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MrFurious posted:Start with your partner/roommate/whatever in another room. Lie down near the dog, have some treats and the clicker at the ready (I assume you guys have done at least some clicker training). Figure out where the dogs threshold is by having your roommate bang on the wall (or whatever) in your own apartment. Make sure you work UNDER that threshold. Barking gets no treats and no clicks. The whole basis of Premack is that acknowledging (but not wigging out over) the distraction earns a reward. As this idea takes hold, it becomes a game and the distracting object loses value as a distraction. Control Unleashed does go into the Premack principle quite a bit if my memory serves me right, but mostly in another context. Here's one of Leslie's videos on the LAT game as it is applied to Leave It training: http://youtu.be/POprQmrJ2Bc On Premack: http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/the-premack-principle Rixatrix fucked around with this message at 19:44 on May 1, 2012 |
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May 1, 2012 19:40
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Instant Jellyfish posted:Yeah, she uses it as a release. She'll sit in an enclosed area, reward the dog for coming over/interacting with her/heeling for a few steps, then release it to go sniff or play until the dog chooses to come back and work some more. She goes over it a lot more thoroughly in the Control Unleashed Puppy Program book.
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May 1, 2012 20:23
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MrFurious posted:Some people consider humping normal dog behavior. In spite of being a part of a dog's normal behavior repertoire, I still don't encourage it in my own dogs. Humping people has never been attempted by my dogs since early puppyhood and I'll interfere if there's obvious bullying between dogs going on.
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May 4, 2012 15:15
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who cares posted:Other than the shyness, my only (admittedly minor) issue thus far is that she doesn't seem to know how to play. She is uninterested in toys and gets scared when I try to run around and get her excited.  Play is a great relationship builder and really useful if you ever want to do any kind of sports with your doggie. I think play would be a good confidence boost for a shy dog like yours and I'm pretty sure you can get an Aussie to play if you put some effort into it.You're probably overwhelming her with running around and trying to get her excited so try to be a bit more low key for now. A dog will only play if she feels safe. I would probably first teach her to enjoy tug and work my way to play fetch from there. First you need to get her to realize it's ok to tug with you and you don't see it as a challenge, but a fun game. You also need to get her used to the feeling of someone pulling on something she's holding. If she's good with her food (i.e. not food aggressive), you can use a pig ear for this, or stuff a stocking with something the dog finds irresistible. A couple of days ago I got someone's dog who "never ever tugs on anything ever" to tug enthusiastically on a fresh rabbit's head in a stocking in less than 10 minutes. Yes it's disgusting, but try to think about what has value to the dog. Down the line you will be able to move to regular toys. How is she with you being all excited and running around in a context where there's no requirement for interaction for her, i.e. no pressure for her to do anything? If she's fine with that, I'd follow Susan Garrett's excellent instructions here: http://www.clickerdogs.com/createamotivatingtoy.htm Your dog will have as much enthusiasm for the toy as you are able to put into your acting, so make it count! Make sure your dog is comfortable with you acting all silly though, or you might make her want to play with you less. You can try shaping a tug as well. You can follow the instructions here up to the point where she will hold a thing in her mouth and gradually move to reinforcing her for holding on even though you are pulling on the thing she's holding. A shaped clicker fetch will have lots of reinforcement value built in, so she will likely learn to like holding things in the process: http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/retrieve.html I could talk about teaching dogs to play all day, but I have to go to work. I still have a bunch of pointers I can give you, please let me know if you want to know more! Edit. If your dog is worried about the sound of the clicker, it's possible you can create an aversion for the treats you're using (treat = horrible end-of-world death sound). Box clickers are loud and pretty notorious for this. Try using a ball-point pen or one of those metal container lids with the little thing in the middle that pops up when you open the container (I think Snapple bottles come with these?) You can also use a marker word instead of a clicker - the clicker is actually only necessary for pretty specific stuff like shaping the retrieve in the link. For most stuff you won't need one and a marker word will be just fine. Also what MrFurious said. Rixatrix fucked around with this message at 05:54 on May 21, 2012 |
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May 21, 2012 05:48
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Engineer Lenk posted:The Tug-It is good for this if you don't want to DIY or straight-up tug with food. Also I just realized you've had this dog for just two short weeks and she's lived her life in a low-stimulus environment up until now. Give her time. Being around toy-playing dogs she's comfortable with will surely help her realize what fun play can be. She might just not "get it" quite yet. Be careful not to put pressure on her - you must come up with ways that make her want to play, not making her play because you want her to play (not sure if that makes sense).
