What "tools" do you use to train your dog?

[gooeydog]

There are a lot of training style out there, and different ones work better for different dogs and owners, but I thought it would be interesting to see what "tools" and methods everyone here uses for training.

I try to keep our dogs training positive, and use very few corrections. Most of the training we do is on a flat collar and 6' leash, although when we take Goo out for a walk somewhere, I put a choke collar on her in addition to the flat collar (and hook the leash to both), because she slips out of flat collars (no matter how tight), and I don't want to risk her getting loose if another dog is around. Two of our dogs (the lower energy ones) work for food rewards, my aunt's dog works for playing tug, and Goo works for attention.

[Guest Anonymous]

With McKenzie.....we did food rewards to teach her, sit, stay, lay down, give five (shake hands) and then we used attention to get her to roll over, shake (physically shake after a bath, she will not do it untill she is told. Saves me from getting wet), and speak. Then to get her to heel and stop walking me we used an anti-pull harness!

[Carolk9s]

I use a chair and a whip. Maybe some raw meat.
Ok, I'm JUST KIDDING folks, tho they do love raw meat.
Way back when I first started the way to train involved leash pops and a more punitive approach than is used today. I'm so glad ideas about dog training have evolved somewhat.
Now I use primarily positive reinforcement, clicker, treats and play after training. I also use a lot of body language, smiles, arms wide open with effusive praise for a job well done, pats and mini hugs etc.
While the dog is LEARNING there are no 'real' corrections, just redirection so the dog can understand what I want. Sometimes baby steps are used then all is tied together with huge praise.

[Guest Anonymous]

The [b]Absolute Number ONE tool [/b]in training my dog was and [b]is LOVE[/b]. Walking everyday, petting, playing, brushing, washing, cleaning his face every day, taking him for short drives, giving him access to my whole house and yard got us to get along just great.

Today, as we were walking on our daily walk, he stopped to smell a bush and I kept on walking, stretching our 2 days old retractable leash to it's full 26 feet. I pulled gently, but Star slipped his head out of it somehow and he was 26 feet away and [b]FREE.[/b] I called him and he came straight to me, put the collar back on, hugged him and told him over and over 'Oh.... mama is soooo proud' and we went on....

Wuv, wuv, wuv always works! :lol:

[Guest Anonymous]

Love is a great training device, but everyone uses love, if you didn't love the dog you would tie it up in the back yard and ignore it. My dog would have ran the other way if she got off her leash.....Great story there

[bk_blue]

What a great dog you have there Star!!
Blitz works for effusive praise and food! I used to use a check chain on him for walking but that was hopeless, he would just pull and choke for an hour no matter what I did... Bullboxers- the head halter has done wonders! :lol: :lol: thanks for your advice about the harness though :)

[Guest Anonymous]

Well, maybe [b]I'm just lucky [/b]and have a GREAT dog, he is my first dog... food is definitely not the answer with Star, I tried anything and everything, chicken liver is his favorite but after about 4 pieces of it he is done.

However, when he was about 7 months old, we were at the park and came across this nice Black Lab about 9 months old. His owner had him off leash and Star seem happy with the Lab. I decided to let Star off leash also, so he can play. Well, as soon as he was free, he started barking at the man and running circles around him. :o The Black Lab just watched from about 50 feet away.... Try to catch Star, but he was too fast. :( I did not know what to do, so I ran the opposite way as fast as I could and not looked back. By the time I was about 200 ft away from the man, Star was by my side, so I just grab him and put the leash back on and acted as if nothing happened. 8) Turned around and waved at the man and never let Star off leash since..... :) BTW, my name is Lia, Star is my 1 year old puppy :D

[bk_blue]

Does Star behave the way he did to that guy to anyone else? That's a little odd, and maybe something you should keep an eye on. He sounds like a pretty obedient pup though!! :D

[Guest Anonymous]

Have not seen Star acting that way since.... but he was not off leash since either. :) The only thing that I could come up with, regarding that situation, was that Star must have thought that he needed to keep the guy away from me. He might have been right or wrong, I'll never know. Have not seen that guy & his dog at our park before or after the incident, but of course this does not mean anything; he might be walking his dog somewhere else or when we are not at the park.

