Small dog but very Stubborn. She thinks she is Boss. Leather leash is very frustrating cause i have to grab it everytime and even when i do grab it and Say NO,,,,, she still does the bad things she was doing right before.
QUESTION. My Sheltie is not yet Fully trained but now already 3 years old. Problem?
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Small dog but very Stubborn. She thinks she is Boss. Leather leash is very frustrating cause i have to grab it everytime and even when i do grab it and Say NO,,,,, she still does the bad things she was doing right before.
Stubborn = That is where your patience comes in and more of your time and well........ your consistency.
Puppies, dogs, pets, children, relationships, life, (most things of value) require a TON of these THREE.
We love every minute of it with McKinley and treasure the memories of it with Cleveland.
Puppies, dogs, pets, children, relationships, life, (most things of value) require a TON of these THREE.
We love every minute of it with McKinley and treasure the memories of it with Cleveland.
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tofu pup
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Here, here.
There is a lot of wisdom in this entire thread. I found myself nodding again and again (and not just along with missjenneygirl, who raised me from a "pup" in how to work with Shelties).
My own few cents, for what it's worth:
1. Prong collars/choke collars/alpha rolls/scaring the poop out of your dog may work wonders at making her behave when you're around to inflict the punishment.
2. Likewise, positive reinforcement and treats are also likely to make the dog behave, when you're around to provide the redirection and reward.
3. Unfortunately, your complaint is with the dog's behavior when you aren't at home. Fortunately, there's a simple solution: your dog chews paper and wires - so don't provide access to these things while you're gone. A crate with fresh water and a comfy bed, or your gated-off kitchen, would be perfect. If there's no paper to chew, your dog can't misbehave by chewing paper. Don't give her the opportunity to fail.
As for grabbing things off the sidewalk while out walking: again, don't give her the opportunity to fail. Watch her, watch her, watch her. Better yet, teach her to watch you! The obedience "watch" is a great skill for your dog to have (basically, the dog looks up at your face from heel position when asked to do so). Or bring her favorite toy along on the walk. Or take up jogging with her. There are so many positive ways that you can distract her from what you don't want her to have.
Missjenneygirl and I have lived with ten "permanent resident" Shelties in the family household. We've had many come stay at the house to be shown or bred. We've made the happy acquaintance of many, many more wonderful Shelties. I honestly believe that 99% of the "mistakes" that these dogs make - whether making an "accident" in the house or breaking gait in the show ring - are human error, not canine.
The books that Ron&Jan have suggested are excellent. Oftentimes the attitude adjustment that needs to happen is at the other end of the leash.
I understand that you need patience with Treat training. but what if you don't have alot of time due to work ??? or not alot of patience either ???
I understand that you need patience with Treat training. but what if you don't have alot of time due to work ??? or not alot of patience either ???
you make time! training sessions do not have to hours long, actually its better to train for only a few minutes several times a day. for example, say your watching tv, when a commercial comes on take them couple of minutes to train.
also if you start to get frustrated take a deep breath and walk away, end the training session until you are calm enough to begin. you must learn patience.
exercise question, when you say you walk your dog how do you walk, and for how long, and how often?
When you are walking a dog to tire her out (a tired dog is a happy dog!) the walk should be at a brisk pace for her. If you are walking her fast enough she should be focused on the walk not worried about sniffing the ground.
Sniffing the ground should be a reward and not done without your permission.
How I trained leave it was... you start with a peice of food say a cherrio (something that is not a high value food reward) you hold it in your hand and show it to her, as soon as she goes for it say leave it and close your hand. When she looks away from it (might take a little bit since she will try to eat your hand at first) you give her a different treat (not the one you want her to leave) something that is a little more valuble like cheese. Once she starts to leave it consistantly then start working on setting it on the floor, once again if she goes for it cover it with your hand. once you can do that graduate to having it on the floor and walking by it (with her on leash) Once you can do this with a low value food start all over again from the beginning with a higher value food. Keep doing this until you can eventually leave your dinner on the floor and she will leave it when told.
Rember you can do this training while you are watching tv.