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May 21, 2012 10:13
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Bogwoppit posted:This might sound stupid... But does anyone have any tips to help get my 48 year old boyfriend over a stubborn fear of dogs? Like Engineer Lenk said, I think a lot of it is learning that many of the things people who are afraid of dogs interpret as threatening aren't in fact threatening at all, and on the other hand you learn how to react if the dog seems worried or aggressive. With my friend it helped a lot that Pi is basically bomb proof with people. I have a picture of my friend hugging young Pi after she'd given him a chew bone as a present. Pi is holding the bone and he doesn't look pleased to say the least. I asked my friend what she thought Pi felt when she gave him the bone and then tried to be affectionate and then we looked at the picture together to figure out what was really going on. (The situation in the picture happened when I was out of the room - I would've intervened had I known.) Things like this helped her a lot. Also, Shelties come in a variety of temperaments and many of the agility Shelties are more intense than pretty much any Corgi (even the ones in sports homes). With both breeds (or any breed for that matter) I'd put a ton of research into the temperament aspect of the litter.
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Jun 26, 2012 16:47
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Boffo Beach Babe!!! posted:What's the verdict on pee-pads? However it doesn't sound like your roommate is trying to house-train his dog, but is trying to get away with not taking proper care of said dog. Dogs need walks and it's not appropriate to train them to go inside.
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Jun 27, 2012 09:59
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tonic316 posted:I talked to one of the people there and they say its all positive reinforcement training. But it is in a group setting with other dogs. They do have a clicker class that teaches tricks with a clicker. I presume by "forced based trainer" you mean not positive reinforcement? [Training nerd time! A "positive trainer" can (and should, in my opinion) employ e.g. negative reinforcement when appropriate and be honest and open about the inherent positive punishment in training. You can read more about the quadrants of learning theory (positive/negative punishment/reinforcement) in any good training book or a psych textbook if you want to know more or just check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning ]
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Jun 28, 2012 21:48
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Engineer Lenk posted:Not everyone thinks puppies are cute, and seeing them when they have comparatively few social skills is not terribly likely to increase his fondness or allay his fears. Still, one of my ex-phobic friend's fears was getting bitten and meeting a biting, growling, zero-human-social-skills idiot puppy helped her get over that part. You quickly realize with puppies that they don't mean harm when they grab you with teeth and even though it might hurt a bit, it doesn't hurt hurt. But this will absolutely vary person to person and I knew my friend thought puppies are adorable but felt she couldn't go near one. But yeah, a litter of puppies at once is a bit much to take in for most anyone, fear of dogs or no. Age 3-5 weeks they aren't scary or overwhelming yet though (too clumsy and slow).
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Jun 29, 2012 06:38
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Captain Foxy posted:I would consider anything under a two-three year health guarantee a huge red flag, personally. Most heritable genetic disorders don't even show up until the dog is past maturity at 2-3yrs old, and most dogs are still physically puppies at one year. The best breeders offer lifetime health guarantees, and if I'm paying the $$ for a purebred pup, you can bet your rear end I'd only pay for a lifetime guarantee. Pi is from a breeder who I've been happy with. No guarantees were given when I bought Pi except for the little that's provided by law. Pi's breeder has always helped me out if I've needed advice (in the beginning more than now, obviously) and when Pi's hereditary health issues started to pop up when he was about two or three years old, she contacted me on her own to tell me she was sorry, asked if she could help in any way and to offer me another pup should I want one. I didn't, but I appreciated the gesture. Even with the benefit of hindsight, Pi's issues were difficult or impossible to predict when she was planning the litter so I can't really blame her.
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Jul 14, 2012 06:00
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Tiny Faye posted:We could use some tips for getting past the "bratty"/"testing boundries" stage of puppydom (she's 7 months, over a month at home with us). Stuff like ignoring commands she knows perfectly well, chomping stuff and leash biting on walks, barking for attention purposes [after tough intense play sessions, eating, and walk/bathroom breaks]. The thing about attention seeking behavior is it's relatively easy to extinguish. Just don't give attention, difficult as it may be! Also make sure she gets enough physical exercise.