However, we walk around the park and pass by a lot of people and Star has never barked, try to attack or shy away from anybody.

Star is a GSD and his grandpa actually herded sheep, so maybe Star was just herding the guy for fun :lol: .

[Guest Anonymous]

[quote name='gooeydog']There are a lot of training style out there, and different ones work better for different dogs and owners, but I thought it would be interesting to see what "tools" and methods everyone here uses for training.

I try to keep our dogs training positive, and use very few corrections. Most of the training we do is on a flat collar and 6' leash, although when we take Goo out for a walk somewhere, I put a choke collar on her in addition to the flat collar (and hook the leash to both), because she slips out of flat collars (no matter how tight), and I don't want to risk her getting loose if another dog is around. Two of our dogs (the lower energy ones) work for food rewards, my aunt's dog works for playing tug, and Goo works for attention.[/quote]

Praise petting and food and the extremely strong bond I have with my dogs. - works great even on rescues with problems. Clickers work too :-) but mostly I use my voice instead.
I long ago gave up choke collars and prongs etc in favor of positive training techniques - if I had a 'collar slipper' due to body structure I would use a martingale collar - similar to the prong in functional design but made of flat webbing with no spikes to put 'teeth' into the dog's neck.

[gooeydog]

[quote]if I had a 'collar slipper' due to body structure I would use a martingale collar - similar to the prong in functional design but made of flat webbing with no spikes to put 'teeth' into the dog's neck.[/quote]
I was using a martingale on Goo for a while, but I think that the nylon stretched, just enough that she could pull out of it. I've been looking for someone who makes sturdier, 2ply ones, so hopefully they won't stretch as much. Until then, we're sorta stuck. I don't take her out of the yard very often though, so it's not as if she walks every day like that.

[Guest Anonymous]

I use whips,chains and I starve tem, then feed them cats and small dogs. To ake them mean I put them out saide with no doghouse, rain or shine!

[GizmoRedNosePit]

[size=7]you are not humane[/size] :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

[Guest Anonymous]

This was a very interesting topic. I only had to use a prong on one dog in class and twice on our daily walks. As soon as I put it on her, it was like putting powersteering on a car, I only used it those times and never had to use it again. I was taught in class by a good trainer how to use it properly and never had to use the slightest tug. My stronger boys I use a choker. A flat does not work well for me, as I am 5'4" and don't feel comfortable having control when needed with a flat. I do keep my chokers up behind the ears but rarily do I have to give it a pop.

I think this may be a good time to mention that if you do use a choker (metal or cloth) or a prong, put it on the dog as you begin your training practice or class or going out for your walks and remove it immediately upon return to the house or yard. NEVER, EVER LEAVE THESE ON YOUR DOGS! Leaving a choke of any type on has resulted in the accident deaths of many dogs, other dogs getting their paws/toes caught in it and the dog wearing the choke strangling; dogs getting caught up on bushes/branches; dogs getting the ring caught in the cracks between boards on decks, etc.

Gizmo, could the idiot poster above be none other than Mary Pitfighter????

[Smooshie]

Ignore Pitfighter Giz,he's just trying to get a rise out of everyone and if you give him what he wants he's liable to stick around :roll:

[gooeydog]

[quote]I use whips,chains and I starve tem, then feed them cats and small dogs. To ake them mean I put them out saide with no doghouse, rain or shine![/quote]
Hahaha :lol: That doesn't make them mean :roll: It turns them into "wimps" who try to act tough when they're really scared outta their little minds. :o Just like their owners :lol:

[Guest Anonymous]

ha ha go gooey!
I used food with hazel, as she is very motivated when it comes to food... she'd do anything for a nibble of hotdog!
And go smooshie, I totally agree we have another "troll"...... :x

[Guest roo]

Giz,
Don't rise to the bait :lol:
Roo

[Guest Anonymous]

:evil: Pitfighter u r digusting, inhumane, a wimp and a liar! Everybody, IGNORE THIS DISGUSTING PERSON! I think he/she has realised that most of us love the APBT, so he/she just want's to get you angry, then make you fight him/her, then that will let him/her stick around more! :cry: IGNORE HIM! :wink: Ok? IGNORING-IGNORING-IGNORING-IGNORING-IGNORING-IGNORING.................

