My dog is smarter than your honor student: the Dog Training Thread

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MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Need a sanity check and some advice here. Our golden retriever, Sadie, is now about 9 months old and excelling at most things (including, on occasion, being a tremendous rear end). Her agility/obedience/rally training is actually going very well, and given that this is our first foray into these activities, I'm very happy with our progress. We train with her at least once a day for 15 minutes or so, and my wife is home with her every day so she usually gets more than that, plus exercise, weather permitting.

One of the things we're still struggling with is greeting other people. She gets very excited and jumps and mouths. We've been firmly commanding "OFF" as soon as she jumps and hauling her off if she doesn't immediately obey, and this IS getting better as she gets older. If it's not a brand new person, she does pretty well with a treat and a command to focus. We did this over the holidays when we wanted her out of the way when my parents' dogs went out -- a treat and a focus with eye contact for up to 2 minutes was not a problem. But a new person is exponentially more exciting than any treat we have, even her favorites. We've tried getting the other people she greets to do all the right things -- ignore and cross arms/stare at the sky until she sits and calms down, but that just doesn't work. The PEOPLE are the problem, even the ones in our training class and I've given up on them, so we're on our own here.

So, my wife and I came up with a plan this weekend. We're going to try to desensitize her to people by setting up a couple of lawn chairs out in front of Petsmart for a few hours with her on a short leash. We may get a posterboard up too that says something to the effect of "I am trying to learn to meet people. If I get too excited, please keep walking." If she can sit and greet calmly without mouthing, we'll treat. She knows the kisses command, but when she's excited she hates following it, so we'll probably bring her bumper so she has something to stick in her mouth for the first bit. And I'll be there for the people that can't take a cue to shoo them off.

Does this sound like it will work? Anyone have any advice or tweaks to recommend?

# ¿ Jan 7, 2011 15:20

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 05:41

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Kerfuffle posted:

I can tell you already that this won't work simply because people are completely loving stupid and will pet the dog regardless. ("OH SHE'S JUST BEING FRIENDLY") Especially if they have kids. (They want to pet the doggy why are you such awful people who won't let them pet the doggy?) Strangers are not reliable when it comes to dog training.

Do you have an alternative suggestion? We're kind of at a loss here and I'm worried that this behavior is going to continue to be a problem as she gets older.

# ¿ Jan 8, 2011 16:06

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Ridonkulous posted:

Whats the benefit of using rice/potato flour over white/wheat flour?

Wheat is a common allergen for many dogs. Check the Pet Nutrition thread.

# ¿ Jan 19, 2011 15:12

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Emasculatrix posted:

I want to work on having my dog sit and watch me when another dog approaches. I was thinking of taking him to a local dog park/trail later today, when there won't be a lot of dogs. I plan on keeping him on leash, but I'm worried that another dog will get in his face, triggering his aggressive response.

With the trainer, we've been using her dogs so far, and she calls them away from him after the initial approach. Since I won't have that guarantee with strange dogs, is there something else I could do? Or should I keep off taking him to the park until he's had more training? I don't want to jeopardize our efforts, but I thought if everything goes well it could be a really good thing for him.

You will probably get a better response from someone like a life less, but I can add in a little bit here because this is exactly what my wife and I have been working on with our golden retriever puppy (10 months), just with people more-so than dogs.

How is your focus training as it stands with just you and the dog? You'll need to have that down pat before you bother trying to mix in what amounts to an enormous and mouth-watering distraction. Our command word for this is "focus" and it means look at me and wait for me to prompt you.

We did this starting pretty early on with low value treats to start -- we love Charlie Bears for this sort of thing. We would get her attention by waving the treat in her face, then marking whenever she looked us in the face (this can be the clicker, a marker word, whatever you use). She's still not perfect. If I have the treat in front of me, she will tend to stare at my hand rather than my eyes, but she's doing more or less what I want, which is waiting for my cue. If I place it behind my back, she looks me in the eye.

Once you really have a good focus without distractions, start adding them in. We did something like what you're attempting to do for the first time last weekend. What we found after several other attempts is that, in the face of those delicious and exciting new people and potential friends, we needed an extremely high value treat to command her attention. We resorted to boiling some chicken breasts and cutting them up into small pieces.

I recommend starting off at a distance and only getting closer if the dog is doing what you're looking for. Other people and dogs are going to be your big obstacles because they won't cooperate with your lesson plan. For this, I am working on training my wife to be less friendly and polite and shooing them away when appropriate. You may want to start off actually outside the dog park and just looking in from the outside, that way you have a physical barrier between your dog and the distractions.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2011 20:47

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Saveremreve posted:

With the discussion about using a clicker vs. marker word etc. how come no one uses whistles like they do with Marine mammals? It seems like it'd be great to keep your hands free and a burst of air can be even faster than a finger press.

Our golden breeder actually whistle trained her dogs as well, but it's extremely specific and limited. She said she only had like 6 commands that she used, and I'll be honest, I don't remember all of them. I'm not sure exactly how I would go about whistle training, but she used it solely for hunting/gun dog trials. I would be kind of interested in training a long range/out of sight recall on the whistle though. That seems extremely useful.

edit: I should clarify that she was using an actual whistle, not whistling with her mouth.
Regarding marine mammals, I suspect it has a lot to do with hearing ranges and marine noises. They all communicate with whistles and tones, whereas dogs are much more domesticated and are used to the noises we make, even if we don't speak the same language.

MrFurious fucked around with this message at 22:17 on Jan 26, 2011

# ¿ Jan 26, 2011 22:10

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

That thing I sent posted:

So first off, you guys were right - Spirit only needed another day to overcome her setback before we were back on track. She's doing pretty well - just this morning we were walking back to my building, and when my neighbor came out she immediately trotted over to my side and sat down without needing to be prompted! Progress!

