Training - Experiences, Challenges, and Mindsets

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Comment by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on March 4, 2014 at 3:23pm

Post it right here in this comments section Deb, and Jane will add it to the collage. 

Comment by Deborah Brown on March 4, 2014 at 2:25pm

so... how can Charlie get on the CGC picture page?

Comment by Deborah Brown on March 4, 2014 at 2:18pm

I just joined this group after seeing reference to it on the main page.  I spend A LOT of time training my three doodles.  Wayne came to us as a very reactive fear aggressive dog 5 years ago.  I learned much about dealing with reactive dogs and thought I had it all figured out when we got Penny.  She is about 1 1/2 years now and somewhat leash reactive but in ways very different from Wayne.

I do daily training with them including relaxation protocol and other mat training to help them develop self control.  We are working on not only leash reactivity and wild excitement at the doorbell and visiting guests, dogs walking past our fence, etc.

Comment by Cheryl Lund on March 2, 2014 at 5:08pm

Thank you everyone for your great ideas. It's nice to know I'm not the only one with an adorable but naughty puppy. All of you gave me great advice and I plan on trying all of them. Something has got to work. So great to have such great support. Love this site!

Comment by Robin & Josie on March 2, 2014 at 5:05pm

Yes, we do! We bought the long line, hooked her up to the front steps and practiced recall, with people and cars going by, etc. Same scenario - in the mode, perfect behavior. Our problem is the spur of the moment obedience. It's almost like she knows we're in training mode (or not...). Admittedly, we've been buried in snow for months, so we haven't practiced this for a while. I'm not expecting compliance in the spring, but who knows? Maybe after her first birthday in April, she'll turn a corner?

I always bring food with me when we're out - like a cheese stick, in case she accidentally gets away (has happened while I'm picking up after her), and I need to bribe her. Terrifying.

Thanks for the advice. All suggestions MORE than welcome!

Comment by Julie and Max on March 2, 2014 at 5:04pm

Also how much are you exercising Dallas? I know that makes a huge huge difference for me. After Max was neutered and I couldn't walk him for that 10 days there very much I had a naughty dog that I had never seen before. As soon as we got back to our regular routine of long walks and run time for Max, he was back to being very well behaved and listening. 

Comment by Susan and Bentley on March 2, 2014 at 5:00pm

same thing here! Bentley is 11 months old. He does great in class, but has many moments at home when he just either stares at us when we give a command or he also thinks it's a game. We also just stop, and try again later. But getting him into his crate is becoming a nightmare. He knows when we are just training as opposed to when I am going out, or it's time for him to go to bed even though we "mock" practices.  They are just too smart!

Comment by Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie on March 2, 2014 at 4:50pm

Robin, do you have an 18 to 20 foot longe line?  You can use it for recall.

Comment by Robin & Josie on March 2, 2014 at 4:47pm

This is exactly what we are experiencing (minus the counter surfing cause Josie too short to reach that high!) The bad news is that she is 11 months, so your 5 month old is unlikely to "outgrow" this obnoxious behavior any time soon.

The other day, Josie made me a half hour late to work cause I couldn't get her to come to me, and I couldn't catch her. (And I bring her to work with me, so it wasn't even an avoidance of separation or going in the crate issue). Clearly, she thought this was a great game. I did not.

Then, yesterday, I decided to do a little training practice with her and the same thing happened. I could not capture her. This time, I wasn't in a rush, so when it became obvious that she wasn't going to cooperate, I got busy doing something else that didn't involve her at all. Eventually, she got the message and started to participate. I just tried again every 10 minutes or so.

Josie is also within two weeks of doing the CGC test, which her trainer says "she has in the bag". So when she's on, she's on, as you describe, but when she's naughty, it's scary how smart she is.

Our next class is called, "Out and About" where we meet at a different location out in the world each week. I REALLY hope she'll turn a corner re reliability.

Right now, she's great when she's in class or "in the mode" but real life obedience eludes us....

P.S. I presented this to our trainer today, and she reinforced the "don't get sucked into her game" advice. If she doesn't want to cooperate then walk away. She thinks it's an attempt to get attention...

Comment by Patti and Bosco on March 2, 2014 at 4:46pm

If you fill the kong with good healthy food such as kibble and maybe some wet food then you can substitute some or all of the regular meals with kongs. Our behaviorist recommends feeling most or all meals using enrichment. Other things you can do to keep a dog busy as well as feed them is divide the meal into several small containers and hide throughout an area in your house. Start easier at first and then make it more challenging if your dog enjoys the challenge. This keeps them busy and gives you a bit of a break. If you are like us, you will enjoy the heck out of a break. LOL Here is a link to one of our trainers talking about filling a kong: http://youtube.com/watch?v=BbgV1T-pcUo

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