megan_ Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 A clicker is a marker, not a sound to get them to come back (like a whistle). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 ia mn starting to think of retraining her recall with either a clicker or whistle. But am not sure how successful they are or if people recommend them. ANY training aid/tool still needs the dog's owner to understand WHY his dog is doing X&Y and WHAT needs to be done to change it , and HOW to properly use the chosen tool/aid. :) Understanding the basics of what makes a dog tick ,and effective communication , is IMO,much more important than any physical training tool. Perhaps you would really benefit by some one-on-one sessions with a personally recommended trainer? That way the professional can teach you a way which suits you and your pup :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) Beez which area of WA are you in? NOR/SOR/Perth? We might be able to recommend you a good local trainer :) Edited February 6, 2012 by Weasels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) Beezneez, I spent lots of time with Stella, just watching her & trying different things with her just work out what really motavates her. One of favs is food, so I use food to teach her anything new. Whenever we are out, I carry a ball, we play fetch another fav. I make Stella work for everything. So once she learnt to retrieve, I make her sit or lay down or stay before I throw it. I have taught her hand signal, sit & stay at a distance. Atm we are working on heeling, not a fav LOL. So I would maybe try & just figure out what Layla really responds to best & use it to train her with. W hether it be food or whatever. Really just what Persephone said. And every dog is different. You can have every gadget in the world but it doesnt do it for her, it wont happen. I am no expert b.neez just some stuff that has really worked for my girl. She has improved tonnes, still got a way to go but I can see that I am on the right track which is a start. Edited February 6, 2012 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezneez Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 She is very food orientated in learning new things, but she is also ball craazy. Sometimes she just chooses not to listen though. I dont really know why. I am not a professional at undersstanding dogs obviously but am trying my best. She knows many tricks (sit,down,stay, high ten, sit pretty) I have never been able to get her to do roll over, as much as i try! (still trying) but even with those tricks she sometimes wont do it when i ask. Her recall is pretty lousy. She is okay if i have treats and a ball she will usually come back if there is no distracctions. Weasel i am in NOR (near Joondalup). Layla shows some fear agression, which i think hinders some of my training as i am very nervous and worried if i take her off lead places (which is rare) Our other dog puts up with everything, which hinders her a lot too. She will jump all over him and even growl and try n nip (playfully) with our other dog and he will do nothing. I am not sure where to go from here. I think i might start with retraining her recall with a new word Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) I started training Stella with recall inside, no distractions. Sometimes I would ramdomly call her for no reason & treat every single time as soon as she came & sat. Then gradually add distractions Praise, & more praise. Sometimes thirty times a day. Stella's nervousness / aggression has slowed us up too. But in the scheme of things it doesn't matter as long as we get it right in the end. I am really looking forward to seeing the trainer & getting some more direction with her. She would love flyball/agility. Edited February 6, 2012 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 (edited) Oh just wanted to add Stella picks up every bit of stress I feel, so I am very aware of being confident / calm & standing that way. Even when I am freaking out. It helps her to remain calmer than she would have been in a stressful situation. Edited February 6, 2012 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezneez Posted February 6, 2012 Author Share Posted February 6, 2012 I started training Stella with recall inside, no distractions. Sometimes I would ramdomly call her for no reason & treat every single time as soon as she came & sat. Then gradually add distractions Praise, & more praise. Sometimes thirty times a day. Stella's nervousness / aggression has slowed us up too. But in the scheme of things it doesn't matter as long as we get it right in the end. I am really looking forward to seeing the trainer & getting some more direction with her. She would love flyball/agility. Oh just wanted to add Stella picks up every bit of stress I feel, so I am very aware of being confident / calm & standing that way. Even when I am freaking out. It helps her to remain calmer than she would have been in a stressful situation. Yeah i've been focusing a lot on her recall. I have started doing it a lot more around the house, in the lounge and in my back and front yard(on a long line) and i have changed training words and using a clicker. So far she has responded really well. And in fact 95% of the time has came straight to me and sat. Which is making me extremely positive. I also have that problem, Layla picks up on all my stress (i sometimes get my partner to hold the lead when we take her to high dog populated areas as he is confident and doesnt stress like i do. And she is pretty good int his case. I am not stressing because i dont want her to fight with dogs. but it is more that i dont want her to hurt other dogs and their owners get mad at me. I am not so worried about her getting hurt, but rather her hurting other dogs. sad i know. But i need to learn how to be confident and how to help her in that way. Layla would thrive in agility and obedience. But at the moment, it doesn't look promising as her off lead isn't good at all. My aim is to be able to have her offlead around other dogs to have her focus on me. So she can do agility!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weasels Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Weasel i am in NOR (near Joondalup). Mason_Gibbs goes to a NOR dog club - there's a thread with more info here: http://www.dolforums.com.au/topic/228293-puppy-school-in-perth/ Beez I think some agility clubs will start you off on-lead and do heaps of focus work before you start learning the equipment, so if you can find one like this I would suggest just jumping into a club - then you can manage the distractions to your level and have a trainer there to help you out too! :) Weez was easily distracted when I started agility but now I can get him to sit and look me in the eye while another dog is pawing at him for attention :) (he still has other distraction issues :rolleyes: but being able to ignore other dogs I can 100% attribute to attending agility classes with him) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) I would love to find a good agility club that would be willing to accomodate Stella & her quirky ways in our area. Might have to do a little more searching further away from home. I have everything crossed & all my faith in Steve , K9 Pro with his direction & get her into a decent club Stella would thrive, inturn I would learn heaps too. Edited February 7, 2012 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 We all know Kenzie's issues with lack of attention!! Anyway, agility classes have been the best thing for her in terms of getting more focus. Her reactivity has decreased/become much more controllable, her recall is much better, she looks to me for many more things now. So regardless of recall I'd say try and find somewhere that you can get started on foundation work (assuming that your dog is old enough to do so!!) as it really helps build that bond between you. When I started I was working on the theory of having the only goal of getting a more focussed dog with a better bond to me - I've got that plus a little agility superstar (well she will be when we start competing!!)