'm up on the newest stuff. He is showing a lot of aptitude already and I'm definitely going to look into more advanced obedience or other handling work depending on what I observe as he gets older. I also have an older dog (3 years) who I've done very little work with. She's small, pretty mellow, and mostly been a house dog. But if I'm going to have the other dog outside, off-leash, etc., I'd like her to be able to participate. Any tips on working with older dogs?
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Feb 22, 2015 22:20
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Has anyone here ever trained a dog to be a therapy dog? I'm going to be a special education teacher, and I'd like to eventually get and train a dog so I can bring it to school with me for my students to read to and to make testing less stressful. I've looked up some information, but it seems like the process varies a lot nationwide. Are there breeds that are best suited for being therapy dogs?
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Feb 23, 2015 18:12
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Pinball posted:Has anyone here ever trained a dog to be a therapy dog? I'm going to be a special education teacher, and I'd like to eventually get and train a dog so I can bring it to school with me for my students to read to and to make testing less stressful. I've looked up some information, but it seems like the process varies a lot nationwide. Are there breeds that are best suited for being therapy dogs? It's more the dog than the breed, though there are some breeds that are more prevelant just because you're going to see more of that particular breed that are laid back and happy to loaf all day. Look for a friendly, biddable dog that wants to please and you've already won half the battle. Doesn't matter if it's purebred or a mutt.
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Feb 23, 2015 18:39
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Hey pet goons. I'm visiting my parents this weekend and was wondering if you all could give some advice for me to convey to my folks about training the family dogs. While they also need to be actually leash trained, I'd rather tackle some issues the youngest dog has first. That is, I'm not convinced he was socialized as a puppy right. We got him at eight weeks so I don't think it was the breeder's fault but our own. He was very nervous around strange people and dogs as a pup and as such we let him be and just let him avoid them. He's very friendly in the house with the other dogs, my parents and I, my siblings, and my brother-in-law, but he's weary of anyone new in the house though he will adjust. Outside is a different story. While I've never seen him snap at anyone, he will growl at any cats, dogs, or people he sees about 50% of the time. Doesn't matter if they're across the street unless he's to preoccupied with me moving him away. Do you all have any suggestions on how to socialize an adult dog (he's 2 going on 3)? Or do my parents just have an anxious/aggressive dog and there's not much they can do? He's a purebred Basset, if that helps.
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Feb 24, 2015 05:15
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There are definitely things your family can do even if their dog is anxious and aggressive but it requires them to understand that their dog has serious issues that will take regular, dedicating training to fix. Unfortunately convincing family members that their dog's behavior is a problem is pretty hard and if you don't live with the dog it's going to be really hard to fix it's problems. You can pass on some books like this or this or this but unless your family is dedicated to understanding and fixing the problem, the dog isn't gonna improve much. That being said - both my poorly socialized, fear reactive dog and my super drivey, dog-aggressive dog have had a lot of success with behavior adjustment training (BAT). They're not fully ~rehabilitated~ yet but the dog who used to jump out of windows to attack other dogs can train in a group class without lunging or barking thanks to BAT. Triangulum fucked around with this message at 07:37 on Feb 24, 2015 |
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Feb 24, 2015 07:34
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I really, really love this article for addressing socialization/fear in dogs. Like, really love it. http://www.clickertraining.com/dont-socialize-the-dog The books mentioned by Triangulum are great too.
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Feb 24, 2015 13:40
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Anyone have any tips for recall training? I can break her attention but I can't get her to come to me when I call her. She just kind of stares at me then plops down and lets out a broo.
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Mar 3, 2015 19:59
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Right, can anyone share any pearls of wisdom on teaching 'leave it' when 'it' is the entire ground? We're going to start covering it next week at training but i kind of want (need) to get a head start after yesterday's efforts. The training club we go to is a big field where there are a number of grounds training, and it's used for agility competitions etc when not in use for classes. Basically this means the grounds are a smorgasbord of dropped treats or interesting smells where meaty treats have been. For entirely food motivated Sterling, it is the ultimate distraction and I can barely get him to pay attention to me or lift his nose off the ground. Without training the go-to was having to hold his leash really short so he couldn't put his head down without pulling - so he was straining and choking himself to get to the ground regardless. Not ideal. What he does know is that sit/down = implied 'wait/stay' and that he shouldn't break without an okay even when food is right in front of him, but that flies out the window when we start moving. I was using good treats as a lure which sometimes worked but the ground was covered with bits of hotdog. Any tips?
