Having a hard time training?Or just want to know new tricks?

[Jazi]

Ooo! Ooooo! Pick me!

What has worked for Mocha, Baby, and Titan is a leash, something high value, a good sit foundation, and something tempting. All three learned their sit-stay while they were being bad about door dashing, so you might have to find something else if that's not tempting enough. I'd tell them to sit, and staaaaay. Open the door sloooooooowly.

If they got up, door closed, sit back down and try again! If they stayed, treat and they got to go outside. For all of them I can leave the door open for about 5 minutes in a sitstay and they'll do it. Mocha's the only one that won't go out a door unless you explicitly tell her to, though.

[Cardinal]

Ooo! Ooooo! Pick me!

What has worked for Mocha, Baby, and Titan is a leash, something high value, a good sit foundation, and something tempting. All three learned their sit-stay while they were being bad about door dashing, so you might have to find something else if that's not tempting enough. I'd tell them to sit, and staaaaay. Open the door sloooooooowly.

If they got up, door closed, sit back down and try again! If they stayed, treat and they got to go outside. For all of them I can leave the door open for about 5 minutes in a sitstay and they'll do it. Mocha's the only one that won't go out a door unless you explicitly tell her to, though.

Lucky will normally work for kibble very enthusiastically, but I didn't think it was working. Two days working on her sit-stays with absolutely no progress made.

Today I sliced up a couple pieces of cheese and stuffed it in my back pocket (plastic bag lining!). I went out, took her on a short walk, then dove into a few things she already knows like weaving through my legs, 'gimme paw', and 'touch' to get her in the training mindset. Originally I'd throw her into a sit, tell her to 'wait' and count to an allotted amount of time then reward her with kibble and loads of enthusiastic high-baby pitch voiced praise. Now, she knows hand signals much better than words and 'sit' is a closed fist. Well.. Originally if I so much as twitched she'd break position.

Today she was being doppy and not sitting to the command WHICH SHE KNOWS and was trying EVERYTHING in her power to get my cheese. >_> Good sign. She started offering random behaviors we had just done like weaving through my legs on her own, touching my thigh with her paw to shake.. Was really freaking cute and not something she's ever done before. <3 Anyways.. First sit-stay was pretty shaky. She was wiggily and not quiet sure what I wanted. Second was certainly more sound. A few rounds in I was actually able to PULL MY HAND AWAY and she help position. Hurray! After a few more rounds I pulled my hand away and took the tinyest step backward and shifted back on to my heel.. AND SHE DIDN'T MOVE! So we ended on that note. I'm hoping its not a fluke.. x.x

We work outfront offleash.. >_>; Sounds like a terribly distracting place, but really my neighborhood is SO QUIET and we live on a deserted cul-de-sac. We haven't bothered with a leash in several months in the front and even walking to the end of the circle and back. She literally has a 100% perfect recall EVERYTIME otherwise I would never dream of doing this. Its something we've built up to the last year. Being outfront has kind of lost its 'omg' appeal. Inside.. on the other hand.. "WHATS OVER HERE?" "OOHH SHINY" "CAN I HAS THIS?!!?" xD!

[evergreen]

gah sit stay, I'm bitter at the moment about this one. Murray failed his obedience exam on Monday. He did it just fine in class the week before. He was perfect all week when we practiced. Exam night comes along and it was like the command was erased from his brain. I didn't even have time to walk across the room before he was up and running all over the place. It was a majorly off night. He wouldn't even do his automatic sit which he ALWAYS does. It was like "who areee youuuu??? What did you do with my puppy???". Ohh well, the obedience made a world of difference in his behaviour so it was worth the time and money, still would have been nice to say he passed.

[draf]

Evergreen, try not to feel bad that Murray failed his exam. Exams are really difficult, because the energy in the room is different and handlers tend to be more on-edge. With sports dogs, it's really common for green handlers and young dogs to do poorly during their first few trials until they get more comfortable in the ring.
Do you use toys as distractions to proof your stays? I found that making my puppy do sit-stays while I tossed his ball really helped his self-control around other puppies (and when I'm on-edge and not being a good example).