!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 (edited) PME, glad to hear Kenzie is doing so well. You have worked really hard with her & am looking forward to watching her succeed. There IS hope Stella & myself, BN & Layla, & anyone else who have "quirky / over reactive furry kids. LOL. In the last month I can see a big improvement in my girl, I'm wrapped. Edited February 8, 2012 by BC Crazy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezneez Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 Layla is only 6 Months old at the moment, so she is still too young to do agility. I think they have to be 18months to start it??? Not 100% sure. But i defeinately will be enrolling us in to do it. She is a focussed dog when she wants to be. And she would have an absolute blast!! I will definately have a look at that link thanks Weasel. She tends to listen to me more when i have her on a long lead or if i drop the lead rather than remove it from her. Today i took her to the enclosed park and she had an excellent recall for the first 15 Minutes then after that, she had enough. I tried playing a catch me game. She would chase me and all that but then when i stopped. She would run off. So not sure about that one. Haahahah I even had treats (her fav polony) and her favourite toy. I think i may need to find a new fav treat. Not sure what though. Thanks so much for your help BC Crazy and Weasel!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Your welcome Beezneez. Sorry I can't be of more help. I can sympathise with you though. I have been fortunate enough to have owned & rescued a few BC's now & never had one quite like my Stella. Lol. Glad to hear you are making progress with Layla' recall. She is still young so 15 minutes is very good. I alternate my treats for Stella so she always gets a surprise. Cheese, chicken, liver, frankfurt, cut up heaps small. Not sure about the age to start agility, would like to know for sure myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toshman Posted February 8, 2012 Share Posted February 8, 2012 Layla is only 6 Months old at the moment, so she is still too young to do agility. I think they have to be 18months to start it??? Not 100% sure. But i defeinately will be enrolling us in to do it. She is a focussed dog when she wants to be. And she would have an absolute blast!! I will definately have a look at that link thanks Weasel. She tends to listen to me more when i have her on a long lead or if i drop the lead rather than remove it from her. Today i took her to the enclosed park and she had an excellent recall for the first 15 Minutes then after that, she had enough. I tried playing a catch me game. She would chase me and all that but then when i stopped. She would run off. So not sure about that one. Haahahah I even had treats (her fav polony) and her favourite toy. I think i may need to find a new fav treat. Not sure what though. Thanks so much for your help BC Crazy and Weasel!!! She can't COMPETE until she's 18 months old, but there are many clubs, and I'm sure some in WA (which produces some of the very best agility dogs in Australia IMHO!), that have foundation classes for puppies from a very early age...that's the time you teach focus and all that basic, and very important, stuff :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezneez Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Oh Really? I thought they weren't allowed to start practicing til then? But that's interesting. I dont want her to compete or show or anything. I just want to do it for the Fun and Focus gain from it. I will definately look into this :) Layla is only 6 Months old at the moment, so she is still too young to do agility. I think they have to be 18months to start it??? Not 100% sure. But i defeinately will be enrolling us in to do it. She is a focussed dog when she wants to be. And she would have an absolute blast!! I will definately have a look at that link thanks Weasel. She tends to listen to me more when i have her on a long lead or if i drop the lead rather than remove it from her. Today i took her to the enclosed park and she had an excellent recall for the first 15 Minutes then after that, she had enough. I tried playing a catch me game. She would chase me and all that but then when i stopped. She would run off. So not sure about that one. Haahahah I even had treats (her fav polony) and her favourite toy. I think i may need to find a new fav treat. Not sure what though. Thanks so much for your help BC Crazy and Weasel!!! She can't COMPETE until she's 18 months old, but there are many clubs, and I'm sure some in WA (which produces some of the very best agility dogs in Australia IMHO!), that have foundation classes for puppies from a very early age...that's the time you teach focus and all that basic, and very important, stuff :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Agility Dog Club of WA run puppy classes - http://www.agilityclubwa.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toshman Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Agility Dog Club of WA run puppy classes - http://www.agilityclubwa.com/ Just had a look at the ACWA puppy foundation classes and the gorgeous photos that go with them - what lovely pups! Beezneez, have you seen the site - esp. the puppy foundation classes page? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Miss Emma Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 PME, glad to hear Kenzie is doing so well. You have worked really hard with her & am looking forward to watching her succeed. There IS hope Stella & myself, BN & Layla, & anyone else who have "quirky / over reactive furry kids. LOL. In the last month I can see a big improvement in my girl, I'm wrapped. Thanks BC Crazy!!! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beezneez Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 Thanks, I did have a look at the website and the images and they look amazing. It is a pity they are so far away. I am north of the river and they are south. It will be a last resort!!! I am hoping to find one closer to home though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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