BUT when it comes to something she really wants to see, she's starting to get cheeky. See, normally when she pulls the command order goes "Come," then when she's close to me "Sit," then when she sits "Focus" where she has to look at me before we continue. However, since she knows that sit and focus follow come 90% of the time, she's started to just plop her butt down into a sit if I say come since she's knows that's what I'm going to ask her to do next. I don't want to discourage the sit, but if I say "Come" or "Turn around" she just looks at me like "No you're gonna make me sit anyways so I'm sittin " Is a tug on the leash to remind her to come appropriate in this instance? I don't want to walk over to her, since she's half assed on stay still and takes me walking as a sign to continue on and I don't want to encourage the behavior, since I said "Come," not "Sit."

I'm not an established PI vet, but my own two cents are that I see a couple of issues going on here. The first is that the recall needs a little work, and the others are due to pattern recognition in your training. The second is easy -- stop training her the same steps in the same order every time. People make this mistake a lot in Comp. Obed. because they always train a finish after a recall. So in the ring, after the recall the dog immediately executes a finish. Mix them up so that she doesn't think that you're giving her a single command that consists of three words. You also may want to consider training her to a proper heel, which means she returns to your side and waits for your cue.

My wife and I are actually thinking very seriously about spending the 30 bucks on Patricia McConnell's recall training DVD. Our dog's recall is fairly good, but we really want it to be unwavering because it's so crucial, especially if we ever want to take her hiking off leash.

What we've done so far with the recalls is going to an outdoor area, with a very long lead. This is not a self-retracting leash, this is an actual 30 foot nylon leash. Leave it coiled near you, and make sure you retain the end. Tie it to your belt, step on it, whatever, but RETAIN CONTROL of the leash.

Let the dog wander off and get into a distraction (ours likes to eat bushes). Give the recall command, and make sure that you put the appropriate amount of energy into it. Your voice should indicate excitement and joy -- it should be a happy human bark, not an angry or stern command. The goal is for her to come racing to you as fast as she can, and sit in front of you, focusing on you. If you get something close to this (even if it's not super fast -- treat it). If the dog isn't going as fast as you'd like, keep hold of the leash and run a few steps away from her. The goal is to trigger a chase game in which she is trying to catch you. This usually works.

One of the important things is not to issue the command more than once. Say it once, loudly and clearly (and happily). If the dog doesn't respond, take the leash and reel the dog into you, placing her into a sit like you want. Don't jerk or yank the leash, as you're trying to set the dog up to succeed.

In terms of correcting her when she's not doing what you want, I've had good success with our golden by taking an exaggerated body stance. When she's doing something that is obviously not what I asked, I cock my head and put my fists on my hips. I wanted to use something that would be easy to make very consistently understandable for her, and something that I could easily repeat. Giving her a tug on the leash might not be such a clear signal to her -- it could just mean "wrong direction, we're going this way" or, if she's already a puller, it may be a stimulus that she's already accustomed to ignoring.

Hope this helps.

# ¿ Jan 28, 2011 19:46

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

That thing i said posted:

Park stuff

Just make sure you've got a solid recall indoors before you go outdoors, or you're pushing her too fast. Indoors is a much more comfortable and familiar environment. If she's not doing it regularly inside, outdoors is probably too much too fast.

a life less posted:

(Mr Furious, was it McConnell's blog that talked about patterning in the Comp OB ring? What you mentioned sounds so familiar but I can't remember whether I read a blog article about it or what.)

I'm sure she's talked about it, but to be honest my wife would know better than I. I've seen it in other places too, and our trainer has mentioned it as well (although we are currently falling out of love with her and considering trying to do our own thing and just focusing on obedience for a while). My wife has gone whole hog on the dog training since we got Sadie back in May. The things we have learned in ten months are mind boggling. She just finished The Other End of the Leash too, so we're big fans.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2011 01:47

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Kiri koli posted:

She has a Watch command that I need to work on more, but I think it bores her. Are there any fun focus games that people know of?

Ours loves to play tug. We have a few toys that are mostly dedicated tug toys. We'll get those out and get her engaged, then put a hand on it and say "Give" (she is really good about this), and make her focus on us for a little while, then give it back and play some more tug. This works pretty well to get her focused briefly, but it isn't always practical.

# ¿ Jan 29, 2011 15:55

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

wraithgar posted:

Reminder that your 'lure' can be anything. I took the sponge off an old aquarium scraper and just use that

http://source-www.petco.com/Assets/product_images/1/1083812040B.jpg

Seems reasonable that you could use a specific hand gesture as well. What if I make a fist and stick my pinky out and have her follow that? Anyone tried something similar?

# ¿ Feb 1, 2011 21:35

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Flesh Forge posted:

A dumb thing that I was doing wrong for the past few days of noob clicker training: Darla is a little teeny tiny 9 pound dog, and I've been giving her these treats:

They are about a cubic centimeter in volume and have a pretty great strong stink to them, and worked pretty well as a motivator.

And then I watched this short vid on what kinds of treats Kikopup trains with:
http://www.youtube.com/user/kikopup#p/u/43/YJY8Hee7ewc

For toy dogs, she recommends a treat the size of a pinhead. That is about 1/1000th the volume (yes, one one-thousandth) of the commercial treats I started with. I've switched over to very tiny cut-up pieces of leftover meats like pork chop and chicken and y'know, she works just as hard for these (harder actually because she isn't bloated after eating 10 of them). A small FYI for other noobs like me, I don't see this kind of thing really noted anywhere else (maybe I'm just a lot dumber than most other people about simple things like feeding huge chunks of food to tiny dogs).

