What training methods?
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From what I've read, I believe that most people here (including myself) use positive reinforcement training. I'm a big fan of "nothing in life is free" training, where the dog works for his/her rewards.
If you have any training questions, feel free to ask, you're sure to get many helpful responces.
And by the way, welcome to Chazhound!
If you have any training questions, feel free to ask, you're sure to get many helpful responces.
And by the way, welcome to Chazhound!
Yes. Positive reinforcement is the way the majority leans. 
http://www.k9deb.com/nilif.htm
http://www.clickerlessons.com/lessons.html
http://www.k9deb.com/nilif.htm
http://www.clickerlessons.com/lessons.html
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I used to try training with food, but my boy would just go NUTS and not focus. Other sheltie owners might recognize this behavior- as soon as he realizes that I have tasty cheesy bits or something in my hand, he launches into his repretoire of tricks. Bang! Rollover! Sit! Speak! Offer a paw! Offer the other one! Roll over! Both paws! Speak! Sit! Bang! over & over, and you can't stop him except by physically holding him still or giving him the snack. My dad's sheltie does this also... funny if you want to show to a non-sheltie owner what they might be getting into but SOOOOOO annoying if you want them to focus!
So I now just offer vocal praise- "atta good doggie!!!!" and so forth when he does it right, and a quite "nope" when he is wrong. He flattens his ears a little bit for the praise, and it seems to work. Heeling is another matter- I couldn't make him not tug on the leash and nip at my ankles every so often until I bought a pinch collar, which immediately fixed the problem. The vocal cues work so nicely that I can have him off leash & just running around, and if he does something like start poking his nose at my wastebasket, I say "nope" and he backs off. Yay!
By the way, I've read a lot of dog training books over the years and I have to say my favorite of all time is one that a friend bought for me a few years ago, "Bones Would Rain From the Sky" which is more of a doggie "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenaince" than a training book. I also liked most of "The Art of Raising a Puppy" although I skipped some of it. Right now I'm reading "Beyond Basic Training" -just started it.
Have any of you read any good dog training books that you would recommend?
So I now just offer vocal praise- "atta good doggie!!!!" and so forth when he does it right, and a quite "nope" when he is wrong. He flattens his ears a little bit for the praise, and it seems to work. Heeling is another matter- I couldn't make him not tug on the leash and nip at my ankles every so often until I bought a pinch collar, which immediately fixed the problem. The vocal cues work so nicely that I can have him off leash & just running around, and if he does something like start poking his nose at my wastebasket, I say "nope" and he backs off. Yay!
By the way, I've read a lot of dog training books over the years and I have to say my favorite of all time is one that a friend bought for me a few years ago, "Bones Would Rain From the Sky" which is more of a doggie "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenaince" than a training book. I also liked most of "The Art of Raising a Puppy" although I skipped some of it. Right now I'm reading "Beyond Basic Training" -just started it.
Have any of you read any good dog training books that you would recommend?
"If a Dog's Prayers Were Answered...Bones Would Rain From the Sky" is the book that Jane Goodall said should be required reading for all dog owners. I completely agree! Another good one is "The Other End of the Leash" by Patricia McConnell. "Don't Shoot the Dog" by Karen Pryor, "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Positive Dog Training" by Pamela Dennison, "The Power of Positive Dog Training" by Pat Miller, anything by Jon Katz, "How to be the Leader of the Pack...and Have Your Dog Love You for It" by Patricia McConnell, "The Dog's Mind: Understanding Your Dog's Behavior" by Bruce Fogle, and "The Cognitive Animal" by Marc Bekoff are all really good, and they make an impressive start to your doggy book collection!
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Thanks for all your replies.
Im glad to hear that most people use positive reinforcement here.
I have read "Don't shoot the dog", "The other end of the leash", and "The power of positive reinforcement", but I am always looking for good books about training. So thanks for all the suggestions.
I have been using NILIF for sometime now and find it works great.
Thank you for your replies and I can't wait to start posting more and talking more to some off you guys.
Im glad to hear that most people use positive reinforcement here. I have read "Don't shoot the dog", "The other end of the leash", and "The power of positive reinforcement", but I am always looking for good books about training. So thanks for all the suggestions.
I have been using NILIF for sometime now and find it works great.
Thank you for your replies and I can't wait to start posting more and talking more to some off you guys.
