Big Paws Only Dog Forums

The simplest and best thing I ever taught my dog was to sit quietly on a tied leash.
We did this routine 4 times for 4  days in a row and reinforce it intermittently and it is wonderful.
Don't change anything (person doing it or location) for 4 times a session per day/4 days (so dog gets pattern)- then change person and repeat or change location and repeat 4 times/4 days etc.
1.) Choose a place where you and partner can sit nearby to a spot where pup is tied to stationary object.
Like you are at an outdoor restaurant.
(sort of face away dog - but keep eye on what he is doing) So while you are waiting for him to display appropriate behavior you are chilling, too.
2.) Tie dog to tree or other stationary object with 6 ft leash. Be sure only to use a flat collar or martingale collar-no slip collars!
Your dog will likely fuss to get free for a while--so look out of the corner of your eye to be sure he is safe.
3.) Wait til dog quiets and/or sits on his own. IGNORE all other behavior.
Idea is to only reward sitting quietly. Do not look at the dog until he quiets and sits.
The second that dog quiets down (Ideally sits down)-JUMP up/run over smiling to dog and PRAISE- "Good Dog!" and pat him on his side (to signify-"free") and say FREE!
Untie leash and walk him around for break about 1-2 min between tie-downs.
Don't give him attention while on break....
---
This exerice shows how you can get a behavior - without treats---just with PRAISE and attention----
by ignoring all other behaviors.
Most dogs get it right away. They sit or quiet down and get what they want: your attention and to be free.
Each time we did this, the length of time to get the desired behavior got shorter and shorter.
By the 4th time in the row-the second day we did this-Jasper sat almost as soon as we tied him to tree! So of course, we returned to untie him and take him for a little walk around the yard.
Most dog owners get it too---"Oh, I am reinforcing the behaviors I am giving my attention to!"
The idea is you are creating the desired behavior with PRAISE--no need for force (the settle technique described above)or aversives to punish (Spray bottle or vinegar)...
you are rewarding the behavior the dog offers on his own at first---then he repeats it to get your POSITIVE EMOTION>which is what he wants> your attention.
(Works with kids, too---not the tie-down part )


You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

That is sooooooooooooo oooooooo wrong!
I am so sorry for Kobi and you had to watch.

There is no need to do that to a dog.
If the dog has dominance problems, there are much more positive ways to handle it (I have posted these on this board elsewhere)
You can find someone in your area who know canine behavior..
I am sold on 'behaviorists'- not trainers.....
The APDT site should help you find a good person.
GGGGGGGGGGGGGG GRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRR!
I'd bite him too!

I feel for you- I just went through this in July with my12 yr old GSD- I kept wondering if I was putting her to sleep too soon....
I struggled-cancelled appts, then had the vet come to the house....
I now know I made the right decision - even though it was hard and I cried and felt guilty at first.
yes, she could have hung on longer---she would have lived longer--but it was about her quality of life....the signs were all there: lameness, peeing, etc.
I'm glad my memory is of her before she was so far gone...

I swore after I kept a lab alive til 15 yrs old on Rimadyl and using all sorts of extraordinary means I would *not* ever keep a dog living just cuz *I* wasn't able to say goodbye...or just because the vets could keep her alive.
Remember the joy and goodtimes!
We buried her on our land....Jasper sniffed her and said goodbye, too.

Jasper is protective of his territory, too, so
...as a pup I tried to teach him to "bark" on cue-then the cue "enough" (Like the QUIT suggestion) to stop
I tried to say Bark! while he was barking...etc.
(he stopped barking to look at me since he thought it was so weird of me....)
He never did get it to Bark on cue, but eventually he did get the "enough" cue to stop.
I'd say 'enough' the minute he took a break and praised---good boy!
If you can anticipate losing her attention before it happens, you might distract her.....
ie.) call her to you to sit/give treat/praise
or use toy to engage her first.
Teach her an alternate behavior.
I heard a story that when they were trying to get a dog adopted at the shelter who barked at everyone...the y took a pvc pipe and ran it from the front of the kennel to the back, so when people approached-they put a biscuit in the pipe that came out at the backside of the kennel...so the dog learned to run to back of kennel when people approached---clever?
It just takes time!!!

!...When a dog knows his place he is a much happier dog...I learned this the hard way!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, but normally dogs routinely exert their leadership without such extremes.