[Aroura]

Ignoring the ignorant trouble maker here...

I have used both check chain and reward training successfully. Both have their pros and cons, and I wouldn't say that either is better than the other, it all depends on the dog and the owner. Tessa has learnt brilliantly with the check chain, as has Lily with reward training.
Different things need to be trained in different ways, as it has already been mentioned. I taught Tessa to sit, heel, drop, stand etc with the check chain. But she learnt to speak, shake dry, shake paw, wave, hi 5, roll over, play dead, go up the slide etc etc etc with reward training, as well as doing agility solely on rewards.
For any Aussies in here, what do you think about the idea I teach my Boxer to steal sausages and swap them for a tin of PAL??? :lol: :lol: :lol:

[bk_blue]

Aroura!! :lol:
Wish I could do that with Bk!!! I know this isn't really relevant but it's funny: One Easter we got all our choccies etc. and when we were out BK went into my sister's room and ate all her expensive chocolates (he tried the cheapie chocs; they were covered with dog saliva). If he'd got sick it would've been awful but the fact that he had a discerning palate was hilarious.

[Guest Anonymous]

my mom had a terrier named Sasha who loved choc. My mom once was sitting on the livingroom floor with a box of expensive choc from fredrick and nelsons playing vidio games (ah the days of nintendo.....) and suddenly found the box was emptying faster then she thought! Sasha would wait and take one after my mom did so my mom wouldn't know... she didn't get sick either, silly thing! :roll:

[Guest Anonymous]

[quote name='Guest Pat']This was a very interesting topic. I only had to use a prong on one dog in class and twice on our daily walks. As soon as I put it on her, it was like putting powersteering on a car, I only used it those times and never had to use it again. I was taught in class by a good trainer how to use it properly and never had to use the slightest tug. My stronger boys I use a choker. A flat does not work well for me, as I am 5'4" and don't feel comfortable having control when needed with a flat. I do keep my chokers up behind the ears but rarily do I have to give it a pop.

I think this may be a good time to mention that if you do use a choker (metal or cloth) or a prong, put it on the dog as you begin your training practice or class or going out for your walks and remove it immediately upon return to the house or yard. NEVER, EVER LEAVE THESE ON YOUR DOGS! Leaving a choke of any type on has resulted in the accident deaths of many dogs, other dogs getting their paws/toes caught in it and the dog wearing the choke strangling; dogs getting caught up on bushes/branches; dogs getting the ring caught in the cracks between boards on decks, etc.

Gizmo, could the idiot poster above be none other than Mary Pitfighter????[/quote]

I'll go you one further - NEVER EVER put a choker or a prong collar on your dog - using pain to control your dog is not the same as training it.
If you need 'control' then go for the top used tool by professional behaviorists the head halter. Far better though would be to start training your pup the moment you get it instead of letting it run wild until it is almost an adult and then putting on a choker or a prong collar to 'control' it by inflicting pain on it.
The ONLY reason a prong collar works is because it hurts the dog - if it were only the tightening action a martingale collar would work exactly the same way.
People like to fool themselves and say it doesn't hurt the dog but if nothing else the feeling of 'teeth' all the way around the neck is doing something to your dog that isn't pleasant.
I'd rather have trained dogs than have dogs conditioned to avoid pain.
Most of the training I do with my dogs now I don't even use a leash until AFTER the command is taught!