Might check out Charlee Bears. They're a little large for toy dogs using Kikopups' advice, but they have a fair bit of air in the shell, so their outside volume is not their actual volume. They're freeze dried liver treats in a cracker shell. They're about the size of a dime, but they're only like 3 calories each, so they're fantastic for steady treat training.

http://www.amazon.com/All-Natural-Dog-Treats-Resealable/dp/B0002XAFTG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1296657317&sr=8-1

# ¿ Feb 2, 2011 15:35

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Flesh Forge posted:

Thanks, I'll look into those. I need something that can be tossed and then found so those are probably much better than tiny bits of soft meat. Are they stinky?

Not at all. They have a distinct odor, but it's not even remotely unpleasant. They just smell like a dried food product, similar to dog food.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2011 16:55

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

gvibes posted:

We are having an extremely difficult time house-training our pup. He is about 11 weeks old now, and we have had him for two weeks. He has about 4-5 accidents a day, and it's not getting better.

These are not excited or submissive accidents. It's just random pissing/crapping (crapping accidents are relatively rare as you can catch him in time, but he gives no signals that he's going to piss). Like, for instance, this morning, we woke up, took him out, he pissed/poo poo, we brought him back in, fed him, and he pissed about five minutes later.

He never pisses in the same spot, and usually he does it right in front of us. It's done so quick that is basically impossible to startle or stop him in the act. It can be as little as 20-30 minutes after he had pissed outside, so he doesn't really have to go. He just doesn't get that you are supposed to piss outside, not inside, and I'm not sure how to make him realize that.

There are lots of posts on house training in this thread and the puppy thread. What breed is the dog? How old is it? What is your regiment currently for trying to housetrain? How are you reacting when the dog has an accident? Apartment? House? Are you crate training? This is all relevant.

# ¿ Feb 2, 2011 17:09

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

MinorApplicator posted:

I need some major help with my dog. He's a 18-month old beagle mix (Wally) who we rescued about a year ago. Today my wife found a stray Boxer-mix with no collar on in the middle of a blizzard who she brought home. We took her (we named her Roxy) to the vet today and she's not chipped so we've decided to try to keep her. She's been great this first night but the real problem is Wally. He just doesn't like other dogs, especially dogs that are bigger than him which Roxy is. We kept them both on leases and tried to let them sniff butts but as soon as Roxy as much as even moves her head slightly towards Wally he will jump and lunge at Roxy. We separated them with a dog gate and Wally flares his lips and barks very aggressively at Roxy.

So far Roxy seems like an amazing dog but if we can't fix how Wally treats Roxy then we'll have to give her away. I hope someone has some good advice for us.

I have no experience with this sort of problem whatsoever, so I am just spitballing here, but this seems like a good opportunity for some pretty classic counter conditioning.

What about getting some really high value treats -- something with actual meat would be a good example. You should probably do this in tandem with your wife, so that neither dog gets jealous.

Put Roxy on one side of the gate and have your wife stay over there just being calm and hanging out with her. Use the treats as a lure to slowly get Wally closer to the gate, while maintaining focus on you. Make sure that you ONLY treat when she is focused on you and being calm at this stage.

The goal is to get Wally next to the gate and in close proximity to Roxy. Whenever he is being calm and not showing any signs of aggression (things like ears flat, mouth tightly closed, stiffening of stance, etc), you treat him with these high value treats. This may take a while, but eventually Wally should associate Roxy with some totally bitchin' treats, and will want to hang out with her.

If Wally starts to have a poor reaction, block in front of him to try and break his focus and get him focused on you. Wait for him to calm down, or try to help him calm down, and then treat him again. His "bubble" is going to start off big, but you can condition it into being small.

You can find more info about counter conditioning on Dr. Sophia Yin's website (https://www.drsophiayin.com) and here's a video that gets linked frequently as a good example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI13v9JgJu0

Timing is critical. You want to make sure that you are treating and marking when you get the behavior you are looking for. Also, I hope this is a needless question, but Wally is fixed right?

# ¿ Feb 3, 2011 15:51

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

a life less posted:

Actually, it doesn't matter what Wally is doing as long as he's able to take treats. Ideally you want to keep him under threshold, but classical conditioning does not rely on how a dog is behaving (operant conditioning does). You can keep tossing him treats regardless of whether he's behaving or not. Some people think that if you do this you're "rewarding" bad behaviour, but it doesn't work like this in the dog's head.

Classical conditioning is not contingent on a dog's reaction to be fed.

Operant conditioning relies on the dog's reaction to be supplied with a reward.

I stand corrected. Thanks for the clarification.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2011 16:17

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

EVG posted:

How do you train your dog to run back to catch something you're about to throw?

My dog has a new-found LOVE of catching stuff thrown in the air, but is having trouble grasping that we want him to "go long" to catch it.

He understands how to play fetch and likes that too, but never "anticipates" the throw like I've seen labs/retrievers do - where they KNOW you are gonna throw it and run out to where it is going to be.

Danny just stares at us and the toy in our hand, like "Listen stupid, I see you have the toy. Why would I go over there when the toy I want is right here in your hand?"

This isn't quite the answer to your question but it's similar. We're teaching Sadie a "back" command which means backup. I put my arm out, hand is palm down and then I wag it at her vertically to indicate that I want her to keep backing up. Eventually, I want to be able to stand there and have her back up until I stop moving the hand.

We're teaching the back up basically the same way that Victoria Stilwell does on her show, just via blocking. Start making the hand motion, say the command and then just walk into them. They'll back up. She kept backing to the side though, so we had to rig the game so that she had to back up in a straight line.

We made sure to walk to her to treat after backing up, so she understood she had to stay there. This is also very useful for the kitchen when we are cooking and is the real reason we started teaching it.

# ¿ Feb 4, 2011 15:08

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

a life less posted:

Zukes Minis

Where is the love for Charlee Bears? Do you have an opinion on them?

# ¿ Feb 10, 2011 15:40

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

hailthefish posted:

Just be warned that 2 dogs is not work*2, it's work^2.

