Tony & Emma Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Hi all, We have a Great Dane pup, 15 weeks old, and he's a pretty chilled guy. In fact, I have been surprised at how good he is for a pup. We do have a few little issues though, in particular walking, but on the whole he is great. We are thinking of getting a private trainer in to make sure we are on the right track and not inadvertently teaching him bad habits that may come back to haunt us further down the line, and also to help us make walking enjoyable for him and us. I called Ausdogs, based in Melbourne, and liked what they had to say. I am on the verge of booking them but thought I would ask on here first for any first hand experience of them and their methods. I just wondered f anyone on here had used them, and had any comments, or recommendation's for similar companies? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonymc Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Tony and Emma, In Melbourne I would recommend Erny,Nekhbet,Kelpie-I. All are menbers of this site. I would personally vouch for all three of them.Send them a pm or me and I can direct you. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Whereabouts are you located? I believe Ausdog is a franchise? So alot may depend on the trainer you actually get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony & Emma Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 Tonymc - I have sent you a PM, cheers. Cosmolo - We are in Balwyn North. The chap that called me was John, who I understand is one of the founders/owners of Ausdogs? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Just had a look at the website for that training company. If the cartoons are anything to go by... you end up with the the perfect dog!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paganman Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 I wouldnt use any trainer from one of the franchises.Anyone can buy a franchise they mightnt even have much experience with dogs then they do a short course given to them by the franchiser and hey presto there a dog trainer.I reckon youd be better off going to Erny or Cosmolo, Nekhbet or Kelpi-i who are members of this forum, there all respected dog trainers well known to people here and theyve got years of experience training dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony & Emma Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Thanks for the replies. I'll check out all those mentioned above. When I contacted Ausdogs, a guy called John called me back. Apparently he is one of the owners, he sounded like he knew his stuff and said he had been training dogs for 30 years. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Is that John Richardson? No ..... he's "DogTech" isn't he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 You won't find any trainers or people bad mouthing companies such as the one that you mentioned because we'd be open to slander, but I have certainly been called to see dogs trained by franchises in general and I'm sure some of the other trainers here have as well. I run puppy school in Doncaster/Templestowe and soon will be running young/adult dog classes again, there are also many good schools in and around the Balwyn area. I can think of 5 off the top of my head that all cater for different training styles. Since you have mentioned that your pup is easy-going I strongly advise you to consider the recommendations given to you here for private trainers. Just because someone has been doing something for 30 years doesn't mean they do it right, or that they do it any differently now to 30 years ago. Don't just be taken in by the 'talk', ask to see some results! Mel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harper Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Hi Tony & Emma. We used them a couple of years ago. I will send you a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony & Emma Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 Thanks everyone - Erny, you have a PM. We have been going to baby puppy class at Surrey Park, Victorian Obedience School. We missed the last two weeks due to Huck being ill the night before. We and him enjoyed it, we have gone from him being 8 weeks to 13 weeks old, (he's 15 weeks now). We just found that it was so busy, it got a bit much in the end. The had to split the room into three groups to do the heel & walking training, but it just meant that 2/3rds of the pups are sat around the edge of the room bored and distracting the other third that are trying to walk around the middle of the room - all the while tripping over the person in front, or being rear-ended by the person behind. It was great as a socialisation session, and we did learn how do train him at home. He is 4 months old now, so graduates to the outside class. I will call them this week to see what we will be covering in that. We will still be going to the Victorian obedience school, but I thought having a private session or two at home would be invaluable as the trainer can see how he is in his own environment, and can suggest where we may or may not be going wrong in how we handle his daily life. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 ausdog is John Harkin adn Ian Bradnock funny they completely discourage puppy preschools and say they make them anti social and have undesirable behaviors - errrr I dont agree with this - maybe a poor puppy preschool is a bad idea but dogs need socialisation outside the home and exposure to everything combined with the right training to make them a good, bombproof adult and the claim that most behavioral issues can be solved after one consultation - well depends what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted April 3, 2009 Share Posted April 3, 2009 Erny, you have a PM. Have PM'd you back, Tony & Emma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Staffy Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) I have been feeling less and less happy with the PC "positive only" dog training that we have been doing and have been doing a lot of reading and research and so got in touch with AusDogs. I have to say that when he called what he had to say made a lot more sense to me than what we are currently doing. (Treats and clicker training just doesn't seem to make sense to me, and when they started telling me to use a halter to stop our dog pulling... but hey what would I know, right?). Anyway if anyone has any positive or negative feedback on John from AusDogs I would be happy to hear it here or via PM. Thanks! Edited April 27, 2009 by Red Staffy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poodlefan Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) I have been feeling less and less happy with the PC "positive only" dog training that we have been doing and have been doing a lot of reading and research and so got in touch with AusDogs. I have to say that when he called what he had to say made a lot more sense to me than what we are currently doing. (Treats and clicker training just doesn't seem to make sense to me, and when they started telling me to use a halter to stop our dog pulling... but hey what would I know, right?). Anyway if anyone has any positive or negative feedback on John from AusDogs I would be happy to hear it here or via PM. Thanks! So you don't agree with telling a dog exactly when the behaviour it offers is the one you want and rewarding it? :rolleyes: A clicker is a tool for marking behaviour, not a method of training. You could say "yes" rather than use a clicker if you find them a pain to use. Few trainers are purely positive and purely positive is not a kind of training I support but I do believe that its better for the dog and easier for you to when teaching new behaviours to encourage behaviours you want rather than discourage the ones you don't want. Far easier to show a dog how and where you want it to walk than to discourage it from walking in another manner. Definitely far less confusing for the dog too. Also easier to lure behaviours like sitting and dropping rather than forcing a dog into position. Edited April 27, 2009 by poodlefan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkySoaringMagpie Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 I have to say that when he called what he had to say made a lot more sense to me than what we are currently doing. What did he say and what are you currently doing? I'm going to go out on a limb here, I think most people in this forum would suggest you mark and reward behaviour you want to see, actively train desirable behaviour to replace undesirable behaviour, and, where necessary, appropriately correct undesirable behaviour. I don't think it's about being PC, I think it's giving the dog the best chance of success? :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 (edited) I think most people in this forum would suggest you mark and reward behaviour you want to see, actively train desirable behaviour to replace undesirable behaviour, and, where necessary, appropriately correct undesirable behaviour. I don't think it's about being PC, I think it's giving the dog the best chance of success? That, IMO, about sums it up :rolleyes:. Edited April 27, 2009 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 red staffy you train whats good for the dog - BUT in saying that puppies need a lot of encouragement. Many people are stuck in the 'its not dog training unless you physically correct' but not all dogs need it and NO puppy needs constant chastising or physical punishments. Even my working Malinois wasnt raised like that - I taught her through encouragements and rewarding activities to build her confidence. You should be actively encouraging your dog to follow, clickers are great because owners can be rather 'bland' or a little mistimed in marking their dogs good behavior and well what pup doesnt like food - that and some owners are SO unexciting when it comes to rewarding ... more then happy to yank on a check chain or tell the dog off but when the dog does something right *fizzle*. I'm not purely positive - but if a dog I see needs encouragement to outweigh the punishment factor then thats what happens. I know what you mean there are clubs that outright ban equipment and methods which to me limits the club and the trainers but then you move on to what works for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 What anita said :rolleyes: I tend not to agree with trainers who are very limited in one way- whether thats 'all positive' OR 'all corrections'. Balance and flexibility in training is very important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now