How Is Everyone Doing With Obedience Training?

S

sablemable

Forums Regular
Hi, Gang!

I guess patience IS a virtue, because all of a sudden Max, my 16 month old sable hasn't had a potty accident in the house for weeks now.

Also, he's getting the hang of responding quickly to sit/stay/here/down. Door bell ringing and knocking noises still geek him up, but he will stop barking when I tell him, "That will do, Max," if only for a second, LOL!

Oh, and Sparky, my 6 year old tri, is so good at playing fetch! He must have learned that while being with his former owners.

Well, it's raining lightly here today and of course, the furkids all want out in the yard to play!:biggrin2:
 
Great!

My dogs are doing wonderful! I use positive training methods, and in most cases they work better than negative training methods. Treader knows 23 tricks (including basic obedience). He does get a little too excited when I get out the leash. If I don't put it on he will cry and whine. Then I get out the clicker and he suddenly shuts up. Oh boy, if I'm good, I'll get a treat!.:lol:
There are a few more hurdles to jump with Treader's training. Leash pulling and jumping, mainly. My dad is bedridden, and he likes to jump on my dad's bed to get some big time petting from my dad. Treader is sort of a therapy dog for him, in a sense. Treader loves getting in bed with my dad so much that he sometimes will jump up there when he's not supposed to. Then I tell him "down!". He doesn't obey right away because being on the bed is more rewarding for him than obeying in this case. My dad takes the opportunity to put down my training methods. Today when Treader did that my dad threatened to hit him and Treader jumped down right away. (I want Treader to obey because he wants to, not out of fear. That's partly why I use positive training.) Today I figured out how to fix this problem. My mistake was not rewarding him for jumping off the bed. I'll reward him for jumping off the bed when told to, and I'll also reward him for not jumping on the bed when told "no!" in the first place. As long as my dad doesn't reward him without thinking (like petting him), it will work.
 
The clicker is a little boxy thing that you press at one end and it makes a clicking noise. It serves as a marker for when the dog has done something appropiate. You can use your voice as a marker, but the clicking sound reaches the dog's brain before your voice could.
They are available at PetSmart or even online, I think. I got mine from a book about dog training in a book store downtown.
When you first get one, you have to establish that a click = a treat. I clicked the clickers several times in front of my dogs, giving them a treat for each click, to establish this. They suddenly pay very close attention to me when I have the clicker.:wink2:I have found the clicker extremely useful as a training tool. The clicker is a form of positive training.
I also use NILIF [Nothing in life is free] methods, another form of positive training. NILIF is making the dog perform a trick or carry out a command before doing something that he enjoys, such as eating, walks, petting, receiving treats, and going somewhere that they enjoy. In my experience, NILIF training has made my dogs more obedient.
 
Wow! I think I'm going to go get one of those! Marlie listens but I can't get her to do everything I want. I think that would really help her. Because she came to us from another owner there have been some things that I have needed to break her of - barking at the vacuum, duster buster, ceiling fan and I used the penny can and the no bark command and it worked. She doesn't bark at them any more. Thanks for posting - good info!:winkgrin:
 
Treader used to hate noises like what squeaky toys make until I used the clicker on him. That was accidental. He didn't like loud noises until he associated the loud *click* noise with food.:lol::winkgrin:
 
Thank You!

Thanks, Greydawn for the input on using the clicker!

I will get one this week and use it. Of course, the kids will love the treats part of the training.:winkgrin:
 
Clickers Are Great but some don't like the Noise at first

They've been around for a while I think, but have become very popular in the past couple of years. Things like clickers and whistles are used for training all sorts of animals like seals and sealions, not just dogs.

Both Sadie and my parents dog Milo love the clicker...eventually. Both were terrified of the noise it made. Don't get me wrong, its not an overly loud or obnoxious noise, some dogs just don't seem to like it.

In the puppy class I was in with Milo, to trian in to like the clicker we were supposed to teach them to 'bump' the clicker with their nose, and they'd get a treat for doing so. This was difficult for Milo as a pup because he was VERY sensitive of loud noises and a fradie cat. It didn't matter how good the treat was, he just didn't like the noise. Instead, I taught him to touch the clicker with his paw when I said 'bump.'

I started Sadie with the clicker when she was younger than Milo but she was afraid of the sound too.

She didn't seem a sensative as Milo so I took a different approach. I just sat on the floor and clicked it continuously for 5 minutes, urged her to come near me and gave her treats and praise when she did. I did this for 5-10 minutes (in 5 minute increments) for a few days before the noise stopped bothering her and she started associating the sound with treats.

both dogs love their clickers and get really excited when they come out!
 
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