I have two Australian Cattle Dogs, a 7 month old male and a 6 month old female. Both fixed. Ridiculously smart, both had sit down pat at 10 weeks and down at about 12, they're fairly good about "leave it", we've finally got the housetraining thing mostly there. Still have the occasional excited pee or a "hurry up, hurry up, I gotta go I gotta go, go faster, I need to go ou-... nevermind" poop, but 99% of the time they do business outside with minimal fuss.

The major issue is that they both go absolutely loving PSYCHO at dinner time. So much as glancing at the dinner bowls starts a frenzy of running, barking, jumping, and if they're in their crates, crate-digging. It's not the time that sets them off, it's the ritual of getting the food ready, which is good in that we can change the ritual which throws them off for a little while, but bad in that at some stage, the kibble container has to be opened and food has to be carried out and put down. They can't eat out of their crates together, since they'll just squabble over the food and one gets all of it and the other gets nothing. We try not to reinforce the barking by giving them their bowls while it's going on, but all they've learned from that is that it's ok to bark and throw a loving fit right up until we get to the crates with the bowls, and then they sit quietly, though anxious. When they eat, they eat fast, they don't go super duper fast and I check for signs of bloat but it's never happened. We're trying to figure out a way to put a stop to the absolute circus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5oPFmmvmBE - my puppers

Sounds like you're pretty close, and on the right track. Can they see you preparing their food? If so, just use some negative punishment techniques. As soon as they begin to act up, put the food or whatever you're working with on the counter and stop preparing it. Assume a body posture that says you're stopping. Cross your arms and point your nose at the ceiling and be the biggest snob you can be. If that doesn't get the message through, try putting it back and just leaving the room and ignoring them. The point is that when they act up, everything stops and you start over.

They already understand this concept if they're sitting quietly in their crates when you get there. Just extend that same behavior to the entire process. You're close, just be patient.

Also regarding feeding, we've had similar problems with our golden retriever. She scarfs retarded fast and we were always worrying about bloat. You can try throwing balls or toys on top of the food in their bowls. This didn't work for us, and neither did the slow-eater bowls (be careful about any of them that are not made of metal -- there are some toxin concerns that are still under debate). What we finally settled on is the big Kong Wobbler toy. Fill it up with food and make them work for it. That may be a lot harder with two dogs that won't share, so you can also just spread it across the floor of their crate if you prefer. That's what we do when we travel. If you start having weight problems, consider feeding them their largest meal in the morning rather than the evening.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2011 15:25

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Demon_Corsair posted:

that seems like a good set of exercises. I don't think I will give them food on the floor though, I had tried that before and ended up creating the expectation that if he leaves the food, then he gets it.

the other fun behavior to fix is him going after klenexes in the garbage. He generally only does it when no one is around, so it's gonna be tricky to train him out of it.

I think I need to start carrying around the clicker all the time when I am at home. I usually grab it for training time, but now that he knows clicker = treats, he will immeadiately stop any bad behavior to sit and wait for treats.

Invest in toppered waste baskets. You will not regret the money. Just anything with a foot pedal to open the top.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2011 21:30

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

ydaetskcoR posted:

I'm starting to have a few problems with our 6 month Chocolate Labrador. He's normally good as gold and we've been really lucky with him but lately whenever he doesn't get enough exercise (which seems impossible to do if we don't happen to meet up with other dogs that are off their lead at the park when walking) he will devastate the house by chewing everything and grabbing things from tables that he knows he's not allowed.

I'm guessing he sees it as a game and a fun way to burn off any excess energy but as much as I try to dissuade him and make sure it's not a game for him he will keep doing it.

I'm unfortunate in the fact that both my mother (this is supposedly her dog) and my little sister are incredibly inconsistent with training the dog and will chase after him and will in fact make it into a game any time they are watching him. Normally this hasn't been a problem and I've managed to train him reasonably well anyway because he is around me far more than the other two but I'm worried that he's finally starting to regress because of their behaviour.

How should I best deal with the dog? I've tried dealing with the human element but that's failed for the last 4 months and I'm giving up on training them. Normally with training him I've been very heavy on positive reinforcement but short of giving him a treat every minute that he's not destroying the house I have no idea what to do here that's different to simply punishing him immediately as he does it and not playing his game.

Keep in mind that dogs tend to have regression stages as well, where they will begin to revert back to puppy behavior and turn into total assholes again. Typically this happens around 7 months. This could just be one of those phases and it will get better with time. The most important thing for you to do while you wait it out is be consistent.

As alifeless said above, you need to make the bad behavior impossible to perform. Best thing to do is tether when possible, so he's never out of your sight. This will minimize his opportunities to misbehave (in theory). You can also liberally spray any items he's singling out for chewing with Bitter Apple (or whatever works). That will make the experience of chewing far less pleasant for him. But you have to be consistent.

How bad is the counter surfing? Is he getting food, or just items?

# ¿ Mar 17, 2011 21:50

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

ydaetskcoR posted:

I figured it was regression but I wasn't sure if it would stick or just be a phase. I guess I'll wait and see and try and encourage him not to keep doing it.

He tends to eat absolutely everything he can get in his mouth and always has done. Normally if it's a natural thing (snails and stones are the big ones)

DO NOT let him eat rocks. He runs the risk of chipping teeth, or worse, developing a habit of it, which can be very dangerous. Our puppy liked(likes?) to eat rocks as well, and it's a hard habit to break, but you need to take this seriously.

quote:

I tried some chew deterrent when he was a puppy but it didn't really dissuade him from eating it (although he pulled the same ridiculous face he does when he eats snails) although I did eventually manage to train him out of doing it. I'll try tethering more over the next few weeks.

All chew deterrents are not the same, and every dog is different. Some dogs hate chili powder. Ours loves it. Grannick's Bitter Apple spray seems to work well for most people, but nothing is guaranteed. Keep trying new things. Water/Vinegar mixes can work too, but be careful about spraying them because they can irritate the eyes. This is what we use when ours goes after bushes in the park. It works (SLOWLY).