Cardinal, for stays, it's best to focus on teaching duration before distance. So pretty much just build up your puppy's sitting duration while you're standing next to her. After she can sit for about 10 seconds, you can start taking a step back and immediately returning to reinforce her. (I'm not sure if that's already how you're doing it, but most people do both at once, and it can really confuse the dog.) It also sounds like you might be pushing your puppy too quickly, so she may not understand the principle of stay when you're expecting her to stay for a longer period of time. If you're working on 2 second durations, for example, you shouldn't move on to longer durations until your puppy can stay for 2 seconds every time you ask for at least two training sessions. (After you get past 10 seconds, you can move faster, because your puppy will understand what you want; it'll just be about convincing her it's worthwhile to listen!)
Also, are you using a release cue to terminate your stays? If you're just giving your puppy a treat as a cue that she's done, she's more likely to pop up, and it'll be harder for you to reinforce really long stays.

[evergreen]

Yeah we used distractions, it was part of the requirements for the class. He does quite well, was just an off night. Most likely because of the tension In the room, like you said.

[!Blondie!]

I have a 2 month old beagle puppy,and I want to train her not to bite in play,any ideas?

[Jazi]

Clicker games? Anyone got some?

Anyone got any tips for me for counter-conditioning a reactive and fear aggressive dog? I've got books and stuff on teh subject too but I like real life experience stories as well :]

[Cardinal]

I have a 2 month old beagle puppy,and I want to train her not to bite in play,any ideas?

Any time her teeth meet your skin give a high pitched yelp, stand up, and walk away. Ignore the puppy for a few minutes then go ack to playing. It wont take very long for the puppy to realize that biting = lose of attention and play.


@Jazi.. Oh God theres a ton.. Once the dog realizes that the click means "Oh! THATS what they wanted!" the possibilities become endless. One of the most common games is '100 things to do with a box'. Just get a box and put it on the ground every single time the dog offers a new behavior with the box you click and reward. Crate games can also be fun and maybe even really good for him. Look into concept training as well! Other wise just free shaping behaviors. Like for sit give the dog absolutely no direction.. just stand there. Once the dog sits you click and reward. rinse and repeate then actually add the verbal cue. Yes, the dog may actually KNOW the command, but if you start all over with free shaping it encourages free thinking behavior. =)

Concept training: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIfHiiPAmW0
To help you, the trainer understand free shaping a bit better: http://www.clickertrainusa.com/clickergame.htm Its actually a LOT of fun and gives you real insight on it.

How is he reactive, or rather at what times? When is he fear-agressive..?




@Myself: Lucky is catching on super quick now! We've built up to 15 second waits and have added in a step back! Huzzaahh. She still goes ADD, but its getting much better.

[Jazi]

@Jazi.. Oh God theres a ton.. Once the dog realizes that the click means "Oh! THATS what they wanted!" the possibilities become endless. One of the most common games is '100 things to do with a box'. Just get a box and put it on the ground every single time the dog offers a new behavior with the box you click and reward. Crate games can also be fun and maybe even really good for him. Look into concept training as well! Other wise just free shaping behaviors. Like for sit give the dog absolutely no direction.. just stand there. Once the dog sits you click and reward. rinse and repeate then actually add the verbal cue. Yes, the dog may actually KNOW the command, but if you start all over with free shaping it encourages free thinking behavior. =)

How is he reactive, or rather at what times? When is he fear-agressive..?

Yeah, that's why I caved and got him a clicker. Complete rewrite of his training style, make him ENJOY working instead of being afraid of it. I'll look into each of those, they seem fun and something that'll help him come out of the shell they pushed him into.