I went to a dog trainer with my dog a lab called tasha and this trainer was sooo gud and advised me to try this - if your dog sits tell it GOOD SIT tasha (ur dogs name ) and same with all things even peeing ! when tasha pees now i say good wee wees or oh go wee wees same wee wee word and any command so ur naming their action and they understand this action as they do not understand our landuage -eventually tasha would perform any command i had lableled 0 if i have to go out or go to bed ill say wee wees and she will wee on command ! just a suggestion
That "good sit" trend has gotten awfully popular lately. I don't like it much. I think it works much better if you just say, "good" when your dog does something good. The reason is because sentences are something totally foreign to dogs. It's hard for us to understand the problem, but unless you spend many many hours training your dog, he usually won't connect one word in any way with the word that follows it.
So put yourself in your dog's paws. You say "sit". He says, "ooh, I know that one!" and sits. Then you say "good", and he thinks, "Whoopie!" But instead of "good" you tell him "good sit". Then he has to think, "Whoopie! I'm good! But wait, I'm already sitting. This is 'sit', right? Did I mess up? Is this not 'sit'? Why is she telling me again? But if it's wrong, then what's the 'good' for?"
An exaggeration, maybe, but you get the point. Why be confusing when you can be clear and concise instead? Keep your commands (like "sit") seperate from your praise word (like "good"), and your dog will learn faster and be less confused. Just my opinion.
So put yourself in your dog's paws. You say "sit". He says, "ooh, I know that one!" and sits. Then you say "good", and he thinks, "Whoopie!" But instead of "good" you tell him "good sit". Then he has to think, "Whoopie! I'm good! But wait, I'm already sitting. This is 'sit', right? Did I mess up? Is this not 'sit'? Why is she telling me again? But if it's wrong, then what's the 'good' for?"
An exaggeration, maybe, but you get the point. Why be confusing when you can be clear and concise instead? Keep your commands (like "sit") seperate from your praise word (like "good"), and your dog will learn faster and be less confused. Just my opinion.
if you feel silly saying wee wee..we use the word hike..victor knows exactly what i mean and when i take him out on the leash,,and it is cold..all i have to do is walk to the nearest tree.say hike. and then we can run back in where it is warm...when we took the hunting dogs out before a test..that was the word always used..it just seems more respectful for the human..i am sure the dog could care less.
old boss always said keep your commands simple..one word is best
he said keep the chatter down..and most importantly..never give a command you don't inforce..i know a lot of parents of young children that need that one drilled into their foreheads!
old boss always said keep your commands simple..one word is best
he said keep the chatter down..and most importantly..never give a command you don't inforce..i know a lot of parents of young children that need that one drilled into their foreheads!
Great analogy, Emma.
But you'd get such a giggle out of me and mine. They definitely understand sentences, especially "Which one of you did this?" and "Just what in the #$*@ was that all about?" It's a good thing they understand either what I'm saying or what I'm thinking, because they'd never get anything from my tone of voice - I'm usually choking back laughter. They are just soooooo creative when it comes to mischief!
Shiva and Kharma also understand "Step away from the garbage" and if I use the wrong one's name in concert with it, say I tell Shiva to step away when it's Kharma who's actually contemplating a quick forage, Shiva will make sure I can see that she's nowhere near the garbage, or vice versa.
They really are terrible - and lovable - Monsters. I'm just so glad Bimmer is such an expemplary guy.
But you'd get such a giggle out of me and mine. They definitely understand sentences, especially "Which one of you did this?" and "Just what in the #$*@ was that all about?" It's a good thing they understand either what I'm saying or what I'm thinking, because they'd never get anything from my tone of voice - I'm usually choking back laughter. They are just soooooo creative when it comes to mischief!
Shiva and Kharma also understand "Step away from the garbage" and if I use the wrong one's name in concert with it, say I tell Shiva to step away when it's Kharma who's actually contemplating a quick forage, Shiva will make sure I can see that she's nowhere near the garbage, or vice versa.
They really are terrible - and lovable - Monsters. I'm just so glad Bimmer is such an expemplary guy.
Hee hee...I gasp and say, "Your nose isn't in the garbage, is it?!"
