sheena

I have just been to the vets for vac. & check up for Bindi. When I got there, the secretary met me outside & warned they had a DA GSD inside & would I mind waiting well away somewhere. I waited for 15 minutes & out came a boy with the most ugliest of dogs...all flee bitten, mangy looking with fur missing & what was left was a terrible dull grey. When it turned around it had the most enormous set of balls When I went into the vets, there was mum arguing with the vets about some $1000 plus treatment that it had to have. First question I asked the vet was why would someone have a dog like that & not have it de-sexed...she just rolled her eyes & said that was a big part of it's problem. Then I asked her what it was crossed with....she laughed & said he was a pure bred & that he looks like that because they have him clipped

You could start with "In Yer Face" recall. That is when you load yourself with lots of very small yummy treats in a distraction free environment. Get down to your pups level & call his name, he looks, you treat. Repeat this rapid fireing, call name, he looks, you treat. Second step is to get a helper...both of you are armed with a clicker & treats. Start off just a few feet apart. One calls & AS SOON AS HE TURNS click, then treat him when he gets there. Then the other person does the same. Gradually increase the distance between you & keep all training sessions very short & fun. :)

I have used the clicker to train my young guy since I got him as a pup. I also used it to train his recall & he has the most fantastic recall (except if there is a cow standing there pulling faces at him :laugh: ), but the chase is only brief & he is back within seconds. The older girl I have been using a clicker with her for the last four years. I use a clicker when I am training a new behaviour or polishing up an old one & it is ALWAYS followed by a treat. I use a verbal marker ..."yes" or "good" once the behaviour is learnt & it is not always followed by a treat. The others have given you some good advice, but I don't think anyone has mentioned that you might need to be in a distraction free environment to start with. You may be interested in having a read of this article I wrote for our club Introduction to Clicker Training Go to the page then click on the link to the PDF article. Good luck & photos are a must :)

I have often wondered about the use of the Mars Coat King on double coated breeds I used it a few times on my girl in her first couple of years but now I only use it on her pants & underneath her tail when it gets too thick & foxy. She has a very thick coat, quiet different from my other BC.

A very good read. The only reason why I would shave my dogs would be for medical reasons, eg if either went down with a tick

I take an advanced class of about 6 handlers & their dogs. If I had a beginners class then I wouldn't even have my dog on the field. :) Lesley McDevitt explains all about the advantages of "mat training" in her book "Controlled Unleashed" which the OP has read. Maybe some mat training might help with her problems too in addition to all the other suggestions that have been made. :)

Kelly says that he is on lead. & if you look at the guy running with him, his arm is outstretched towards the dog in front.

That's because the dog has never learned consequence for the wrong behaviour. If corrections were used in conjunction with positive reinforcement, you wouldn't need to settle her down with the mat etc when a dog is trained using methods incorporating double reinforcement. It's my choice, that I don't use correction/physical force techniques in my dog training. So what would you do in a situation like that...bash the dog with a piece of 4 x 2...then give it a treat. For me, positive reinforcement works well & if I choose to teach my dog to lay quietly on a mat while I am instructing a class in agility, it's a win win situation for both me & my dog. It won't be if another dog gets in her face or has a go at her. Why not put simply her in a crate? That way you can completely devote your attention to your class and there is no risk to your dog from others. Don't worry your little old bunny ears :laugh: She is on the mat but at my feet while I instruct & often on a lead as well. If I have to move away, then she is on the mat next to someone else. Excellent opportunity to train calm behaviour & at no time is any dog put in danger :) If we all have to go far away, like walk the course then both dogs get put in the car. Have you never read "Controlled Unleashed ) ?? I don't expect my dog to remain the whole time in a crate while I take a class. She is entitled to have some training there as well & that is the only opportunity.

Yeah...he's on a lead though if you look carefully :laugh:

Which bit is Jordie ??? & here I was thinking it was just Flynn :)

Yeah I got that on Facebook too & was going to share it here but you beat me to it Well worth reading expecially the part about shaved dogs being more prone to allergies. That could very well explain why someone I know who had his BC shaved suddenly started licking her paws to death & the vets couldn't work out why.

That's because the dog has never learned consequence for the wrong behaviour. If corrections were used in conjunction with positive reinforcement, you wouldn't need to settle her down with the mat etc when a dog is trained using methods incorporating double reinforcement. It's my choice, that I don't use correction/physical force techniques in my dog training. So what would you do in a situation like that...bash the dog with a piece of 4 x 2...then give it a treat. For me, positive reinforcement works well & if I choose to teach my dog to lay quietly on a mat while I am instructing a class in agility, it's a win win situation for both me & my dog.

Agree with all the above & keep up with the clicker training. But when there are other kids around, I would crate him or lock him away from them. As someone else said, kids squeal & jump around, flapping their arms & that will only excite the pup more & all your good training will come undone. Be fair on the pup & when things may be too hard for him to control himself, then lock him away :) Otherwise you are setting him up to fail.