# ¿ Mar 17, 2011 22:48

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Affi posted:

This is awesomely similar to our dog. Although we have scolded him (stupidly, but sometimes you get too frustrated) when he's pooped or peed indoors. And we've never used pads.

I'll try to tether him to my girl, she's writing an essay and should be home most days. With 'crating' do you mean actually putting him in a box when unattended?

Read the OP.

# ¿ Mar 18, 2011 15:10

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Rhymes With Clue posted:

Oh dear. I couldn't explain this to the trainer of his puppy class, but...

Sometimes he does a lovely kind of fold-down thing when he goes down. It's like he collapses. But if I cue him, it's always a kind of sideways thing--essentially he sits, then slides his front paws forward.

In the fold-down, he's symmetrical, and he looks very cute. He does it sometimes when he's playing, and it looks like he could just effortlessly spring back up, which he usually does about half a second later.

No particular reason, but is there any way to teach him to fold-down instead of slide down when he does his down?

(Boy do I feel picky. Nobody else in this thread, I think, has critiqued their dog's down. Poor little puppy. Okay, he's still cute when sliding into a down from a sit.)

I'm not entirely certain I understand what you're describing, but it sounds like you're talking about a proper down for the ring. This is when elbows touch the ground before butt.

If that's what you're talking about, it's fairly easy to lure train with most dogs. Take a treat and hold it in between his/her front legs. The dog should nose it. Keep moving it down and deeper between the legs until they actually lay down, then click and treat (or whatever you're using as a marker).

We actually had to re-train Down for Sadie because a down from a sit will lose you points in the obedience/rally ring every single time.

Here's another tip - if you want the dog to do down stays more reliably, teach them a slightly different command or add something onto it such that they roll their hips. It's more effort to get up from this position.

# ¿ Mar 23, 2011 14:08

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Cassiope posted:

I was trying to do the same thing with Moxie, but she got really offended by the tape and them wouldn't come near me anymore or look at me. I felt really bad and stopped trying for that trick altogether.

So yeah, count me in as interested if there are other ways to teach that too.

Have you tried teach a touch-with-paw command? Then move that target to her nose?

# ¿ Mar 23, 2011 19:43

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Vino posted:

Okay so I finally got the dog to walk/run without pulling so much so now I have been trying to train my dog to come when called outside. He comes when called inside but if he's outside then good luck getting to him.

First I realized that running him down and grabbing him was working against me. The dog associates me going to get him with grabbing him, and obviously he doesn't want to be grabbed so now he doesn't let me within arms reach. So instead I started bringing food, first chicken then ground beef, and instead of grabbing him just giving him the food and letting him go again. So now he associates me going to get him with getting food. Then I started walking him back to the house and giving him food when we got to the door so he associates coming home with getting food. I also started doing a thing where when we're outside I call him over and when he comes given him a bit of food. That has proved more successful and he now comes when called sometimes.

Problem is if he's smelling something interesting, or he smells the neighbor grilling, or he's chasing a squirrel, or for whatever drat reason he wants he doesn't come when called and then I have to chase him down again. Even if I have a huge chunk of beef in my hand he completely ignores me and runs off to do whatever the hell it is he wants to do.

Help.

If you're willing to spend $30, check out Patricia McConnell's recall DVD. We bought it, and be forewarned, the production quality is poor at best. But the information is very good. We trained it hard for about a week, and we sprinkle it in throughout the week here and there for a few minutes now and then. As a result, we have a moderately reliable (I would say 70%) recall in the dog park now.

My guess, solely upon what you posted above and no other information, is that you are trying to do too much too fast. Don't try to recall with high distractions yet. Start with baby steps and build from there. Use high value treats and praise with low distractions first, and gradually step it up. You should be starting inside until the recall inside is 90% or better.

# ¿ Mar 24, 2011 21:26

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

That thing I sent posted:

Why isn't my dog learning to hang her head? Here's how I'm teaching her:

1. Hold up high value treat (cat food because it's the only thing she'll follow with her nose and she LOVES it and I never let her eat it)
2. Say "hang your head" and slowly bring the treat directly down from her nose
3. As soon as she lowers her head, click + treat

She'll do it every time if move the treat down, but she doesn't seem to be really making the connection between what I'm saying and what I want her to do. The other tricks i've had issues with (roll over) were hard because I couldn't get her to do the behavior - for this one she's doing the behavior but only if I move the treat down for her nose to follow. Generally after two or three trick learning sessions she'll do it for me if she doesn't see the trick, but not this one. Is looking down just something dogs aren't overly comfortable doing and that's why she won't do it without me moving the treat down so she'll follow it, or am I just impatient?

#1 - Don't put the command to the behavior until she's offering it reliably. You're luring, that's incentive enough. Name it once she's got it down. Otherwise it's just white noise she has to tune out.
#2 - Phase out the treat in your hand. Do it a couple of times with the treat in your hand, then do it the same way, just minus treat. Start moving towards no treat with the luring. (If you have to, make like you get a treat, but don't actually pick it up. Your hands will still stink.)
#3 - Once you've phased out the treat, make her keep the head down briefly before clicking. Increase this interval of waiting.
#4 - Read Pat Miller's Positive Training book. He covers some of this stuff pretty well, and you should be able to infer how to make some of these tricks work if you step back and consider them.

Also, if you're struggling with #2, change the way you treat. Don't let her have the treat you lured with, give her one from the bag with the other hand.

# ¿ Mar 29, 2011 15:12

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

wtftastic posted:

Bailey is hatting on his no pull harness; he hates when I try and put it on and will lay on the ground. He's a puller, and while I work on that I need the harness for his and my sake!