He reacts with growls, snarls, and teeth to any physical correction including whacks on the butt and collar/leash pops. He's a little tense when being body handled for nails and feel-overs, likely from the alpha rolls and rough treatment in his previous home. He gives scared signals before he redirects, and is wary around strangers, but opens up once he realizes he doesn't have to slink to avoid being popped. I need him to be open to body handling and pressure on the collar. Not pops, but I need to be able to grab him if he redirects or reacts onto someone and not worry about being bitten myself.

[Cardinal]

@Jazi.. Oh God theres a ton.. Once the dog realizes that the click means "Oh! THATS what they wanted!" the possibilities become endless. One of the most common games is '100 things to do with a box'. Just get a box and put it on the ground every single time the dog offers a new behavior with the box you click and reward. Crate games can also be fun and maybe even really good for him. Look into concept training as well! Other wise just free shaping behaviors. Like for sit give the dog absolutely no direction.. just stand there. Once the dog sits you click and reward. rinse and repeate then actually add the verbal cue. Yes, the dog may actually KNOW the command, but if you start all over with free shaping it encourages free thinking behavior. =)

How is he reactive, or rather at what times? When is he fear-agressive..?

Yeah, that's why I caved and got him a clicker. Complete rewrite of his training style, make him ENJOY working instead of being afraid of it. I'll look into each of those, they seem fun and something that'll help him come out of the shell they pushed him into.

He reacts with growls, snarls, and teeth to any physical correction including whacks on the butt and collar/leash pops. He's a little tense when being body handled for nails and feel-overs, likely from the alpha rolls and rough treatment in his previous home. He gives scared signals before he redirects, and is wary around strangers, but opens up once he realizes he doesn't have to slink to avoid being popped. I need him to be open to body handling and pressure on the collar. Not pops, but I need to be able to grab him if he redirects or reacts onto someone and not worry about being bitten myself.

I got you. =)

The BIGGEST thing is going to be building confidence! 110% important and it'll come really quick when he actually enjoys working with you. Once he realizes that working with and for you is actually FUN he'll come more out of his shell and be way more willing to perform.

Its all going to be desensitizing work for handling, grabbing collars, and meeting new people. He gives warnings.. thats great! Warnings are an amazing thing and thank god his previous owners didn't take them away or you'd have a much more dangerous dog on your hands. x.x From here the best thing to do is play games.. with his feet and handling. Try teaching 'paw' or 'shake' first and foremost. Ball your fist and clicker for any pawsyness with his balled hand. Add your cue afterwards. Make handling an awesome experience. Lift his paws and click. Lift his paws and click. Once he's comfy with his paws being handled move on to manipulating his toes and nails then clicking. Rinse and repeate. Once he's bullet proof about his paws feel him down then click and treat. You can also try actual massages after a long day and he's completely warn out with loads of petting and praise.

Th stranger wariness should go away on its own, but you can always teach a 'go say hi' command. Invite people over he doesn't know and have them hold out their hands. When he chooses to interact with the person click and treat.

The collar issue can be a bit more tricky and is once again desensitization work. Desensitizing him to the collar/pressure. I'd start off with when he's wearing the collar petting around him around it and clicking for calmness/ignoring it. More on to slipping your fingers under the collar like you would to judge tightness. Click and reward. Slight pressure.. click and reward. More pressure click and reward.

Always always always end on a positive note even if the training didn't quite go the way you wanted it to. Remember that repetition is KEY and you will be doing it over and over and over again with tiny baby steps, if he EVER shows distress signals then back up to the step where he was calm and work on that before advancing again, distress signals means you moved to fast. The book Behavior Adjustment Training by Grisha Stewart may be worth picking up. Click to Clam: Healling the Aggressive Dog I think would be well worth your time, its written by Emma Parsons. Anything by Karen Pryor I highly recommend and I'm pretty sure she has reading material on fear aggression.

If I think of ANYTHING else I'll pass it over. ^^;