Steve K9Pro

K9: Cool next time I dont know what to say, I will call you Vehs! lol

Hi K9, i understand that consistency of a specific word, whatever that word may be is important. However i feel that i am doubling-up by teaching her both "yes" AND "good girl." Does one negate the other? For example;

whenever she does what is ASKED of her i say "Good Girl"

In the TOT training however when she looks to me, I say "Yes"

K9: You should just use one, being either good girl or yes, not both and the mention of good girl must teach her to maintain the behaviour (keep doing what your doing) and not terminate the behaviour (release her).

My question then is should i be saying "good girl," when she looks at me in the TOT training?

K9: Yes

The reason being she is already familiar with "good girl," as meaning she has done something that is required of her. Or should i keep two separate words. That is, in her mind is she supposed to understand each phrase, "good girl" and "Yes"to mean something different?

K9: good girl or yes can be the marker, then you need a release command, such as ok, free etc

K9: The marker or bridge is can be any word really, can be yes, good, wow etc. Then there must also be a release such as ok, yep, free yeah!

You can use any word really, I wrote the program with yes, no & ok, common easy words but you can use any consistent change.

Thanks for the reply............ I did start yesterday with the program, she didn't do too bad, its hard to tell if she's looking at me or the food, her eyes are so dark

K9: Thats why you need to stand behind her to one side, she will have to break glance & look back at you.

I've been holding the bowl with the food until she looks at me, should I put it down but out of reach? And then when she looks at me unclip the leash so she goes to the food?

Thanks

K9: Yes holding the food bowl wont work, I have written the program to be as simple as possible but behind the scenes the behavioural markers are very strong, so it must be carried out in the exact format I have written or the results may be anyones guess.

So yes place the food & leave it, stand behind & see what happens.

hi K9

We have a 9wk old ridgeback puppy (had her a week) and have been feeding her in her crate so she thinks its a good place! She is hyper when its food time, trying to get the older dogs food (we put his down first) and then very focused on her bowl as she runs to the crate. Do you think she's too young to start this progam?

K9: no absolutely not, this can be started at any age.

Also does it matter if its different people in the family doing it, ie older kids when we're at work or is that a good thing really?

Thanks

K9: I would get the routine down so the pup understands what is needed & then you can substitute other handlers no problems. The main thing is to get the message across that the respect needs to go t the alpha first not the food bowl, swapping handlers to early can make that hard to figure out for a pup.

Good luck & let me know how you go!

K9: Yeah I was going to have Britney as a guest speaker, but we dont lip sync here, all training is done in real time & live lol..

K9: Hi Guys, sorry for the delay, we have some big changes going on at K9 Force & they have been keeping us very busy (along with our normal work load).

We have received a list if your email addresses (thank you) & will be emailing you early Jan to get some dates sorted out and of course more details.

K9: yes you can but if you really want to use his prey drive, my dedicated training in drive program is much more comprehensive.

Thanks K9

So I tie him up, leave him waiting while I prepare his food, then put his bowl out

K9: yes but create drive for the food as per instruction.

and stand next to him

K9: Slightly behind on one side works best.

and he sits and looks up at me (his default behavior at the food bowl). He's as patient as he has to be -

K9: Then it can be beneficial to bring food very close, to make him lose his patience & then learn it wont help.

But the reason I thought this tie out exercise would be so good for him is that he usually barks and whines when he is tied out at training etc,

K9: yep can work wonders there & outside the coffee shop etc etc.

so I thought if he learns patience on lead it would help him deal with it at training. Well, he hasn't "learned patience" because when I snap him on the lead now he just sits there and waits patiently and quietly! He's such a quick learner, after the first session and he realised it meant he was going to get fed, he just acted like he'd been doing it for ages.

K9: So up the ante, charge him more, require a number of known exercises or teach new ones.

Where do I go from here to generalise lead patience to other places? Dog training doesn't start back up until February, should I practice in other places in the meantime?

K9: sure you can show him that it is just another triangle. The key is to make sure you have drive each time you start, or its just a basic conscious level exercise.

What if you can't do it every day?

K9: Well it is ideal when you do, if your not consistent with any dog training procedure then it wont give you great results. The TOT does not have to be a time consuming exercise, it is only the first day that can take 15 bminues, though it usually doesnt.

You can do a quick place the bowl, sit release.

I usually get Berri to sit and wait at his bowl until he is released, sometimes I'll do some quick heel work and give him his bowl for a jackpot, but usually I'm out and back inside within about 30 seconds before my baby comes to follow me outside.

K9: yep thats fine, thats all you need.

I can probably do it in her nap some days, but as I work 4 days a week I'm not able to spare the time on those days. Will I get progress if I mix it up with what I have been doing so far?

K9: Probably, but it isnt so much a TOT wont work if.., rather the dog wont be clear headed if.