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Jul 24, 2012 06:06
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buttslave posted:So, about a month ago, we took in a stray:
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Aug 2, 2012 08:10
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wtftastic posted:Have you thought about trying to increase her exercise? Rixatrix fucked around with this message at 11:51 on Aug 3, 2012 |
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Aug 3, 2012 11:49
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Splat posted:This is the schedule she's on more or less: What breed is she? Chewing on stuff is typical of her age, too, but it may also be a way for her to burn off extra energy.
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Aug 31, 2012 16:11
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MrFurious posted:In regards to the running, be careful. Some folks in the dog sports world claim that impact activities (such as running on concrete or lots of jumping) can do damage to joints before they are fully formed (around 2). High impact/repeptitive exercise while the puppy is growing has also been suspected to be a risk factor for osteochondritis dissecans, which is a common ailment in e.g. Border Collie pups.
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Sep 6, 2012 07:38
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MrFurious posted:I'm just looking to find a clear, documented line of what is okay and what isn't “High impact” would probably include jumping (think agility or disc dog training, not hopping over a branch every now and then), anything involving sharp turns at speed etc. “Repetitive” would include jogging/running for extended periods especially on hard surfaces, or specific stuff like learning the weave poles in agility. I don’t think there’s that much specific information on sports injuries in dogs, but you should be able to extrapolate something useful out of what’s known from people and e.g. horses. Here’s some information on growth plate fractures and OCD in children – I’m surprised if the aetiology differs much in puppies (though of course it could). Here’s some information on the biomechanics of jumping in large agility dogs. I’m really not a hard-liner here – we took Rho cycling and did lots of other pretty strenuous exercise with him starting from when he was 8-10 months. He needed the exercise, enjoyed it and I knew he wasn’t the kind of dog that would push himself too far just because it’s so great to keep going. Rho turned out to be a really fit, completely healthy dog with excellent OFA-equivalent scores and no issues. With my future bc puppy I’m going to be more careful, because he is inherently less likely to quit because of discomfort or fatigue and I know he may have a predisposition to develop OCD. (Compulsory non-vet disclaimer here, but I do know something about sports injuries in people.)
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Sep 7, 2012 10:54
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Splat posted:Been following all that as much as it happens, though we normally don't let her near any tissues, so there's not many instances for reinforcement. They're also super soft so it's not a teething thing, and she doesn't really want to re-direct to chew toys instead :-/
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Sep 27, 2012 06:53
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Lofty132 posted:he has quickly realised that he is extremely hard to deal with if he just lies on his back with his legs in the air  When he gets too excited and needs to calm down, I pick him up and hold him until he's calmed down. Right now he thinks he can get away if he just flops on his back and kicks at me (he's wrong).
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Oct 10, 2012 19:04
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Splat posted:Also, because I'm not clear on this: Is mouthing during playtime something that just happens? She's pretty good at not doing it when we're not playing, but if we start playing/wrestling she starts to mouth sometimes and I don't know if that's something I should be actively working against or if it's normal dog behavior that's okay if she's not using any force.
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Oct 19, 2012 19:11
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Fraction posted:IANAV, but in my opinion... Walking is fine, light flirt pole is fine, playing with other dogs is fine, fetch/frisbee is fine... in moderation. Unless you have an intense, drivey pup like a herding breed or something that will literally run itself into the ground, you can generally let the puppy decide when it's had enough. Just use your head, give the dog plenty of breaks, and don't do high impact repetitive movements (like jogging or biking on pavement or road) until the dog is at least a year or more old, depending on its size. I try to choose the litter I get my pup from in a way that minimizes the possibility for hip/elbow dysplasia or the like. Then I just use common sense and see what the puppy is fine with.
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Oct 21, 2012 10:23
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Aquatic Giraffe posted:Is this normal/good interaction? The barking/punching kind of worries me. quote:What's the best way to go about teaching him about leashes? Pre-requisite step: reinforce eye contact so it's a pretty strong behavior. 1) Click and treat for eye contact but only if the leash is loose at the same time. 2) If for any reason the leash tightens, maintain that tightness (pressure) until the dog looks at you AND moves so the leash loosens. If you don't get eye contact and the dog tries to loosen the leash, step back or do whatever to maintain the pressure until you get eye contact. When the dog looks at you and loosens the leash, tell him "good" or whatever and walk along. Do not click and treat! The pressure going away is his reward for fixing what he should work to prevent (i.e. the tight leash). 3) Keep the hand with the leash stationary so the dog has an easier time learning the length of the leash. Put your leash hand in your pocket or something. This way you're using +R for correct behavior and at the same time utilizing the inherent -R/+P that's always there when using a leash.