Having fun yet
because now you have to apply what she learned in the house to her walks!! It will take Time, Consistancy, and Patience, but in the end it is worth it for the love they show us in return.
oh forgot to add if you are not doing this already I would teach her to sit and wait before she gets her food. To do this tell her sit start to put the food on the floor if she gets up pick the dish back up tell her no and sit. After what seems to be the 1,000 time
she should stay sitting while you put the food down. Tell her ok before she starts eating. Eventually you can have her wait for longer periods of time before you tell her she can eat.I have an idea of where you are coming from - since Aztec is hardly timid. He is actually quite hard headed and stubborn at times. He is only timid with new people.
I bought a cloth choker, or slip collar. It is nylon, has a similar effect - but is not harsh on the dog or the coat. You can also get them in leather. I bought it because at the park when he was young he would go after joggers and walkers. For his (and people's) safety I bought the collar. I used a mixture of treats and the collar. It was neither negative or positive reinforcement. Aztec is very good on walks now. I haven't used this collar for over a year. He was never afraid of the collar (never was upset when I got it out or anything), but he started to pull and realized it was there - he would slow down and behave.
I only use choke chains on my other dog when we go to the park, because it makes walking her much easier. She is a very pain sensitive dog but has never showed any signs of being bothered by it. She loves when I get her choke chain out because it means the park, and training treats.
You need to know how to use it the correct way, and it still needs to be a positive experience to the dog. The only dog that I have had that didn't seem to like it at first was a jack russell/aussie mix I had for some time. But this dog could back out of a flat collar, martigale, and HARNESS. The only thing I could keep her in was choke chain. She adapted very, very quickly - and it did her a lot of good, she needed the structured exercise.
If a dog showed signs of fear of the actual collar, I would never put it on them again. Walks and training are supposed to be a good experience. Dog should also not shut down, but keep moving forward. If the dog sits and won't budge, is dragging its feet, or is un-responsive to your voice take the collar off! You aren't helping yourself at that point. You are just ruining the dog.
I bought a cloth choker, or slip collar. It is nylon, has a similar effect - but is not harsh on the dog or the coat. You can also get them in leather. I bought it because at the park when he was young he would go after joggers and walkers. For his (and people's) safety I bought the collar. I used a mixture of treats and the collar. It was neither negative or positive reinforcement. Aztec is very good on walks now. I haven't used this collar for over a year. He was never afraid of the collar (never was upset when I got it out or anything), but he started to pull and realized it was there - he would slow down and behave.
I only use choke chains on my other dog when we go to the park, because it makes walking her much easier. She is a very pain sensitive dog but has never showed any signs of being bothered by it. She loves when I get her choke chain out because it means the park, and training treats.
You need to know how to use it the correct way, and it still needs to be a positive experience to the dog. The only dog that I have had that didn't seem to like it at first was a jack russell/aussie mix I had for some time. But this dog could back out of a flat collar, martigale, and HARNESS. The only thing I could keep her in was choke chain. She adapted very, very quickly - and it did her a lot of good, she needed the structured exercise.
If a dog showed signs of fear of the actual collar, I would never put it on them again. Walks and training are supposed to be a good experience. Dog should also not shut down, but keep moving forward. If the dog sits and won't budge, is dragging its feet, or is un-responsive to your voice take the collar off! You aren't helping yourself at that point. You are just ruining the dog.
I use choker collars on ALL my dogs even my sensitive guy, Skyler who shuts down if you give a correction. Obviously I do not give Skyler any leash corrections, but he has no problem walking with one on. I see no problem using one as long as it is used correctly. However I would not use a prong on a sheltie, they just have too long of fur to use it safely. I have used a prong on almost all of the guide dog puppies I have raised with good results and believe me none of them were traumitized 2 of them are now guide dogs!
What I would like to order for my dogs is the snap around training collar (also known as the Volhard collar) it is a nylon collar that is fitted so you have to make sure you measure correctly. You can order them at www.handcraftcollars.com They also sell martingale collars.
What I would like to order for my dogs is the snap around training collar (also known as the Volhard collar) it is a nylon collar that is fitted so you have to make sure you measure correctly. You can order them at www.handcraftcollars.com They also sell martingale collars.
they look good. it will choke the dog enough to get attention but won't hurt them. sounds good to me..
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