[corgilady]

I've used a choke collar (years ago, when they were all the rage). I can't say I got very good results from it, meaning it only worked WHILE SHE WAS WEARING IT and the rest of the time she disobeyed! Now I have a dog in training and "positive reward" is all the rage....food and lots of praise.....it's working ok but today when my daughter had treats, and I didn't, the dog would sit for her but not for me! HAH! I've only had him a month, so we aren't worried yet. We use a "gentle leader" headcollar on him. My biggest concern with him is that he runs away. The dog catcher said that he was a stray, and that it took him 3 days to catch him. He has gotten away from me twice, and both times he ran like crazy and wouldn't respond to commands or treats. The first time I tackled him; the second time a car hit him ( he seems ok) and it scared him so that he laid down, and I ran over and grabbed him. :(

One of the other dogs responds well to clicker training, he knows sit, wait, stay, down, roll over, and heel. My third dog is scared to death of a clicker and doesn't follow many commands. However all he wants to do is either sit by me or lay at my feet, so people think he is a really well behaved dog. :wink:

[Guest Anonymous]

[quote name='corgilady']I've used a choke collar (years ago, when they were all the rage). I can't say I got very good results from it, meaning it only worked WHILE SHE WAS WEARING IT and the rest of the time she disobeyed! Now I have a dog in training and "positive reward" is all the rage....food and lots of praise.....it's working ok but today when my daughter had treats, and I didn't, the dog would sit for her but not for me! HAH! I've only had him a month, so we aren't worried yet. We use a "gentle leader" headcollar on him. My biggest concern with him is that he runs away. The dog catcher said that he was a stray, and that it took him 3 days to catch him. He has gotten away from me twice, and both times he ran like crazy and wouldn't respond to commands or treats. The first time I tackled him; the second time a car hit him ( he seems ok) and it scared him so that he laid down, and I ran over and grabbed him. :(

One of the other dogs responds well to clicker training, he knows sit, wait, stay, down, roll over, and heel. My third dog is scared to death of a clicker and doesn't follow many commands. However all he wants to do is either sit by me or lay at my feet, so people think he is a really well behaved dog. :wink:[/quote]

On your run away dog :-) there are lots of 'tricks' to cope with undoing that little learned behavior. One of them is to pick a 'come to me right now I want you' word and use it for when you have a special treat, when you hand out dinner, when you want to give the dog some extra love and so on. Use it around the house. It could even be a whistle or a bell reserved for that use (but if you use a mechanical device IME you never have it when you need it ;-) ) then put TWO leads on the dog and go to an open are. One lead with be his normal one and one will be some light but strong line of much longer length. You obviously unclip the normal lead and then which ever way the dog goes you head the other way holding the long line and calling it to come and play with you. Be ready in case the dog does hit the end of the line. Just before the dog hits the end of the long line all the way out say OH NO horrified and loudly and the dogs name and your emergency come word. However this is the LESS likely thing to happen. The most likely is that you will call the dog using your special word for emergency recall only and it will chase you as you run away even if it thinks its free. A game of chase is much more fun if someone is chasing you - if they run away instead then the fun is in them chasing instead of being chased.
I have a safe space I can work 'bolters' where the dog can really run and not get out of sight and not get out to a road etc but I know that is not available to everyone. There I let dogs out of my car and let them run full tilt and PRAISE them for running. Dogs who turn towards me to even look at me get praised and waved on. Dogs who come close enough get tossed a treat along with more praise and eventually I get a 'bolter' who does a marvelous recall as fast as he or she can because its always a good thing to come near me on a walk. Of course one needs a) hours available for this one and b) its excellent if the dog in question will happily load in a car (which many bolters will do!) and c) other dogs who will come when called to get obviously valuable rewards for doing so to make the new rescue realize life here is different than it used to be.
I never could figure out why people's dogs would run away from them though as my problem has always been convincing other peoples dogs to go away with them instead of sticking to me and my pack like glue ;-) Most dogs seem to immediately recognize me as a highly valuable resource not to be let out of their sight :roll: so I might have an edge on people in training runners there. :wink: