HAS ANYONE USED AN ELECTRIC COLLAR

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

Hey everyone.. i have a 7 month old Goldendoodle.. he is about 65 pounds now and is very wild..he jumps on everyone.. counter surfs.. and is VERY mouthy still!! i am contemplating getting an electric collar..set on VERY low just for in the house use.. when he is jumping up on people and nipping and things of that nature.. he goes to puppy classes has a trainer and gets several walks a day. this behavior is just not acceptable, as i cannot even have friends over the house. if i ever have a child he cannot be nipping and jumping like he is now.. he is in a teenage bratty stage i guess and is refusing to listen to me. anyways has anyone tried one of these collars? if so how did it work.. which did u use? and when will this behavior stop?? at what age?? thanks again

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

i know he is far from done... but he does listen to commands like sit down and stay.. but sometimes lately as he gets older if i say sit.. he will look at me like HA! ill sit when i want..and sits really slowly.. but he doesnt it.. if food is involved he will sit on a dime! and he will sit down stay..but if he gets too crazed or excited he wont..

[Adina P]

Given that he's willing to sit on a dime if a treat is involved, I think somewhere along the line either the trainer taught you wrong or something went wrong in the treat training.  If it were me, I'd find a new trainer who doesn't use treats.  Because right now, he's responding to treats as though they were a bribe instead of a hoped for reward. 

Also something to keep in mind with smart dogs like doodles.  They almost always learn commands really easily as little pups.  They connect the word "sit" with the action of sitting.  But that's the easy part of training.  That's teaching words.  Real training takes those commands and puts them into real life scenarios and teaches the dog that he has to obey ANY TIME he hears those commands from you, not just when it suits him.  So that part of training is missing.  Without that you might as well have taught him cool lyrics, because he won't obey when it matters. 

Good training teaches him how to obey when it matters.  And it teaches you what to do if he snubs his nose at your command. 

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

ok so what do i do when he knows a treat isnt involved and he wont listen.. like sometimes if i say come.. he completely ignores me.. or if hes up on a counter and i say off..he wont get off until im standing right there or if i yank him off

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Lots of great advice here, but with regard to the "COME" command, never give a command that you do not have the ability to enforce.  If you tell him to "Come" from the other side of the yard and he doesn't ... there isn't anything you can do to enforce it so he gets away with it.  You need to practice this with him on a 25' lead in the back yard.  That way when you say come, he gets to choose.  He can come, or you can pull the leash and make him come.  He never has the option NOT to come!

[Chels*Claud*Midas]

THIS IS VERY GOOD!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You can do the same thing indoors, if you keep a leash on him and/or keep him tethered to you.

If you give a command one time, and the dog ignores you, you have just taught the dog that it's okay to ignore you. That's what L & S's Mom is saying. Commands have to be obeyed, period. He has to learn that actions have consequences. This will be very good practice for when you do have kids.

Nobody loves or admires anyone they don't respect, and that goes for dogs, too. A dog who doesn't know that his owner is in control is going to be anxious, nervous, and hyper. A dog who knows that his owner has everything under control can relax and calm down.

[Adina P]

You will have to do some RE-training and you will need a new system or program of training. This is where you need to find a new trainer.

You acknowledge that he is far from being 'done.' One thing to keep in mind is an unfinished dog needs you right there ready to intervene if he does not obey. You should not expect him to obey if you are casually yelling a command from several feet away until you have practiced it that way successfully many times. You have to set up practice sessions that mimic real life before he is trained for real life.

Keep a leash on him, and don't give him a command until you can follow through and make him do it. If you say 'Come' and aren't able to reel him to you by a leash -- you can't enforce him. The thing is we can't help you train every detail. What we are all trying to say is that there are WAYS to train these things and well, but your trainer has allowed you and your pup to fall through the cracks so find a GOOD trainer and stick with the practice lessons and don't treat ANY commands as casual things until he is reliable and obedient. And if you say 'OFF' and he doesn't get off, grab his leash and yank him off the counter. But if he is allowed to wander freely then keep those counters safe and clear until his issues have resolved.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree with Sherri, Adina and Karen....I would just add that for now I wouldn't allow him to just wander freely.  He hasn't earned that right  If he isn't tethered to you I would crate him. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Getting back to the idea of using an electric collar, it seems that your biggest issue is with the biting, and that's one place where an electric collar is not going to help you, even if you do use one. Why? Because the idea of an electric collar correction is that thedog doesn't know that the correction is coming from you, and he doesn't associate the shock with you, he associates it with the behavior. At least that's the way it's supposed to work. So for example, the dog counter surfs, he gets a shock (without knowing that you are the one pressing a button to give the shock) and he associates the shock with the act of placing his paws or his face on the counter, or maybe just with the counter itself. "I touch that big thing in the kitchen and I get shocked. I better not touch it any more."

Now what happens if he's touching you and gets a shock? He is not going to differentiate between  putting his teeth on you or licking you, all he's going to understand is that sometimes he touches you and and gets a shock. The shock  becomes associated with you.  Not to mention the fact that you are going to have to pressing the remote in front of him while he is biting you.

[Wendy and Myla]

Really good point!!!!!

[GBK]

I had a beast from the time he came home at 8 weeks, I am not kidding.  He was too young for formal training with others at the time and I was at my wits end.  He would snap in my face, pull on our clothes (while we were wearing them), and would NOT roll over and be held on his back, even for a tummy rub.  He was relentless on our hands and lost his first tooth jumping up on my dad, we found the tooth in his fanny pack netting after jumping up to nip.

 

The best advice I ever got when I called a trainer to find out how to handle this, is put him in a Time Out.  I said that's it?  What if he bites me as he's coming out of the crate from the time out?  She said turn him around and put him in the time out again (30 -60 seconds), he will catch on.....  Guess what, he caught on.  He also got into obedience by 12 weeks.  He got his CGC by a year old, passed his therapy dog testing right after and has obedience titles.  If I had to do the time outs again, I would not use a crate if you crate train, I didn't know any better.  I would tie him to a doorknob, or a hook in a baseboard.  He will want to do family stuff, but won't be able to until he is calm and obeying you.  I also agree with everyones suggestion for excersize, a tired puppy will be so much easier to handle and also the Nothing in Life is Free, we still do that with all the dogs in the house.

 

He respects me because I respect him.  If I got angry with him and yelled at him, or tried to manhandle him, he got all the more destructive and hurtful.  I did Ttouch and massage and built the strongest bond I have ever had with a dog.  Please work on your relationship with your puppy anyway you can, I hope you do not have to resort to the e-collar for all training...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I think this is awesome advice!