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Mar 3, 2015 20:07
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Ultimate Shrek Fan posted:Anyone have any tips for recall training? I can break her attention but I can't get her to come to me when I call her. She just kind of stares at me then plops down and lets out a broo. Run away. Tamarillo posted:Right, can anyone share any pearls of wisdom on teaching 'leave it' when 'it' is the entire ground? We're going to start covering it next week at training but i kind of want (need) to get a head start after yesterday's efforts. Start small, with smelly treats in a closed hand, then click and treat (a different treat than the one in your fist) when he makes any movement away from it. Repeat until he's throwing his head away from your hand, then you can move to an open hand - hand closes if he comes in for it, click/treat if he moves away. Repeat until he's not diving at your hand, and this is the point where I'd name the behavior 'leave it'. Then start with food on the floor just under your foot (or on the floor with him on a leash so he can't reach it). Click/treat every time he moves away from the floor food, making sure he doesn't have the opportunity to self-reward.
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Mar 3, 2015 22:59
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Shame posting with a wounded hand: My corgi's food aggression toward other dogs is getting worse. She's had a few incidents in the past where she has lunged for my girlfriend's rott mix when food is in the vicinity but today she bit the poo poo out of me while I tried to pull them apart. My gf was pouring dog food from the bag into a container, which made both dogs come running. My corgi lunged, and here we are. Help me Pet Island! I feel like such a lovely owner because I've let it get to this point. We've been working on Leave It and trying to keep the dogs separate while eating, but it's getting to where my corgi thinks every piece of food in the house belongs to her. We don't feed her any human food, for what it's worth. For background information, I rescued her nearly 2 years ago, she's the only pet in my house and my gf and I live separately but the two dogs see each other three days a week for the past 5 months. Is there any reading I can do for an idea of where to get started, or am I better off taking her to someone more experienced than I am since there's the possibility of getting bitten? I know I'm in for a long uphill battle, and I feel like garbage that I let my dog become like this. Millions fucked around with this message at 01:20 on Mar 6, 2015 |
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Mar 6, 2015 01:03
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Millions posted:Shame posting with a wounded hand: My corgi's food aggression toward other dogs is getting worse. She's had a few incidents in the past where she has lunged for my girlfriend's rott mix when food is in the vicinity but today she bit the poo poo out of me while I tried to pull them apart. My gf was pouring dog food from the bag into a container, which made both dogs come running. My corgi lunged, and here we are. Dog-dog resource guarding is difficult to deal with. Dogs can figure out that humans don't want that slimy dirty treat on the floor, but they know full well that the other dog wants it. However, it can be improved, and your understanding of it can expand. I don't have the time to lay it out right now, but I'm sure we touch on it a few times in this (huge) thread. The bottom line is that you should read Mine! by Jean Donaldson. It explains resource guarding, classical conditioning and sets up various exercises for you to do with your dog. The other bottom line is that you should up your management. If food is being prepared, get the dogs out of the kitchen, or into crates or whatever. Each time she rehearses this behaviour, those behaviour patterns are worn into her brain and she becomes more likely to follow those paths in the future. Look up "its yer choice" and crate games and other self control type games.
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Mar 6, 2015 02:03
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I finished Fight! by her recently, it's got bunches of good info. Book said to give the other dogs treats first to work as a conditioner, did it, and that along with time helped out a bunch. Dog has started to play a little bit with the other dogs, sometimes is a bit nervous, but a ton better.
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Mar 6, 2015 07:49
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For what it's worth, I didn't find Mine! as helpful as I'd hoped for dog-dog resource guarding because it focuses entirely on dog-human resource guarding. Some of the exercises can be adapted though so you may find it worth a read anyways. Like ALL said, it's time to get serious with your management. Don't feed your dogs or give them chews unless they are crated and they should be crated while you and your gf cook or eat. (The nice thing about this is it makes the crate an even more powerfully rewarding place  My dogs powerslide into their crates when they hear the freezer open ) You have to control and prevent access to all the items your dog has an inclination to guard. Keep working on her impulse control and leave it skills and set up a baby gate so you can safely start counter conditioning her to the presence of the rottie around food. A rock solid down-stay on both dogs is also extremely helpful. I personally would also work on rewarding the rottie heavily for disengaging or ignoring your corgi (while they are separated by a baby gate obviously). Keep in mind that your dog may never completely stop guarding from other dogs and that's ok as long as you take proper steps to insure that she doesn't hurt anyone. With training and management you can improve her behavior considerably and give her the skills she needs to be able to cope but she might never be the kind of dog who can happily chew on a bone with another dog. All of my dogs resource guard to varying degrees and while they've gotten a lot better, meals and bones are always fed in crates and we don't allow them to play with toys unsupervised. Also learn how to break up a dog fight safely just in case poo poo goes down. But that goes for any dog owner really. Here are some more resources: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_10/features/Resource-Guarding-Behavior-Modification_20368-1.html http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3339
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Mar 6, 2015 23:42
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What are your recommendations for the best comprehensive book on clicker training? Sorry for asking again.
