Postings by Sonny

(Page 1 of 46: Viewing entries 1 to 10)  
Page Links: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  [Last 10 entry]  

Sonny the world's- first blond,- agility Beagle     Barked: Wed May 15, '13 2:31pm PST  Thanks Tiller, Rocky and Cohen. I'll look at the book and Video. This dog is WAY behind. I got a bit of validation I was happy about: I went over my training plan and methods with my mentor, she spent a few minutes with the dog, and rubber-stamped what I am doing with her already. She is a Shelter dog and in a run for most of the time. She is a jumper, easily excited. Her impulse control and mouth manners are lousy. Her focus takes time and exercise and even then, it wavers. She is a perfect clicker dog. She moves so fast, it takes a clicker to mark her good moments. She is so toy driven, that it isn't possible to work obedience with toys. She will leap on your head to get at the toy. Trust me, we tried it. She is frustratingly inconsistent. Last night she was so "off", my mentor couldn't do a thing with her either and had me return her to the kennel and take out another dog. I've had 2 great classes with her, 2 so-so classes, and last night, the complete wash-out class. On the flip side…I start by playing an organized game of fetch in the training room. I sprinkle in the focus, sit, down, nice cues while we play. In just a few minutes, she is snuggly and sweet. She loves the attention and can be handled without me getting chewed the entire time. She is usually very relaxed after 30 minutes. Then I get her out for a mile leash walk. I stopped using the backpack because she has been so fabulous on the walks. No pulling, walking at my side, fabulous. What is working well: 1. Using the cue 'nice' when offering food or toys, she now grabs less than 25% of the time, waiting for the food or ball to be tossed or put in her mouth. 2. Click and treat every time she offers me focus. Working on a 'watch me' cue. Still maybe 50%. 3. Click and treat sit, down and heel position. Sit >90%, Down >75%, Heel pos. comes and goes. WTH? 4. Click and treat calm relaxed behavior (BOL, when it happens) and a bonus belly rub. Lucky for Mary, I'm no quitter. But she is really testing me. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Sonny the world's- first blond,- agility Beagle     Barked: Wed May 15, '13 1:38pm PST  Rather than the Roman harness. I recommend a Freedom harness. It fits like a roman harness, but has a "martingale" like action as you can see in the picture. The leash can be purchased with it or not. It works as a front and back harness. Any harness should be doubled up on a reactive dog with a collar (Martingale please). I prefer a separate leash on the collar. Harnesses are hard to fit properly. They also loosen over time. The Freedom harness solves the problem. I wasn't initially a fan, but working with shelter dogs and changing dogs all the time makes adjusting the harness a real chore. freedom harness my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Training a high energy shelter dog?

Sonny the world's- first blond,- agility Beagle     Barked: Thu May 9, '13 12:11pm PST  As part of my training for my license I am working with a mentor at a shelter. Yesterday my mentor gave me a goal…but first the background info on the dog: I have been working a dog for 3 weeks and she has come a long way. She is very high energy, Siberian Husky/Australian Shepherd mix. Very toy driven (tennis balls!) Enjoys food and affection. Issues: Mouthy, poor impulse control, jumpy, excitable, a bit timid. I have been taking a few minutes to play fetch before we work. It seems to reduce all the issues quite a bit. Clicker training for focus and capturing calm moments and other basic obedience. The challenge: My mentor would like to see me harness the "annoying energy" rather than bleed it off with fetch. Off lead, I can see it, on the lead, not so much. Can anyone suggest resources to read or video to watch that might give me a better gripe on what I can do for the dog? my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Dog Health > Dog growling and turning head to nip when picked up

