Steve K9Pro

K9: Standing on her back will get her to sit also, but that doesnt make it right... K9: your mixing up the reward process, usually when you try & train more excercises the dog isnt clear headed, & you will strike a big slow down. Here are some problems, your dog doesnt know that speed & power are not the answer. Your dog thinks if she doesnt go well for the prey item, no probs, mum will feed me anyway. You got results because amongst the confusion your dog most likely went out of drive & sat in a conscious situation, this training will have no effect if she ever does recall in prey drive again. Lazy trainers keep swapping the rewards to see instant results, but they soon find they just get a confused dog...

K9: yes this is correct, but the dog in question doesnt know how to add the sit from a fast recall so it needs to learn this, starting an intermitant reward system when learning a new excercise is not going to the best way to maintain drive... K9: ok, I use two separate commands for everything, in english the commands equal opportnity to earn a pack drive reward (pat or praise from Alpha). In German they are an opportunity to earn a prey drive reward. I dont use those when I am unable to give that reward. Is that what you mean?

K9: not exactly sure what you mean, can you rephrase please?

K9: some pups have limited physical ability at the beginning, so I would suggest training only for 1 - 2 minutes, leave her dying for it, not glad you stopped... Your pup has boot loads of drive though... Observe the dogs overall temperament & if you see a fear period coming on, back off until its gone... Check this page..

K9: to keep drive you must remove motivation by asking for excercises that dont bring reward. If your dog is returning in prey drive, when she is 10 feet from you, start to pull your prey item out of your jacket or pocket & move it slowly higher & higher with the sit command. The dog needs to leave drive peak & go into initialisation & think about the sit, then back into peak to complete the sit....

K9: I think what were getting at is, you dont leave the training round with a declaration, just like every time you speed in your car a fine dont appear...

K9: Yes it is, anyone who has a private consult gets free entry into this one...

K9: knowing why is nice, knowing how to stop it, more important...

K9: if your dog thought there was something up there, if your dog thought it might get your attention, or possibly wanted to get up near your face, same motivation is jumping up... Your reaction to the getting on the table could have reinforced it... Dogs can experiment too..

K9: , was still deciding on a few venues, this one is the best, & as requested by many, its closer to the city than previous ones (not that it matters to me ) lol.. Yes it should be great, I was writing some of the day plan, there is some great stuff...!

K9: it doesnt have to be dominance, the dog could be driven up there by a few things... K9: it can help, mainly if your there... The mats are the best though....

K9: yes different venues require different things. I am not a fan of yearly vaccinations, I run titres on my own dogs over yearly vaccinations. This venue, I guess due to the number of dogs visiting them all year round, have set this as a rule & I have no problems with it...

K9: all of these things she likes arent free, she needs to come to an agreement with you how much (attention) she has to pay for them. K9: she could have a low threshold to avoidance behaviours which will take some time to over come... I also dont know her history... K9: no two dogs are the same, some are alike. K9: she needs to be trained, not trusted though... K9: ask? this is one problem, there is no asking in training...

K9: yes with the help of a friend we have just secured an excellent venue in Listerfield... Details will go on my web site soon...

K9: yes Aus, its clear...

S: I started a thread up before asking this question (re dangerous dog) someone posted a link, in the govt website it specifically mentioned dogs trained to bite even if for a "sport" would be considered dangerous, i cant remember the thread but was told when importing the dog it would be best not to advise that she is titled in shutzhund K9: Considered, isnt declared... This is what I wrote before... You could have any dog declared dangerous if you wanted to...

K9: really, so sniffer dogs, bomb dogs all dangerous too if they are used by security personell? fascinating... K9: so do the council around your way check all Dobes? & how do they check exactly? K9: ok, Im raising the BS flag here... You begin talking about not wanting your dog declared dangerous, then say that they were suspicious because your dog was too well behaved in a crowd? K9: yes its as clear as mud here.....

K9: well Im sure I could line up at council & have them declared if I wanted to. Some one else having them declared would be something else though...

K9: yes with all the descriptions you gave of what drives etc your dog wasnt working in, & you also said you trained away from the bite & then said that your dog was a manstopper, I always wondered how exactly a dog could stop a man with no bite? Bad breath perhaps? No problem here, no need to explain... K9: Never heard anyone say that before... K9: not debating the cost of good protecttion work, but if you trained it yourself, it wont cost a thing? Dogs are declared dangerous out of an action, not a level of training.. ************* K9: my too old slugs? :D lol, no they are not declared anything just yet... They have never been out of control hence not declared dangerous...

K9: There are a few ways that I have worked with small dogs without spending the day bent over... In traditional training methods, I use a small (stable) table with rubber matting on it. This should be around 300mm high & not wobble. Have one made for you that is the same length as the dog is laying down & as wide as the dog is sitting.. Then teach the dog the static sit & down commands up there... At this stage I teach the dog to catch the food rewards & bending over is not so often... If your going to compete the table makes for straight not sloppy sits & stacked downs...

K9: Yes it should be a really great day, many people's dogs suffer from behaviour problems & this will help them understand their options & how to work with their dog...

Looking forward to this workshop this weekend? Here is some of what I will be teaching... Building drive, teaching focus, getting back the prey item, demonstrating how safe around prey items the dog is...

K9: yes pay me, now your talkin! You have a pm...

K9: we rework the engaging link before we send ours, making it easier to fit. The quick release are easier to fit, & they come off in a millisecond... Yes you need a method, or the dog will learn to cope with the prong...

K9: what Myszka said..