Help with training my dog

[walterc]

Just a suggestion on the time outside. My neighbor has a collar on his dogs that is tied to a controller just inside the door. The collar is set to give them a little shock if they get farther from the controller than the collar is set for. And each collar can be set for various distances depending on the circumstances. Sometime he lets them run the whole yard and other times they can't get farther than the front porch. No fence (either buried electric or built) and absolute control in how far they roam.

As far as the inside stuff, I agree with the rest, crate train, baby gates, set schedule, lots of praise for good behavior.

And obedience. If you have the obedience thing down, they respond to other training pretty easy.

 

[VABlue]

Your neighbor has an electronic fence in the the wireless flavor. Easier to install, but does the same thing! All electronic fences require training, they don't 'just work' right out of the box, and high energy dogs they can run right through them with no problems whatsoever.

For obedience, start with 'sit'. When the dog knows it, move on to 'stay' by backing up. From there, 'come' can be worked in. Before moving on to each command, make sure the dog knows the one your training inside and out. If you put too much into it, you'll get nothing out of it. And forget about 'down' for now, that's a very submissive command and the dog really needs to understand his place before he'll readily take to it. Eventually, 'sit' will become 'stay' - whenever you want them to sit, you also want them to stay where they are, so make it one command.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Thanks everyone. I am looking forward to putting your advice to use

 

[Sigarms]

and high energy dogs they can run right through them with no problems whatsoever.

That, and then when those high energy dogs get tuckered out, they won't come back to the house because they don't want to get zapped when they get close to the fence. I know more than a couple of people that have had to turn off their electric fence to get their dogs back onto the property, which IMO really screws up their training.

Invisible fences also don't keep unwanted animals out.

My girlfriends black lab is very well behaved and can run free and my neighbors black lab is the same way. They can come and go on both properties as they wish.

Perhaps this is a personal opinion, but any animal (who has unlimited freedom to "roam") in the care of two legged critters should never be left oustide alone without supervision. Perhaps part of my opinion is due to all the dogs in my local area killed on the side of the road, at which point the owners just get another dog. If a dog is considered personal property, don't you have an obligation to know what your property is doing?

 

[VABlue]

Most of the electronic fences anymore have technology built in to allow the dog back into the yard without a correction. But that and keeping the unwanteds out are both good points!

 

[dmccarty]

Over the years I read a few dog training books.

The one(s) I liked the best were from The Monks of Skete, Dog Training.

Some of the best sections talk about research regarding the dogs psychology. How dogs mature and think.

Later,
Dan

 

[Robert_in_NY]

That, and then when those high energy dogs get tuckered out, they won't come back to the house because they don't want to get zapped when they get close to the fence. I know more than a couple of people that have had to turn off their electric fence to get their dogs back onto the property, which IMO really screws up their training.

Invisible fences also don't keep unwanted animals out.



Perhaps this is a personal opinion, but any animal (who has unlimited freedom to "roam") in the care of two legged critters should never be left oustide alone without supervision. Perhaps part of my opinion is due to all the dogs in my local area killed on the side of the road, at which point the owners just get another dog. If a dog is considered personal property, don't you have an obligation to know what your property is doing?

I should clarify, both black labs are supervised. They just don't need to be leashed 24/7 which is what I meant by run free. Sasha is the first dog I have had in 20 years just because I didn't want to worry about one getting loose and get hit on the road, that's why I am trying to work with her to get her to listen to my commands and hopefully stay away from the road.

 

[Redneck in training]

Check this guy out. He has a show called "Dog whisperer" on National Geographic Channel.

Cesar Millan's Official Website | Achieving balance between people and dogs.

 

[Sigarms]

I should clarify, both black labs are supervised. They just don't need to be leashed 24/7 which is what I meant by run free. Sasha is the first dog I have had in 20 years just because I didn't want to worry about one getting loose and get hit on the road, that's why I am trying to work with her to get her to listen to my commands and hopefully stay away from the road.

Sorry, just that so many people around my area leave their animals unsupervised I assume otherwise unless noted.

Dogtra (I use the 2300 "two dog" series)

I've found this product line to be one of the better training collars out on the market (I do test them out on myself, and even at 500 yards, strength of the collar does does not diminish).

The disadvantage to this type of collar is that you can't have it act as a "fenced in area" leaving the animal unsupervised.

However, the bigger advantage is that no matter where you go with your animal, you have a corrective training measures that you can take to help you train your dog, and you can utilize the collar in a direct relationship with your voice commands.

Bringing so many types of animals into our home, we aren't sure who are "bolters" and who aren't. Perhaps utilizing this training tool makes me lazy, but I've found that at 0430 in the morning before work, out with the dogs, and one takes off after a rabbit out back, I like to have more control at my discression (sp?).

The advantage to a collar like the one I'm posting is that you have a wide range of control in the strength of the shock applied (0 to 127 in strength), be it a nick or conitunous, and you can use a vibrate mode as well. The key is starting off "low" (0-20 range) to see at what point you get the dogs attention. The shock can be a "nick" (split second quick jolt) or it can be continuous as long as you hold the button down (the unit will automatically shut off if held down for 12 seconds or more).

After a short time using the collar in conjunction with your voice commands, I've really never had a dog that didn't learn it's boundaries (which is the primary reason for the collar). Also, most of the times, if I want to take a corrective measure on the dogs boundaries, I don't even have to use the shock mode, just vibrate.

Should note I always start training off on vibrate and if the dog isn't responsive, then the "nick" mode at lower levels, then higher levels, then to the continuous mode, lower levels, working up.

The dog learns that if it doesn't correct it's behavior after the vibrate mode, a nick may be coming, or even continuous after that (although it never gets to that point after a couple of weeks with the collar on).

Dog on high prey drive chasing after an animal has never made it past 90.

Keep in mind, some dogs do become "dog collar" smart if you keep taking off and putting on the collar.

Also keep in mind, although I've never come across a dog that would, depending on the animals past history which may be unknown, using a shock collar for training may produce a negative response (as as "bolting", the behavior your actually trying to correct). I've never had it happen to me, but I'd rather take the chance and find out (using the training collar) to ensure that the animal doesn't bolt or wonder to close to the road (usually walked on a lead for some time before left to roam with the other dogs).

 

[VABlue]

I have extensive experience with remote collars from my field trial days with retrievers. Although I use the TriTronics models (the only thing you'll find in the retriever world), they all work the same. The dog MUST understand the command you're trying to enforce, or the response will be confusion and timidity - not what you're looking for. Train the command first, reinforce it with the collar after.

I've also read the monks book mentioned earlier, and it's a good read with good training points. Others to read are 'Gun Dog' from Richard Wolters (met him at a couple of events when I was just starting) - great book to read for basic obedience training. Well written and easy to follow, everything will just make sense. Just don't pay any attention to the timelines he keeps referencing, your dog will advance at its own pace. Another to read (especially if you decide to use a collar) is 'TriTronics Retriever Training' by Jim and Phyllis Dobbs. Does a great job of teaching you how to incorporate and use the collar. The Dobbs' were the first trainers to really utilize the collar and pioneered most of the methods still used today. I met them while attending a couple of their seminars, great people and very knowledgeable.

Reading any of the books mentioned will give you more info than you'll get here, and you'll always have it available for reference. Of course, there are a boat load of other books on the subject, all of which will be useful in some way. Your job is to read them, pick out the bits that work for you, and train your dog how you need him trained.