Starting Training

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Postby chance's mom » February 12th, 2006, 1:59 am

hello chris, what you do with your dogs is amazing and i am hoping to get chance into this as well. i am very interested if any of you could offer advise on what i need to look for in my boy, or how i can get him started. i am new as well to this forum, but as i posted in my intro my father is retired lapd swat and my last dog was his partner. he was an australian/german shepard mix, i have seen your dogs do the same thing our police dog was trained to do, and they carry the same desire! he passed away when he was 17 due to cancer and loosing him was very hard. anyhow. please let me know what i can do or if you can offer me any advise. please im or pm me. thanks a bunch
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chance's mom
Hyper Adolescent Bully
 
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Location: San Diego, Ca

Postby Chris Fraize » February 15th, 2006, 10:33 am

Hello Chance's mom,

Thanks so much for the kind words.
The only advise I can give you for your pup without seeing him in person would be....

· Teach him with motivation (obedience, environmental, socialization, introduction to decoy work)

· Don't baby him when he gets into trouble. (Let him work out the problem unless he is in REAL danger of being hurt for real.) They aren’t made of glass!

· Let him learn at his pace not yours.

· Go slowly in the beginning.

· Never teach or train with emotion (save your praise for the end of the session. Do not praise like crazy for every little thing. On the other hand do not get angry or frustrated, see things from the dogs point of view!)

· Keep the sessions short and sweet. (Short and sweet is better than long and wrong!)

· Let him learn to spend time away from you. (Crate)

· Structure your lessons so the dog has the best chance at learning. (For example: If you are using food as a motivator, don’t feed before you train. If you are using a toy, don’t let him have the toy all day. Let him have it only when you teach (train) and only briefly as a reward.)

· Don’t guess at training, have a lesson plan. Know what you want and where you are going. (With pups and young dogs I believe it is best to teach one thing (sit, down, stay, etc..) at a time. Always end with success. If the dog does the lesson plan correctly the first time, END! Even if you want to do more. If you push it, the second try might not be as good as the first and then the dogs “mental picture” of the exercise will have ended on an attempt (No so correct) rather than on a great look (Correct)!

I hope this helps. And again, thank you for the kind words.

Safe training,
Chris Fraize
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Postby DemoDick » February 16th, 2006, 5:31 pm

Everything Chris wrote is right on the money. A couple things I would add:

Whenever you train, set yourself up for success. Strive to be 100% consistent in training. This goes for everything, not just command delivery and rewards. The second you hook up the leash and take the dog out, training begins. If you are consistent in how you approach the crate, open the door, attach the leash, and take the dog out, it will be easier to remain consistent throughout the lesson. When the leash is on the dog is learning, whether you are trying to teach something or not.

Remember this and repeat it to yourself over and over: "It's just a dog". Dogs do not act out of spite, nor do they do intentionally try to frustrate you. They are instinctive animals and do not reason things out. They learn through consistent repetition and work to satisfy themselves. Anger on your part will only serve to confuse and frustrate the dog and create conflict between the two of you.

Demo Dick
"My first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban PERMANENTLY as soon as I take office...I intend to work with Congress on a national no carry law, 1 gun a month purchase limits, and bans on all semi-automatic guns."-Barack Obama
"When in doubt, whip it out."-Nuge
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Postby chance's mom » February 16th, 2006, 10:08 pm

thank you both very much for the help! as always it is much appreciated. good news, no not just that i saved a bunch of money by switching to geico! heheheh sorry i work there and hear it all the time!
seriously though, i never train chance when i get upset or irritated, i never thought i would be in the correct frame of mind to train my dog if i was mad, i knew it would never help train only hurt any progress. we do short but, imho, effective training sessions. everyday that we walk is a training session. that is what i am trying to perfect with him right now, he heels perfect, i took treats and would hold them by my thigh with his collar in the same hand, i guess like they do when they circle at the shows. that worked great! however, he weighs 70lbs and loves people, squirrels, other dogs and expecially birds! i swear he would make an awesome hunting dog! i guess what we are trying to work on is just that, distractions, and for me since i only weigh 120lbs, i cant walk him at ease unless its with a choke collar. a small correction and he is good to go. i am having a problem with him on a collar near other dogs, he wants to play with them and i am trying to train him "no play on the leash, ever" reason being is i think he feels more vulnerable on a leash, if that makes sense. in other words, i feel he is scared becuase HE is not in full control of the situation if a dog comes at him, which i know if he is scared or nervous as a dog he is more likely to attack something or someone in that state of mind.
i baby him when appropriate, he behaves very politely, but he definately still needs work. he knows i am boss, if i call his name, and he looks at me, (still working on the response to his name outside also, always on a leash, yes) and i point at him he knows to stop, sit and lay down on his side showing he is submissive.
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chance's mom
Hyper Adolescent Bully
 
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Postby mnp13 » February 17th, 2006, 12:04 pm

choke chains are evil, get a prong :D

I'm writing a post to explain why I feel this way...
Michelle

Inside me is a thin woman trying to get out. I usually shut the bitch up with a martini.
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mnp13
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Postby chance's mom » February 18th, 2006, 4:08 pm

my apologies, that is what i ment, i use a prong collar, not a choke collar. i always do that, i dont know why. sorry, but no i dont use a choke collar, it is the prong collar.
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chance's mom
Hyper Adolescent Bully
 
Posts: 322
Location: San Diego, Ca

Postby mnp13 » February 18th, 2006, 4:39 pm

chance's mom wrote:my apologies, that is what i ment, i use a prong collar, not a choke collar. i always do that, i dont know why. sorry, but no i dont use a choke collar, it is the prong collar.


:fastRoll:

well, thanks for clearing that up! :D
Michelle

Inside me is a thin woman trying to get out. I usually shut the bitch up with a martini.
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mnp13
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