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Mar 7, 2015 00:19
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Clicker training is pretty simple, you shouldn't need a book just to learn how to use a clicker. There are a ton of youtube videos demonstrating how it works if you're not sure how to start. If you're looking to figure out how to clicker train a specific behavior that's a different story.
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Mar 7, 2015 03:49
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Clicker training is pretty simple, you shouldn't need a book just to learn how to use a clicker. There are a ton of youtube videos demonstrating how it works if you're not sure how to start. If you're looking to figure out how to clicker train a specific behavior that's a different story. I just like to have something I can quickly reference.
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Mar 7, 2015 06:28
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Triangulum posted:
How do you do this by the way?
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Mar 7, 2015 16:52
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The Power of Positive Dog Training by Pat Miller is my fave. I keep giving out my copy to people and never getting it back 
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Mar 7, 2015 18:42
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Xtanstic posted:How do you do this by the way? http://leerburg.com/dogfight.htm Probably won't work if a pit is involved though
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Mar 9, 2015 19:54
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Hey Everyone. I've been gone from the forums for a few years and haven't had any pets in my life for that time. That's recently changed and I'm back It's nice to see a lot of the same people still here dispensing awesome advice. This is Piper    Piper is 2.5 years old and belongs to my boyfriend. I've been in town visiting for a month and have been working on some training with her though she already knew a lot of the basics like sit, down, stay, don't jump on people, etc. She's a complete goof, super loving, and pretty responsive to training. She's also a super stereotypical pit. This issue now, however, is that Piper is dog aggressive (surprise!). Boyfriend didn't realize before how reactive she is and that it's something that needs some attention. He realizes it now and is open to working with her and training. I'm trying to help but I know when I'm in over my head so I'm turning to you guys. Also, if anyone could recommend a good trainer in Phoenix, AZ for dog aggressive dogs that would be fantastic. I'm going to be out of town again until August so it would be nice if he has a professional to consult and who can work with her over that time. Here's what is going on: Piper was adopted as a puppy, went to PetSmart puppy classes, went to the dog park, played with friend and family's adult dogs and all was hunky dory. As she reached 1.5-2 she began getting into scuffles at the dog park. There were a total of 3 fights with smaller dogs before she stopped going to the dog park. She's reactive to seeing almost any dog when out on walks or runs. With small dogs she has an aggressive reaction, with bigger dogs it's a toss up on whether she'll try to play or if she'll bark and lunge. We're not letting her close to them and we're avoiding dogs as much as possible when out for walks but sometimes we see them anyway. Ideally we would like her to be able to tolerate seeing and maybe even walking past other dogs without reacting. Also for her to have supervised play with certain dogs that she gets along well with. The one factor that's going to make this extra difficult is this guy right here  Boyfriend is getting a roommate in two weeks and this is the roommates' dog. He weighs about five pounds. I'm not even sure dog aggression is going to be the issue here so much as prey drive (Piper has buckets of that). Pretty sure she's just gonna think it's a squirrel and want to eat it. On the plus side, both dogs are crate trained and boyfriend is willing to crate and rotate and do slow introductions as per the advice of this forum, a trainer if we can find one, and me. The resources I've been looking at are: http://badrap-blog.blogspot.com/2009/08/fostering-drive-in-slow-lane-for-dogdog.html http://www.clickertraining.com/dont-socialize-the-dog (as per ALL advice in the last few pages) and I'm going to recommend he buy and read "Fight!" by Jean Donaldson, "Behavior Adjustment Training: BAT for Fear, Frustration, and Aggression in Dogs" by Grisha Stewart, and "Click to Calm" by Emma Parsons. We bought a muzzle and have been clicker training her to stick her nose in it and keep it there for longer and longer though we're only up to about five seconds so far. I'm imagining if she's comfortable wearing it then it could reduce the chances of tinydog getting swallowed whole. Is this an idiotic plan? Right now I don't think we've done any harm in just teaching her to wear it but if it's stupid I don't want to put it on her for meeting another dog. Are there any other recommendations to start off with? Also I'm super interested in some detail on how you train a super solid leave it for seeing other dogs in public places Superconsndar if you're reading this.
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Mar 12, 2015 19:50
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I would maybe consider a slow introduction while muzzled, working towards being able to be uncrated together, if these were one slightly reactive dog and one chill dog of the same size. But Piper is a dog-aggressive, prey-driven pit bull. Even considering having those two in the same space uncrated is a really bad idea. Even with a muzzle on, Piper could kill the chihuahua. By all means, work on her reactivity so that she can walk well and won't react to the chi if she sees it. But do not expect them to one day be okay together. If Piper makes a mistake, it will be very costly for the chi. 6-Ethyl Bearcat fucked around with this message at 20:57 on Mar 12, 2015 |
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Mar 12, 2015 20:55
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