Is there a way to incorporate my 17 month old baby into it so that he has more respect for her as well?

K9: No, & that isnt the route I take, I dont have children work dogs until they are 5 ish, trying to assign respect to a 17 month old wont work, ever. What you may get is a feeling that when baby is around things change.

He's very appeasing to me in general, but I'd like him to see her as more of an authority figure - It's hard, where I'm asking for sits for food, toys whatever, she's just handing them straight to him! Of course I supervise them etc but it would be nice to know whether there is a way to get a dog to see a child that is handing over every resource for nothing as someone to be respected.

K9: I dont mix dogs and babies, I run a specific sourse here to teach people how to get their pack running well, but never let baby tough dog toys, maybe fine when your there but maybe not when your not.

Hi K9,

Just want to start off by saying deepest thanks for making this information available. I was recommended to this post by our dog behaviourist and have started this a few weeks ago seeing remarkable improvements.

K9: I am really glad to hear that it is going well for you!!!

I have read through all the threads but still have a few questions I hope you're able to clarify:

K9: Sure.

(Referring to the above quote when introducing the level of distraction such as the other dog)

1. When practicing the TOT with two dogs together (distraction);

Do you start with one dog, do the TOT, then do the other dog, then leave for the dogs to finish eating etc?

K9: Once you have the procedure taught to each dog separately, then go out, tie out both dogs bring out both meals, place them & start the work, you dont have to & I dont recommend releasing each dog at once. Vary who goes first, release the best behaved first. This will also increase drive a little

2. Again while practicing the TOT with two dogs together... (Both have reached the level of concentration without distraction).

What if whilst beginning the TOT with the first dog, the second dog is going crazy because of the feeding for the other, do you ignore the second dog wait until the first dog is calm with the other trying to lunge for the others food etc, then wait for eye contact 'yes' then release. Once the first dog is eating, now address the second dog with the TOT. Is this the correct method in addressing two dogs together? Or should they start from scratch (without distraction) if either are showing inappropriate behaviour because of the other dog?

K9: The one that is going crazy still needs some time on its own to fully grasp the concept of self control. You can start by having dog two quite a distance away until it gains self control. Then move in.

Hope this makes sense, sometimes hard to explain!

K9: No worries, clear as (mud lol)

Max (Rhodesian Ridgeback, aged 13 weeks) has been with me for 4 weeks. We've been to puppy school (who've never heard of TOT!)

K9: lol well aren't they missing out! If you give them outr contact details, we will be happy to provide them a copy they can copy & hand out, free!

This is the first time he's been tied and he accepted it without any problems. The food dish was placed about 1.5m from him. He was watching it relentlessly until I came to his side. He promptly looked directly into my eyes and then sat, not removing his gaze from mine. Is it normal for a dog to be so quick on the uptake? He has been taught to sit and we are working down, but I just wondered if this was normal?

K9: Yep quite normal, specially with pups that have no bad habits! Glad it is going well for you!

K9: In reality there is enough information on TID that woud cover a week of non stop work, the limitations are that, many dogs not previously trained in drive struggle to trigger drive in a new environment, once trained in drive, we can fix that but it can take some time.

The other is there is a limit to how much info one can take in.

For competitors or working dog people, the majority of the day can be spent on TID & the last hour or so can cover a brief section on recall techniques & LLW.

We will send out some info to you all by email to find out how much & what info you would & try best as we can to get all the info out there you need.

K9: Hi Guys & thanks for the enthusiasm for my workshops!

The run down or set list we used in our recent Friday workshop was quite well received, there are quite a few topics there which means I dont cover them in full depth but you get a great feel for direction & of course any questions are answered.

Looking forward to seeing you all in SA!!!

K9: Drop outs are something we combated with in the early days of running workshops, something thankfully we seem to have gotten past.

I guess the effect transfers to the people of that state sadly, as it means presenters just wont come any more.

K9: well I am not kidding! It will be big, 2 - 4 weeks away.

K9: well just between me and you Husk, there are some really big changes happening at K9force very soon. Once we get those sorted. We will set something up.

K9: Ahh little, no not at all. But there was a Scottish Deerhound that towered over me o Saturday, so if you compare I guess, but little? nope...

MM: I've had all these people at work ask how the workshop went.... My answer "the little bastard was almost perfect - how am I supposed to get help when he's an angel in front of anyone else"

K9: Well ren I didnt see you with any little dog at all lol..

He must've remembered to be on his best behaviour with you around Steve

K9: Yep I warned him...!

It was so nice to be able to walk them both this morning without many issues. There must've been one really good smell though cos he still pulled through the prong

K9: remember to rely on the method & not the tool!

K9: Thanks everyone for all the kind words, I have to thank you all for letting me put fourth my methods & ideas o training & behaviour & letting me work with your dogs. They all were great & I had a great time.