He'll mouth my hands, which is upsetting, and I'm trying to figure out efficient ways to break him of the habit. He knows the harness and leash mean walkies so I'm not sure why he's such a pain about it.

You need to make putting on the harness a happy thing.
Do some reading on Sophia Yin's website about counter conditioning in addition to the OP for two basic primers to the principles you'll be applying.

My wife is awesome at this stuff and she always yells at me about not doing enough of it.

As soon as you pull out the harness, start showering him with treats until his butt wiggles. You are not putting it on him at this point, you are just making it visible. As he starts to respond positively, start getting closer to putting on him -- USING BABY STEPS. I cannot stress that piece enough. Tiny bits at a time. Eventually, you want to start treating him through it. Hold a treat out and hold the harness up so that he has to stick his head through it to get the treat.

When he is doing this without any hesitation you can start putting it actually on him, while treating him the entire time. Once you get to this step, it's unclear whether you should take him for a walk or just have him wear it for a little while and keep feeding him treats. If walks are a big fun thing for him, they can be the reinforcer to wearing the harness, and that's the end goal anyways. But since you ARE using a no pull, they are likely to be somewhat frustrating for him, so I think I would recommend you just work up to having it on for 5-10 minutes while being happy about the whole experience.

If you do this diligently this could take as little as 4-5 days. Try to focus on exercising him indoors with games and play in the meantime.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2011 20:38

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

wtftastic posted:

I will try to do that; he actually doesn't really know how to play yet! He was a farm, then shelter dog, so I feel like he didn't get a lot of activity other than RUN RUN RUN or walking around.

Should I just take him out on a leash then and deal with getting jerked around or what? I live in an apartment, so he needs to go out to relieve himself.

No, don't let him drag you around because you're reinforcing the pulling. If he pulls, you come with him and he gets to go where he wants. That's exactly what you're trying to correct.

Our puppy is a bit of a puller and we have been working on it for months using a variety of tricks and it is finally coming under control. The tricks aren't complicated, but they can be logistically difficult to maintain consistently, because of things like apartment living.

You need to take him out on a leash obviously, so he can go to the bathroom. You have a couple of different options, and you'll have to decide what is best based upon your dog's personality and the individual situation.

1 - You can leash him up via the collar and take him out. The instant he starts pulling, you freeze like a statue and you do not move. You don't want to pull back on him, but you want to be the immovable object that he cannot sway. He can pull and pull as much as he wants, but that leash is only so long. Be cautious with this because if he continues to pull hard enough that he is wheezing, he can collapse his trachea. If this is a problem, you need to not use this method with a collar. Switch to the no pull harness or make him wear a standard harness when you aren't using the no-pull.

2 - You can put the no-pull on even for bathroom breaks. This will help desensitize him to it, but if he is showing signs that he is really uncomfortable with the whole thing, it may just make the whole process slower and more difficult.

I'll also give credit to a life less here with a final tip -- do not use a retractable leash, especially since you are working on leash manners. She first mentioned this to me a few months ago and after thinking about it, it finally clicked with me. Retractable leashes are a variable, and as a result they actually degrade the idea that your dog is expected to remain with a specific distance of you because that distance changes at whim, and that whim is largely theirs to control.

# ¿ Apr 5, 2011 22:20

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Schleep posted:

So is it ok to go ahead and start building association with the clicker the day we bring our puppy home? She'll be 7-8 weeks old, and while we won't be working on specific commands for a while, I assume she's "smart" enough at that age to understand that click = treat. I just don't want to start trying to build association with the clicker if she's not developed enough to remember that or something.

We taught Sadie to sit on like day 4 or 5, and although we didn't use a clicker, I can't imagine any reason you couldn't. Go for it.

# ¿ Apr 6, 2011 19:35

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

GLITTER AND GREASE posted:

Biting problems with golden/poodle mix.

This is very common in Golden Retrievers. Our puppy had this problem for a long time too, and while it is not wholly gone, it is mostly gone. Golden's are mouthy dogs, and they are excited about everything in the entire world, and they only have two ways to express that excitement: tail wagging and mouthing.

Part of the problem is that you are probably too exciting, which is egging her on to the mouthing problem. If you have a household full of kids this is going to be very difficult to correct, and you are going to have to dedicate time and effort to working solely on this, probably for a period of several months.

I'll go through what we have done to curb it in our puppy, and hopefully it will help you:

Never physically correct the mouthing. This means don't swat or thump, that's just going to send the wrong message, and potentially just egg him on. If this is confusing to you at all, you need to read the OP in detail.
Verbal corrections are okay if PREEMPT the mouthing. If you see that he is in the act of mouthing you but hasn't put lips/teeth to skin -- give him an "AH-AH!" to correct. Don't use "NO!". Our rule is that "NO!" is for life and death situations or incredibly inappropriate behavior.
Encourage licking during your interaction. You can do this in a variety of ways. Easiest way to start is to freeze a stick of butter and rub it on your skin before you interact.
Praise the behavior you want -- This should be obvious. I'll go so far as to say don't treat it though, because then you're mixing in behaviors that require teeth. Just a personal preference.
When the mouthing occurs, end the play immediately. Stand up, cross your arms and calmly walk out of the room, staring at the ceiling. Stay gone for at least 60 seconds. Repeat as often as necessary.
BE PATIENT. A lot of this is puppy excitement. Goldens don't reach emotional maturity for up to three years in some cases. A lot of the excitement will fade away as he gets older. We noticed a huge change at around 10 months, almost overnight.

This topic has been covered in this thread and the puppy thread several times, if you can take the time to read through them.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2011 15:46

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Emasculatrix posted:

Speaking of mouthing, my 8 month pregnant friend and her husband just "rescued" a 6 week Australian Shepard/lab puppy that (here's a surprise) is very mouthy. Right now they're leaving it in the garage with some pee pads. Since the damage has already been done, what should they do now? I'd like to recommend a book or video to them.