I have a "motion reactive" dog...mainly reactive to other dogs running/playing etc. She was so bad that I used to have trouble keeping her on course during an agility run @ trials & sometimes she would just take off to round up the other dog on the next field. Outside the ring at the start line she was like a Tasmanian Devil. I trained her out of it, by playing the LAT game using high value treats & a clicker. She was already familiar with the clicker & eventually the LAT game just became another of her "tricks", so that when she would see another dog she would turn her attention to me. Sometimes when we first arrive at an exciting environment, I have to play the game for a few minutes to settle her down. Now I take her mat along & am teaching her to stay on the mat & relax, while everything is going on around her. :)

I can now join in this thread I have just signed up with the Karen Pryor Academy for an online course on Canine Freestyle with Michele Pouliot. Even if I never get to compete, as not much happens around here in the way of CF, what I learn along the way will be invaluable to me & my BC's. :)

Monday night training is back on for 2014 & I have a pretty keen advanced class. :) It was suggested that I put up the Monday's training on the web, so that they can look at it during the week & those with equipment can practice what they might have had trouble with. So this is what I have done & if any body here is interested in having a look they can access the link here Monday's Challenge/Exercise. It's only meant as a bit of fun & the challenge to me is to keep them coming each week. If it doesn't get updated, then it either rained and our class was cancelled or I have run out of ideas :laugh:

Grass ticks can get very tiny. I had my girl to the vets once as she was licking her paws. The vet found tiny little ticks between her toes, so tiny that I wouldn't have been able to see them without my reading glasses on. Fortunately they are not the deadly ones...just makes you itchy .

Thanks SilentChild. Unfortunately there is no where vaguely near me that I can go to learn. I have taught my dog most of the moves, but I just need someone to show me how to fine tune everything, put it to music & all that sort of thing. Plus if I was committed to a course, it may get me off my butt & just get into it. I would like to include both my dogs, so I feel it could be fun. There is a DWD comp being held up here in December & that would give me something to aim for. I like the idea of the Karen Pryor course as she bases it on the clicker. :)

Has anyone done the Karen Pryor Canine Freestylecourse ??? I am thinking about it but just a bit worried that I won't have enough internet download allowance each month

That's good Cosmolo that it works for you but it is fairly clear that "yes" is not working for the OP.

Agree entirely...so I can't see why people would get annoyed with what other people call there dogs. They must have very small tolerance levels :laugh: I love my dogs as if they were my kids, so I can't see any problem with me calling them kids or being referred to a furkids in conversation so people don't think I am talking about my Human kids. :)

So you are telling me that every time you say "yes" in the company of your dog (you may not even be addressing your dog) you reward. You shape a behaviour, which might have 100 small steps with "yes" all said in exactly the same tone etc. I use the word "yes" AFTER I have taught the behaviour & it may or may not be followed by a reward..it is a marker to let the dog know it has done something the right way, but it doesn't hold the same value for my dog as the clicker does. In the middle of an agility trial, my dog does a lovely contact, I can praise her with "yes", but I wouldn't be able to whip out the treats & reward her. If you have the time (or if you are really interested)..here is a copy & paste from Karen Pryor's web site Why Can't I Just Use My Voice? Karen Pryor's picture By Karen Pryor on 04/01/2005 Filed in - Fundamentals Clicker training involves shaping behavior in small steps, identifying the behavior, as it occurs, with some kind of marker signal. Dolphin trainers use a whistle; dog and horse trainers have settled on the clicker. But couldn't you just use a word, like "good," or "yes," as a marker signal? And wouldn't it be just as effective? You can use a word—obedience instructors like the word "yes"—and it will work a lot better than treats alone; but it's not nearly as effective as a click. The evidence from dog training schools that have tried both methods suggests that dogs and their owners learn about 50% more rapidly when the marker signal is a click instead of the word "yes." The click is easy to hear; words are not. The click is consistent. Words vary from moment to moment and person to person, but the click never changes. The timing of the click is easy to recognize; even beginners can tell if they clicked during the behavior they wanted, or a little too late. But we can't seem to make that same distinction with a word. Maybe clicker classes go faster mainly because people's timing improves rapidly. People who are using a word just don't have the same chance to develop good timing. Finally, the word "yes" conveys a sense of social approval, not just to the dog but to the person saying "yes." What's the harm, if you are expressing positive emotion? Here's the problem: using a clicker, if you don't get what you had in mind, you just look for the next opportunity to click. Using a word, however, when you can't say "yes" you may feel frustrated and disappointed, and your posture may actually say "no!" The dog feels punished—and immediately the learning slows down or stops. Saving social praise for social interactions, and using a clear-cut mechanical marker signal that means only "you win!" to the dog, can speed up the learning and, strangely enough, remove stress and make the experience more fun for dog and owner, too.

Agree.....great article...thanks for posting PM :)

I really don't see the problem, there are more important things in life to worry about than someone calling their dog a fur baby. I have already raised a family of human kids, so now my two are my fur kids. I really don't have a problem with that :) It's an endearing term & has love & feeling behind it IMO. ETA...sometimes I just call them my "Billy Lids" is there a problem with that as well