Camp Tailwaggers & the Team were great, Val my Camp Tailwaggers provided assistant is just wonderful, before I even think about needing something, she was there with it & Ann working to make the whole thing run like clock work. The Chef preping great food all weekend.& all the staff.

Most importantly you guys who always make me feel very welcome every time I come up.

A big thanks goes to Nicole & Ella who impress me every time I see them work together, it is a proud moment when I remember meeting Ella as a puppy.

Also lets not forget the Beagle demo, Huski you guys are going great guns!!! Was so proud of you guys too!

I guess the conclusion is that I cant leave it 12 months between trips, it means too much being crammed into a day & I would love to work more with dogs, so I guess I will have to come back sooner!!!

MD: I'm so glad you "got it" , & I'm sure Steve will be too, I think a trainer's greatest achievments are often having students who can say "I got it!" & then go & apply it to your own pack

K9: Yep seeing people work their dogs using what I have taught would be number one in my book!!!

BC4ME: Maybe one day we might see Steve with a Shepherd (or a poodle maybe????) dancing wouldn't that be nice.. :D

K9: Yeah! or maybe not... lol

N: I was the one with the pathetic whippets - nasty barking and snarling black and white one, then the bony lap dog

K9: well I didnt see any snarling or barking when I had them? lol

CM: thanks Steve, it was a great day and I feel we have taken a lot away with us to assist with getting the results with Nala and Kuda we want.

so I'm off to practice her recall with longline as practice makes permanent.

we had no idea what Kuda's issue was but boy you know how to read a dog, I have never seen her react like that to anyone. thanks so much

K9: Your very welcome, I look forward to hearing how well your doing.

H:

Me too If she could be half as a good as Ella I'd be chuffed :D

And Steve with the poodle PLEASE tell me someone who has photographic evidence will post it soon

K9: Evidence was blurred due to a woo woo wooing!!!!

OA: I have to honestly say, it was very different from what I've expected. I expected a step-by-step guide on how to train the dog and on my way home I was a bit disappointed that I haven't got 'The Plan'. But as I had lots of time to think about it, phrases Steve threw in the room came back to me and I was surprised to then understand that also it wasn't a 1. ...., 2. ...., 3. .... kinda training, Stve tought me on how to handle and behave towards my dog in an every-day situation, rather than just in training. I think it will make my pack and me much happier.

Took me a while, but now I got it. Thanks Steve - it was an awesome day and I loved the last part where you showed people on to handle their aggressive dogs!!!

K9: I am glad you can see what I was trying to achieve, I have found that giving people steps just doesnt seem to get the message across because as soon as the dog doesnt respond as the demo dogs did, people get lost, so hopefully giving you method structure will allow for some flexibility in your dog/s. But still if you strike a problem I am only as far as an email away.

OA: This morning, I walked Quen on his new Prong-Collar and I know he didn#t mind it as I could see that. He doesn't like that Halti or the Choker and displays a strong reaction to it (doesn't let me put theem on). No worries with the Prong! And for the first time ever, I dictated the speed of the walk, wasn't pulled all over the place and actually enjoyed the walk!!! Thanks so much!!!

K9: Your very welcome, you guys picked up very well just what you need to do!

BL: Thanks so much Steve, it was another great day! Learnt heaps again. I am definitely signing up for the distance training in drive course this time. Do you think it will be ok for a 3yr old border collie?

Nice to see all you DOLers again, the dogs were all so good considering. Isn't amazing how Steve sends out this alpha "aura" to the dogs and the aggressive dogs wont show aggression around him.

Steve, I think you should move to QLD, it is much nicer here, and you will have HEAPS of business! hahaha

K9: Thanks BL, the Distance programs are designed around the dog, we dont squeeze the dog into a program so yep, sure will work for you. As Camp Tailwaggers is up for sale you never never know...

H: For those of you who have been saying Daisy's not evil...

I had a packet of chocolate freckles zipped in the back of her crate and I forgot to take them out... guess who just unzipped the compartment and ate the ENTIRE packet??

K9: And this is a problem because Huski wanted to eat them all herself!

thanks Steve! Awesome as per usual!!!

K9: I have to say DITTO, so were you and Ella!!!!

BC4ME: And Steve you looked very cute with the poodle. :D

K9: I don't need a Poodle to do that lol..

Thanks Steve for giving up some of your time I know you have a big week-end planned down at Camp Tailwaggers and it was great that you could condense so much into such a small amount of time. It was good to catch up again.

K9: Yep it sure was & I can tell you I was pretty tired after three full on days, but I had a great time.

I'll let you know how Chook & I do on Sunday fingers crossed

K9: You wont need fingers, Chook was on fire in the demo you did!

K9: hey guys don't feed, exercise your dogs or play with them before the workshop! I can use that energy!

K9: Thats fine, well at least we will have the Beagle!!!!!!!!