I really think these sentences come across as single commands. Your dogs don't understand the individual words in the sense that you could use the words (like "nose") independently without any other training and they would understand what the word meant. These sentences are just one long command. They aren't relating the words to each other in the way we do. They just know, "uh oh, that means I'd better grab this banana peel quick and take off!"
I really think these sentences come across as single commands. Your dogs don't understand the individual words in the sense that you could use the words (like "nose") independently without any other training and they would understand what the word meant. These sentences are just one long command. They aren't relating the words to each other in the way we do. They just know, "uh oh, that means I'd better grab this banana peel quick and take off!"
I've always had a suspicion that they communicate with us on a more esoteric level. Words, if you think about it, are really only a clumsy approximation of what we are trying to communicate, even with each other. They seem to understand us on a different level; one that involves more intuitive senses, and the more we communicate directly with them the more accute this capability to understand becomes. And I think a real key to it is being wide open to receive as well as 'transmit' (for lack of a better word).
I think that's why you are so successful in your dealings with animals. You're able to serve as a translator between them and people who aren't quite so open. I'd say there are a lot of grateful pets out there, maybe even more so than their owners.
I think that's why you are so successful in your dealings with animals. You're able to serve as a translator between them and people who aren't quite so open. I'd say there are a lot of grateful pets out there, maybe even more so than their owners.
I think you're absolutely right, Renee. I think humans receive a lot of input that we don't even know we're receiving. I read a few studies about the human sense of smell that I just found fascinating. One involved a mother choosing a tee-shirt worn by her child out of 20 other shirts that looked just alike. The mother would go along and smell each of the shirts, then in every case promptly turn to the scientists and tell them she didn't know which her child had worn, that they all smelled pretty much the same. Every mother did this. Then the scientists told her just to guess so they could complete the study. And every single mother chose the shirt her child had worn. The mother thought she was choosing at random, when in fact her senses had known the whole time which shirt was the correct one.
I think our subconcious knows a good deal more than our active mind, especially as relates to animal behavior. I find I understand dogs best when my mind is completely blank and I'm not trying to "overthink" the problem. Dogs are very instinctive animals; you have to tap into your instincts to listen to them. I always tell my clients, just listen! He's talking to you all the time. You just have to open your eyes to him.
I think our subconcious knows a good deal more than our active mind, especially as relates to animal behavior. I find I understand dogs best when my mind is completely blank and I'm not trying to "overthink" the problem. Dogs are very instinctive animals; you have to tap into your instincts to listen to them. I always tell my clients, just listen! He's talking to you all the time. You just have to open your eyes to him.
There is a wonderful fantasy book by Robin McKinley, Spindle's End that is a retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" where the princess is given into the foster care of a fairy who has, in a panic, bestowed her with the gift of being able to talk to animals as her twenty-first christening gift.
Another good book where the heroine communicates with animals is The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip.
Another good book where the heroine communicates with animals is The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip.
I don't think they understand whole sentences, but I have noticed, after training many dogs, that with my latest, using that "gooooooood sit" after he sits, seems to speed things up. I think they can connect a couple of short words. Here's another example. I use "off" if I want my Dobe off the couch or bed...whatever. He must get off. Well, now he can apply that "off" command to another context. He has an anoying habit of putting his toy right next to my computer keyboard on the slide out shelf. He stands there and chews it slobbering and bumping my keyboard. So, I tried, "toy off!" And he removed it and chewed it somewhere else. It took a few times for him to figure out that there wasn't anything for him to get off of, so I must mean something else. LOL. Poor dog. I confuse him sometimes, I'm sure. But he's smart and figured that out.
He has been learning "bang, bang, you're dead." He lies down and puts his head down flat on the floor. I say, because I'm still teaching it, "hold it...hoooold it." (because he knows what that means) Then say, "gooooooood dead." LOL. Anyhow, he's getting good at that trick, except he needs to speed up the dying process. It is like slow motion from standing to lying down flat. LOL. How will I fixthat? Any ideas? I want him to drop quickly. Grrrrr.
He has been learning "bang, bang, you're dead." He lies down and puts his head down flat on the floor. I say, because I'm still teaching it, "hold it...hoooold it." (because he knows what that means) Then say, "gooooooood dead." LOL. Anyhow, he's getting good at that trick, except he needs to speed up the dying process. It is like slow motion from standing to lying down flat. LOL. How will I fixthat? Any ideas? I want him to drop quickly. Grrrrr.