Personal opinion, but I think the best introductory book is Pat Miller's The Power of Positive Training. If they argue and whine about how they don't buy into it, you can spend 30 minutes with some very basic clicker training and make a strong case for it.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2011 18:17

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

Silver Nitrate posted:

I've noticed when I'm out walking Biscuit that many of my neighbors have horribly behaved dogs. It's one thing if your dog really wants to say hi to another dog and is jumping around excited, but these things are barking, growling, and lunging and trying to get loose.

What on earth do I do if one gets loose and takes a run at her?

If this is really a concern of yours the most humane thing to do is carry a small can of pepper spray. Look in an outdoors stuff. This is also the most appropriate defense against roaming bears. Anyone who says they are going to shoot them doesn't know what they are talking about.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2011 20:12

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

That's a scary combination. You need to do some research on what's called "predatory drift." I don't know that we have anyone here who is really educated on the issue, but there are definitely risks.

In regards to the urination, I don't think that's submissive, it is more likely an over-excited bladder. If that's the case (which is not necessarily true), bringing in a treat with you is likely to make it worse as now your presence has become that much more exciting. Try to make your comings and goings a boring occasion. Don't pay any attention to the dog and just ignore her until she is calm.

# ¿ May 12, 2011 22:40

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

ilikechapstick posted:

I did. Thanks!

This is exactly what we did with our puppy when we got her. Plan out some good rest spots to stop off for potty breaks. Give the puppy a brief chance to eliminate, water and feed regularly at every stop (shoot for every 2 hours or more often).

Probably a good idea to use a travel crate too. Put something that smells like home in there. If your breeder is wise, she should have asked you for an old shirt that smells like you about two weeks in advance. She'll dump it in the rearing area so they get used to your smell, and it'll come home with you and the puppy so it also still smells like home.

Avoid music, if you have to have sound, try to listen to talk radio or something. If you do put on music, make sure it's pointed at you and keep it low. Keep your driving under control. No hard stops or swerving. Dog's going to be pretty anxious about leaving home, don't make it worse.

All that said, it's not a huge deal, you'll be fine.

# ¿ May 19, 2011 14:55

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

a life less posted:

Some dogs never naturally develop a "gotta go" signal. So I think that you're on to the right track with the bells on the door.

If I were doing the bell thing I would teach the dog a target cue (touch my hand with your nose). I'd then start branching it off to other objects (touch this sticky note on my hand or touch this bell I'm holding in my hand). Then once he's reliably targeting it in your hand, start adding distance (touch this bell sitting in my hand on the floor, then not in my hand at all, then 1 foot away, etc). Once you've created a reliable target cue you can start requesting it each and every time you open the door. For walks, for bathroom breaks, for everything. Cue the touch. After a while of doing it go through your ritual of getting ready to leave, and see if he'll ever target the bell on his own. If he does, jackpot like crazy and bring him right out. And of course, if he ever ever rings the bell on his own, reward like crazy -- never ignore it.

Some people's dogs seem to pick up the bell = outside by osmosis. Some have different approaches. I tend to suggest the above since it a) teaches the dog a valuable target skill and b) breaks everything down into tiny steps which the dog may have an easier time understanding.

I'm not sure I agree with all of this, but you're definitely the expert of anyone in this thread. I'm concerned that you're opening up the door to just asking to go out because it's fun or gets a reward, rather than "I gotta pee".

gvibes:
Have you ever asked him to target or bump the bells himself? Maybe even off of the door? You might try getting leashed up and ready to go outside, and if you've been consistent with the bells thing, just stand nearby the bells and just wait with him for a few minutes. He might hit them himself. If so, praise like crazy and you're over the stumbling block.

# ¿ May 24, 2011 20:45

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

a life less posted:

By no means is that the be all and end all of "gotta pee" signal training.

I would definitely not be surprised if the dog starts targeting the bells for fun, or for "non business trips", but to me the key is getting a signal associated with the outdoors. Once you've got that you can start refining the process by keeping the trips outside all business with no opportunities to otherwise self-reinforce.

I know I've read of other tactics (in this thread?). From what you posted, I don't think your advice is too different than mine. What might you change?

I'm not sure, and obviously it's always hard to say when you can't actually watch the behavior first hand. I think I'd approach it very similarly to what you said, but I'd restrict the attempts to target to when you're actually on your way outside for a potty break.

Sadie picked the bells up pretty quickly, but she still hits them when we know she doesn't need to go, so that behavior is still something we're working to curb, so I'm not sure I'm an expert.

That said, I think I'd try to make a big deal about me hitting the bells before going outside, and make sure that there was some recognition on the part of the dog. If I didn't think he was getting it, I would ring the crap out of them for a period of 10 seconds, then immediately go outside and give the elimination command.

Which brings up an interesting point -- gvibes are you using an elimination command for when you take the dog outside? Is he on a leash or in the yard running around? It's possible that the disconnect isn't an issue of bells = outside, but rather outside = pee/poop (and eventually = bells).

# ¿ May 24, 2011 21:19

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

^^^^^^
It's all body language, basically. Sadie will hit the bells to get our attention or ask to go out. And if I know that she's been out in the last hour, and hasn't been gulping water or having butt issues, then I know she's full of poo poo and just wants attention.

Typically when she does this, she will come to one of us and then sit quietly to elicit a response (because we've conditioned this as polite). If I reach out to pet her and she pulls away, she needs to go pee or poop. If she sits there and takes it, she wants attention.

That's going to vary from dog to dog, and you just have to spend time with them and observe them. They're giving you signals, you just might not be reading them. They are also liars, cheats and sneaks. I would make sure that YOU distinguish between the different trips too. Ask them if they want to go for a walk, or ask them if they need to go outside (potty), substitute as necessary. Eventually they will pick up on the difference.

gvibes:
Here's exactly what I would do if I were in your shoes. This will be grossly detailed, because I don't want to make any assumptions about what you are or aren't doing currently. Also, you didn't give me, that PI dork you don't know, any of your eve stuff, you gave it all to those jerks in Elitist Ops so now you have to digest all of my words for meaning because I am spiteful.