Most aggression that is behaviorial (not medical or genetic) does come from a weak (inconsistent) human pack leader.
Dogs are much more consistent in establishing and negotiating their leadership roles than most humans.
Beating/smacking a dog is stupid and unnecessary if you understand canine behavior.
You use that sort of thing on a German Shepherd, it can turn on you and anyone else.

The subtle ways to exert your leadership is to control resources (food, sleeping areas, toys).
You can constantly move your dogs sleeping areas. Never let your dog sleep in walkways or doorways or on your bed.
Don't make a big deal, just use your body language and move into their space...they get up and move.
You don't need to say anything or use anything more than a nudge.
If you observe dogs, the dominant dog subtly takes over the sleeping space.
Feed your dogs after you. Make them watch you eat first. "Leader" dogs eat first.
Withhold food to use as reward when training...
Leaders initiate the play....put toys away when play is done. You get the toys out.

I would rather train a dog using canine behavior than smack it or use any sort of physical punishment.
Alpha rolls are so outdated and proven to be ineffective in so many ways. The Monks of New Skete are out in left field on this practice. I think even they have stopped  the practice. Alpha rolls were a result of misinterpretat ion of dog behaviors.
My dog rolls on his back for me, cause he respects me and knows his place. I never coerced this relationship.
I built the relationship with my dominant male dog by using dog psychology. I control resources:food, water, bed. toys. It's all mine! And I am lots of fun...he gets a rich life in return for his place in the pack.

I established myself as leader by training him to respond to me using positive rewards, putting in him in timeout for displays of unwanted behaviors; by correcting his misbehavior with verbal cues.
I have off lead control by working very hard at training.
Beating a dog teaches it not to do the behavior in your presence.

The only excuse for beating a dog, rather than training it positively is lack of committment and time to your dog.
You are lucky *this time* if you don't create a worse problem than you started with.
Using aggression on dogs showing aggression is a time bomb.

> "Lad: A Dog" I don't know who it's by, but it's really really good!

Albert Payson Terhune wrote this series about collies...I read them all as a kid....and cried!

>do not force him and Steps should only be done once a day GUIDED by the COLLAR

Here's a tip when getting a dog to 'follow' as you guide using collar
...turn your back to them or turn away to face the way you want to go...facing them head on is a confrontation in dog body language...
leaders turn away and the followers follow...

I spent hours with treats on each stair before I learned not to face him when I moved forward...but. ..
eventually, he climbed on his own to get upstairs where we were. We were just hanging out and there he was...he showed up on his own.

I never carried him upstairs, either...so it was a strong desire to see what we were doing up  there...

Our stairs are 'open' like outdoors stairs...he never had as much problems with stairs where you couldn't see the space or get the sense of elevation. Very scarey. I still had to reward him lots on stairs in different places after he did the ones in our home.
I also paired him walking up the 3 easy stairs with "up" so he got the idea and "step" when he stepped down...so I could verbally cue him too.

He loves the A frame now and is a great climber of everything!
It just takes time to build his confidence...
Patience, repeated exposures to 'good things happen' on stairs and time....smile at him on the stairs....
it's okay that he doesn't do it at 17 weeks...
what you don't want is conditioning to 'bad things' happen on stairs (pulling/struggling, frustration, shouting, etc)
Bottom line, when the desire is great enough, he will muster up the skills needed to do it on his own---if he has positive emotions associated with it. You know he has the skills from doing the 3 steps...
he just needs to chain them together by himself.

I am so sorry for your pain.
Unfortunately, you can't do much to change the genetics of the dog and the early life of it with its mother and that is the fault of the breeder!
If it is behavioral though, a canine behaviorist can help.
First you need to find a vet who has experience with dogs with issues to find out if there is a medical/genetic cause for problems.
The treatment that a behaviorist recommends will be costly ---- mostly it will be teaching you how to intervene and eliminate the dogs reactiveness. It will take hours of your time and money, too.
It is not hopeless though...like Cesar Milan shows - it is training the handler.....
teaching you how to handle the dog until it learns what is expected.
I have a dog I crate when there is too much happening in the house....why subject it to something that stresses it?
You can see if this behaviorist can suggest anyone in your area.
http://www.lmccb.com/index.htm