Can I put my tuppence worth in?

Dog no1: spent 9months doing training and getting a good bond with the dog until he decided enough was enough and he was going to test the boundaries. Went back to basics and to get to the same level took another 6months of training.

Along came dog no2: Unruly 1yr old that has never had any discipline, been allowed to walk all over the previous owner and has his own ideas about what is what. The bad thing is that dog no1 now follows dog no2's actions so I now have to strip everything back to basics with both dogs and start again but this time training two dogs which is 5 times harder than one dog.

The digs have a brilliant bond together I couldn't wish for two better dogs in that respect but now I have to not only walk them but walk them separately most of the time, definitely have to train them separately the majority of the time and then make sure I am not showing favouritism. It is a lot to think about 24hrs a day and it is extremely frustrating having to go back tot he beginning every time but it is only beneficial and beneficial to both the dogs and me because it creates a bond which is the least you can ask for but it also affirms you as the boss (in a nice way) and because they see you as the boss and their protector they have no reason to worry or stress and they become better dogs so you no longer worry or stress and then you really start to see the gold at the end of the rainbow.

So what do you gain by stripping everything back to basics you may ask?

Think of a building. It might look fantastic and be your dream house etc but without solid foundations is not secure and can present a whole heap of misery and problems for you to deal with.

Training obedience, the big four are the most important - stop, sit, down and stay (5 & 6 would be recall and the all important release command), allows you to do so much more in an easier way and allows the dog to quickly learn what you want from it so it will gain confidence in its behaviour and can relax in the knowledge that you are pleased with it. For example, using just stop, sit and the release command you can show a dog "Good manners". Good manners I would list as:

Not jumping up at guests or people.
Not taking over a room and treating it as its own.
Not getting over excited in situations to the point where the dog becomes wound up.
No jumping on the furniture.
You can get the dog to politely sit whilst you go through the door first.
Give a bark at the doorbell but then remain quiet as you go deal with the visitor.
Wait to be fed instead of bullying you into feeding it.

But everyone has different rules

Get the 4/6 main controls down to a first time action on first time of asking and you are well on your way to solid foundations as you can then begin to teach rules and boundaries in the home, when out and about or in other buildings i.e. vets, friend's houses etc.

Watch your dog. Just sit and watch it interact with it's environment for ten minutes a day. What is its body posture doing in relation to what it is actually doing? Is the dog tense or nervous? Is the dog confident and assertive? Is the dog content just to sit with you? By doing this you will so much about your dog that will allow you to really get inside it's hungry mind and start to expand it.

If your dog used to follow voice commands first time every time but over a period of time it has lost the response speed or complete response you can change the command word by taking it back to basics.

The two magic rules of voice commands:

1). If you dog is going about its daily business and is about to lie down then just as it performs the action give it the command you want and then praise. Over time it will recognise the word and will know the action so everyone is a winner. There's no need to follow the hound around with an eagle eye though, just when you are in the lounge watching tv or out and about in general will do. Make the natural behaviour of the dog work in your favour.

2). The command is given once. Once. ONCE. ONCE!!!! Humans are brilliant at talking and communicating but there are certain times when we just need to shut up and giving commands is one of them. You tell Fido to sit. Fido ignores this. You tell Fido to sit again. Fido sits. You praise Fido. Fido gets praised for ignoring you the first time. Why? If you asked your partner, sibling or work colleague to do something you would expect to have to ask them again. If you did you certainly wouldn't praise them in a pleasing way, more of a sarcastic or from behind a false smile.
Now, you ask Fido to sit. Fido doesn't sit. You use your hands to position Fido in a sitting position. Leave Fido sat there for a 10seconds and then release or walk on. After a few minutes you ask Fido to sit again. Fido looks a bit like he wants to do something but can’t quite get it. You place Fido in the sitting position. After 10seconds you release and walk on. A few minutes later you ask Fido to sit. Fido sits. You praise Fido. Fido gets praise for following the command first time and has a gold star next to the "Sit" section of things he knows.
Treats work to begin with because it is an incentive to get the dog into position but if you use rule one you will find that other than obscure things like handstands the dog will do in everyday behaviour anyway and they will follow your command to please you not to get fed as others have already stipulated. I taught dog no1 to roll over by saying "Rollyover" as soon as he started to roll over in the long grass on the lounge floor. I tried teaching him with a treat but he just moved his head or got up and walked to where he was more comfortable and could get the treat.

The two golden unbreakable magic super fort knox rules for you are:

1). Be consistent in tone of voice, the commands you use, only giving the commands once, setting rules and allowing your dog time to itself. With consistency the dog knows what is expected, what it can expect and will therefore settle better and relax knowing these things.

2). BE PATIENT!!!!! You are a human. Your vocalisations are very complex, your body is all over the place, you are greatly influenced by the goings on in your life and can be relaxed and happy one day and tense and agitated the next. You are near on impossible to understand by someone from another country let alone another species. You don’t know everything your dog is trying to tell you so be patient as they are trying to be with you and you will develop a middle ground and a method of understanding that works for you both which will open a floodgate of progress in behaviour and training.

Quite a lot there for my 2p.

Hi

Interesting post and I agree with a great deal of what you are saying. However, I don't like the idea of physically touching a touch to get it to sit. I see where you are coming from but the problem is that once the touch has gone, the dog will then not necessarily do it without the physical cue.

Research has shown that an animal that is 'lured' to a behaviour or 'offers' the behviour and is rewarded is more likely to continue that behaviour on command, than an animal that has been manipulated physically.

I did this in one of my puppy classes one day with people who had tradionally taught their dogs to sit with their hands on and those that had never touched their dogs, the results were impressive towards those who had been lured.

Push me and I will push against you, same for dogs.

Kate

__________________
Just because I can't talk, doesn't mean you can't understand me

I know what yopu mean by the physical side. Perhaps I didn;t make it clear that you don;t force them into any position but merley suggestively guide them into position. For example.

I taught dog1 to sit be moving the treat over his head etc. I then lost the treat and if he didn;t respond after the first command a very light tap with my index finger on his curly haired bottom was enough to get him to follow the required action.

The physical suggestion is extremely hard to do for other commands such as lying down and should not be used as it would involve far too much manipulation to get your message across and the heavy handed approach would mean you lose all control and faith as far as the dog is concered which is why I emphasised watching your dog's behaviour and commanding when they naturally perform the action becasue then you are not using treats and you are not using physical persuasion.

Treats will only help you survive until a certain point and pysical pursasion will only work in limited situations and for a very short time so they must both be used with caution. One more so than the other.