Does the dog know what "outside" means? Or whatever word you use for going outside (this is not the elimination command it's a "do you need to pee?" command)
If not, start asking it before you take him out. We did this calling Sadie over and saying "Outside?" If she sat, we leashed her up and took her out to do her business.

Everytime you leash up to go out, stand at the door of your apartment, just in front of it. Hit the bells and say "Outside", then open the door and leave with dog in tow. Go straight out to the potty spot and give the elimination command.

I re-read your original post and saw that you're using an elevator. Is it practical to use the stairs instead? The dog may not really understand that you're still on your way outside if he's just standing waiting for the elevator, or just riding in it. I'd also say that at six months, this may be a complex puzzle for the dog to solve just yet. What happens if you don't take him every two hours and wait for him to tell you that he needs to go? Does he just have an accident in the corner or something?

# ¿ May 24, 2011 22:17

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

gvibes posted:

I have not given anyone anything, and am now considering coming back. Turns out I have the assets to get an aeon. And only about 2/3 of EO are jerks.

I don't think he does. We have not made an effort to associate a word with going outside. I think I'm just kind of spoiled, as all the dogs we've had growing up would just go to the door and start drawing attention when they had to go, so I thought it was something that just happened. We never had to make a conscious effort.

Will do.

Sure, we will try that.

He doesn't even really bother going to a corner. Just an accident wherever he happens to be at the time.

Try that for a week or two and see what happens. If you're still having problems we can all try to help more. But, fyi, if you can get video of it, even just crappy phone video, it can be extremely helpful.

# ¿ May 25, 2011 16:44

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

moechae posted:

Just FYI, for anyone who missed the webinar or had choppy signals or whatever, I just got an email from the web team -

So, there'll probably be the whole video up and about floating around the internet sometime soon!

There may or may not be a recording of the streamed version of the 8:30 show that gets linked later this weekend in this thread.

# ¿ Jun 24, 2011 14:25

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

notsoape posted:

So, my pup's a lurcher that I'm hoping to bring on as a useful hunting companion and a big part of training in the first year is getting her retrieval to hand solid. Eventually she will be expected to bring dead or even live rabbits to hand and give them over without fuss. Therefore, along with the basics of leash training, sit/leave it and recall we're working on retrieve even though she's only 8 weeks old.

So far, she's getting the hang of what I'm asking her to do and I would say 50% of the time she brings a thrown item right back to me and drops it in front of me, then waits for her treat. I always jackpot when she does this and throw a huge ZOMG I LOVE YOU YAAAY party, which she adores. The issue I'm wondering about is the 45% of the time where she will run to the item, pick it up, shake it, drop it back on the ground and scamper back to me looking for a treat (the other 5% she just wanders away and chases a leaf or whatever because puppy attention spans ). I figure I have three options;

1) Reward only for correct retrieve, don't reward for 'almost!' retrieves
2) Jackpot reward for correct retrieve, give a treat and praise for 'almost!' but don't make a huge fuss
3) Jackpot reward for correct retrieve AND 'almost!' retrieve since at this age I should be making a huge fuss of her for coming to me no matter what.

So far I'm going with option 2, and it seems to be working in that she's gone from about 90% almost! 10% correct to 50% almost! to 50% correct in the last week. Just wondering if I'm choosing the best path, or whether either 1) or 3) might be more appropriate. Bear in mind that a solid recall is more important, in the long run, than a solid retrieve. Ideas?

To add to ALL's post, there are two things we've learned to focus on while training retrieve's here too. These are things that we do that have substantially increased Sadie's interest in retrieving both balls and frisbees.

#1 - Keep the value of the object/game up. Make it awesome fun (like you're doing), and then stop the game WHILE it's still awesome and fun for the dog. Don't let the dog get bored or disinterested. If this means you do three retrieves and stop, that's fine. The point is that every single retrieve is awesome. In fact, I would even recommend that you end the game on a perfect retrieve if you get one. Jackpot, throw the party, then put the ball up and give the All Done signal.

#2 - Demand the actual retrieve. Anytime the dog picks up the target and doesn't immediately head towards you, take off running in the other direction. This will trigger the chase game, then go down on a knee facing away and he/she ought to come to you with the target. This way you're training that the ball ALWAYS gets brought to you, no matter what, because you're not giving the dog the opportunity to do anything else.

# ¿ Jul 5, 2011 14:48

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# ¿ May 3, 2024 05:41

MrFurious: Dec 11, 2003; THINKS HE IS BEST AT DOGS (is actually worst at dogs!!!)

wtftastic posted:

Can I hear some suggestions on a training plan for introducing a head collar? I've worked with him over about a week, putting the neck strap only on before and after walks, petting, and then occasionally putting the loose nose band and collar clip on with lots of treats. The second I pause to get more treats he frantically tries to pull of the halter.

I'm frustrated (even though I know this should take some time) and I need a plan to work off of. Bailey is so stubborn and it drives me up a wall sometimes.

Just wait him out. We still use a gentle leader occasionally. It took probably 3 weeks for ours to really start to get used to it. Just make sure you don't jerk the leash and make sure it's fitted tight right behind the ears. You should just barely be able to get a finger in there (unless you have fat fingers). When you use it, make sure you treat liberally for good behavior during walks and you can eventually turn it into a fun thing. In our case, it was associated with going for walks, so it became a positive thing even though she'd just as soon not have it on, if it was up to her.

# ¿ Jul 11, 2011 21:14

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Pet Island > My dog is smarter than your honor student: the Dog Training Thread

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