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Oct 29, 2012 07:49
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Fergus Mac Roich posted:Look at this guy's dog. Is this a good idea? Should you do this to a fuzzy dog like that ever? Not really considering getting one(although they are cute), just wondering. Edit. Seconding the video suggestion.
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Nov 19, 2012 08:11
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Topoisomerase posted:you were already drawing from a limited gene pool in the first place and inbreeding coefficient has a very limited and speculative utility when discussing health of any individual in the population.
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Nov 27, 2012 12:25
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MrFurious posted:Out of crate time: 8
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Dec 6, 2012 22:33
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Kiri koli posted:That's interesting that you and a life less have used the collars effectively. I never really considered them because I thought they were generally ineffective and would malfunction and punish the dog for nothing, stuff like that. An unwanted byproduct of Pi's citronella experience was that a friend's dog became terrified of Pi. Every time my friend's dog approached Pi, Pi started barking, which in turn activated the collar. It only had to happen twice for my friend's dog to learn that approaching Pi = horrible smell.
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Dec 7, 2012 16:46
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Orange_Lazarus posted:I think I'm going to convince my wife to go with A and just drop the extra money for a good puppy. Alternatively a breed-specific rescue is a good way to go, too. flyable I found having two dogs to be both less and more work. My guys shed, so the amount of hair at least tripled (they pull it off each other when playing). Costs double, of course, as does the time you spend on training them. But on the other hand, the dogs do keep each other company and not all attention and activity has to come from you anymore. They interact with each other in ways that just aren't there in a human-dog relationship and it's fascinating to watch. If the dogs do well on leash, exercise is no more work than with one dog.
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Dec 11, 2012 09:46
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Triangulum posted:I'm in Germany, they don't do OFA or PennHIP here. I actually don't know what the HD x-rays are called in Germany, I just know how to read the SV ratings for German Shepherds. I'll have my husband talk to our vet about it when we go in next week for Vecna's next round of shots. As soon as I have the money, I'm getting Sukka X-rayed. I plan on getting him PennHip x-rayed and at the same time, I'll get all that Riiseli suggested above, mostly to rule out any sign of OCD.
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Dec 29, 2012 11:51
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If you can find a braided fleece or rope like this, they're really great. Most dogs like to grab them, they're soft on their teeth and they give quite well when the dog is tugging, so it's easier on their bodies (and yours). But yeah. Teach your dog to bring the toy back for more tugging and don't let him shred it.
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Dec 30, 2012 11:29
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Re: dogs and working full time, I don't come home at lunchtime and we only have a dog walker come in once a week (so I can stay late at work). I don't mind leaving my dogs for a full working day, but I'm pretty neurotic about not leaving them alone twice in one day. If I have to go somewhere in the evening the dogs come with me or otherwise I stay home. I guess it comes down to what the dog is used to. My dogs would be stressed out if I came home in the middle of the day, took them out for a short walk and then left them alone again. I'm guessing that dogs used to this schedule don't mind it at all.
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Jan 1, 2013 20:15
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bad-yeti posted:So, how much exercise is enough for a young dog? Two hours seems like it should be enough time-wise, but how strenuous is the exercise? Walking on leash (even if you're walking briskly) is nothing to an energetic young dog. Are you able to take him somewhere where he could run off leash, preferably in varied terrain? The other issue with physical exercise is that increasing the amount of exercise also makes your dog more fit, ergo he'll need more exercise etc. How much mental stimulation is the dog getting? You can train him, feed him (all) his meals from treat-dispensing toys and so on. Figuring things out tires puppies out a lot faster than going for walks. Various kinds of nosework work well, too.
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Jan 4, 2013 19:21
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Superconsndar posted:So basically yeah when scoping out breeders your best bet is to track them down at some breed related event/hangout and start a dog convo and slowly lead into any questions you have that aren't eventually answered by the natural flow of conversation.
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Jan 10, 2013 08:39
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MrFurious posted:Moreover, the research that I am aware of on audible spectrum and canine cognition (mostly by McConnell) suggests strongly that a high-pitched yelp is more likely to excite than to stop a behavior.