Sonny the world's- first blond,- agility Beagle     Barked: Fri May 3, '13 5:02am PST  Independent streak is fine, but nipping, or trying to nip is never okay. Not ever picking him up may not be reasonable, so training him to accept picking up at times might be a good idea. ( Just an aside: Barking at the grooming cart? Why does he need, or have the right to know what's on it? I would send him away from it, not indulge the barking. Of course, he will be less likely to bark if something he doesn't like is the result - he gets picked up.) 1. Review how you are picking him up, both physically and your mental state. He should be picked up in a way that makes him feel safe, and doesn't hurt so he has no reason to nip at you. You should also feel confident and in control when you pick him up. If you are worried about being nipped, or dropping him, he knows it and won't trust you. 2. What is his favorite thing/food/toy? Use that as his reward. For example: If he likes real chicken, cut some into very tiny bits. Show him the food. Reach for him the way you do when you pick him up. If he doesn't move away, say, "yes" and give one bit of chicken. Repeat many time a day for a few days until he accepts this. 3. Add the hold you use (or should use) to pick him up, but do not take his feet off the floor. Reward when he accepts this. Repeat often. 4. Add taking his feet off the floor briefly. Repeat. Reward…. 5. Add picking him all the way off the floor. This is a "jackpot" moment. Every time he allows you to pick him up without complaint, praise him and feed him chicken bits for about 30 seconds. Make a big deal out of it! The idea is to build a positive association with being picked up. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > Book Recommendations?

Sonny the world's- first blond,- agility Beagle     Barked: Fri May 3, '13 3:18am PST  Kids? How old? They can be the best trainers, or the worst. A home visit under normal conditions to see how active the home is and how well behaved the kids are might be a good idea. One incident can set him back a year. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Sonny the world's- first blond,- agility Beagle     Barked: Wed Mar 20, '13 10:37am PST  Sure looks like a Beagle mix. I added a link to Blue Tick Beagles…. Blue Tick Beagle pictures my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Puppy Place > My 3 month Akita HELP!

Sonny the world's- first blond,- agility Beagle     Barked: Thu Oct 4, '12 9:40am PST  On a lighter note. Sonny has been taught to role onto his back. Not by force, more by accident. When he arrived in April of 2010 he was a horrible, ill mannered, 9 month old puppy with dreams of counter surfing. NOT in my house, pup. Asher suggested rewarding an alternate acceptable behavior, which we did. All we wanted was a sit, which was rewarded. As was a down. But he's a Beagle mix, so in time he created his own twist on things. Since it got him giggles, belly rubs AND a food reward it has become his default "Beg". He will follow me and throw himself at my feet, upside down, if he's hungry enough. We are working on "capturing" and labeling the behavior "Possum". He still cracks me up. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > HELP! Black and tan coonhound

Sonny the world's- first blond,- agility Beagle     Barked: Sun Sep 30, '12 1:46pm PST  Hounds are different. But they are VERY teachable once you get a grip on how they think. I agree that if your mom is thrown by the dogs behavior and is giving up so easily, she is better off with you. Link to coonhound training... Training tips my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Behavior & Training > HELP!! Potty Training a 10 month old husky

Sonny the world's- first blond,- agility Beagle     Barked: Thu Aug 16, '12 12:02am PST  Thumbs up to Cohen and Kodiak on the suggestions I'm including a link to bell training a dog. I will add that you must not get upset, scold or punish the dog in any way. I'm sure he feels your frustration, you must let it go. Set him up for success and reward and praise a TON. Accept that any "mistakes from now on are human....not dog mistakes. Potty bell training Keep calm and carry on... my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Sonny the world's- first blond,- agility Beagle     Barked: Sun Aug 12, '12 10:26am PST  Both Sonny and Pepper removed the disc and ate it very quickly. They are 50+ pound dogs so I got the largest size. I find it more useful as a toy to put kibbles or tiny treats inside and let the dogs work on it that way. It sees to keep them busy longer and I can control the amount they are eating better. I use the Everlasting Fun Ball more often, which is made for the same purpose and encourages the dogs to roll it around, rather than lick or chew the food out of it. Other favorite food dispensing toys are the Waggle and Chuckle (will drive me crazy as it makes noise). my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

(Page 1 of 46: Viewing entries 1 to 10)  
Page Links: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  [Last 10 entry]  

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the rapid nature of forum postings, it's quite possible our calculation of the number of ensuing forum posts may be off by one or two or more at any given moment.