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Feb 4, 2013 21:57
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The Wonder Weapon posted:Those Ian Dunbar books in the OP are terrifying. This reminds me of a well-recommended Finnish puppy book by an animal trainer called Tuire Kaimio, who really knows her stuff. The book is excellent, but every little detail of the pup's life is taught in minute detail and if you followed the book's instructions all the way through, I doubt you'd manage to do anything else with your waking hours. I think resources like that have to be written so that the instructions cannot cause harm if followed - the Kaimio book e.g. details teaching a puppy to want to put their head through a collar. Most puppies are fine with just slapping a collar on and going outside (or will get used to it after a few minutes), but there's the occasional really sensitive pup who needs more attention. If the book said "slap collar on, pup'll get over it", following that advice would sometimes lead to a bad outcome. Making putting the collar on as a trick taught through R+ training will do no harm to even the most sensitive of puppies. The problem with the Kaimio book is that I know of a bunch of first-time puppy owners who diligently tried to follow all the advice in the book and felt really bad for not managing to do it. They're all Very Good Dog Owners who have no reason to feel bad or guilty that they didn't have the time to train all of the puppy minutiae perfectly. I kind of wish the book came with some kind of "you might not need to do all of this" warning.
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Feb 17, 2013 08:29
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Surgeon General posted:What do you do about a puppy who keeps bringing in stuff from the backyard?
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Mar 17, 2013 08:09
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Squid posted:Is my dog going to die from dirty floors? Am I going to die from over thinking my lovely dog parenting?! Also I know I'm in the minority here with this opinion, but you can house train your puppy using newspaper. I know, because I've successfully done it three times. If you have the energy to put in the effort to follow the very good housebreaking instructions in the OP, definitely do so and your pup should learn in a snap. If you praise for going on paper, take him out frequently and throw a puppy party with treats every time he goes outside, he'll probably learn pretty quickly too. In my opinion it's more about the individual puppy (some of them seem to WANT to hold it when indoors, even when very young) and the effort you put in than the method you choose. Incidentally, this goes for most training: consistency is key, no matter what you do. Good luck and enjoy your puppy! He's only little for a short while 
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Apr 10, 2013 18:08
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Away all Goats posted:But the problem is that when I pick him up and put him on the newspaper he immediately stops peeing and then sits down and just kind looks at me. Try not to catch him in the act of peeing though, but learn to recognize what he does just before peeing. That's when you should intervene.
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Apr 13, 2013 11:24
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Away all Goats posted:I get the feeling they're more out of spite rather than actual can't-hold-it-in anymore Give treats for every behavior you like and be patient with whatever you don't like. Intervene gently but firmly if need be, but only to stop the unwanted behavior and/or preventing it from happening again. This is honestly pretty much all there is to teaching a dog basic manners. Rixatrix fucked around with this message at 09:19 on Apr 16, 2013 |
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Apr 16, 2013 09:01
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Fraction posted:Why is it that you have to wait two weeks after the final vaccination jabs before taking out a pup? Does it take two weeks for them to kick in or something? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_B_cell
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Apr 26, 2013 12:48
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From your post I'd guess he's scared/unsure around children. A lot of dogs are that way if they haven't been socialized properly when they were puppies. (This includes my youngest dog who is absolutely terrified of babies. They look like people but weirder and they have the stare of death in their eyes!) A dog doesn't need to have negative interactions with kids to be scared of them. It's enough that he hasn't had interactions with them, period. Work on simple desensitization and counterconditioning (DS&CC). Figure out how far your dog needs to be from a kid just before he starts reacting negatively. Move a little bit back from that threshold distance and give your dog lots of the bestest treats while hanging out near the kid. Then take your dog further away from the child to give him a break. Rinse, repeat. There's a lot in this thread and the training thread on DS&CC, search for it. Your dog would probably also benefit from the Look At That game, which is also frequently mentioned. Your goal should be to make your dog comfortable enough around children that he is able to perform a nice polite behavior for you instead of barking and then get reinforced for that behavior. The DS&CC work is just to change your dog's state of mind so you can work on training that nice behavior (heeling, sitting at your feet, whatever you choose). Edit. It's also possible that he just gets excited when kids run around. My advice stays the same regardless.
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Apr 29, 2013 13:22
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Sudo Echo posted:One time at the dog park some teenager was climbing over the fence instead of using the gate and he immediately ran over to start barking at him, now my friend calls him "the warden".
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Apr 30, 2013 09:36
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