huski

A six month old dobe would still have a fair bit of puppy brain, one would assume? Hope the OP can find what they are looking for I've heard really good things about Fireax (who is listed in the above link) I would be making an enquiry about their up and coming litter especially if I was after a dog sports dog.

Abigail your use of this language suggests that you may be anthropomorphising these dogs, they are dogs acting on instinct they aren't making a concious decision to murder much loved pets, it's important to recognise the difference because protracted consequences mean nothing to dogs they don't think the same way humans do. I agree WnH, total anthropomorphising going on here! My dog has killed possums and bats that have come into our yard over the years, some of the possums are probably bigger than a little chi, it does not make him a "murderer" or mean that he has consciously decided to murder another creature and should "pay the consequences". It's prey drive, simple instinct, it does not make him a bad dog.

They definitely are, some are trained in prey drive (so with toys) some in food drive depending on what is most motivating for the dog. If you ever see working beagles at the airport you will often see the handlers giving them a food reward for doing good work.

Let me know if you would like a hand Erny, it's easy as I've got more than sixty videos on my channel Done... although you know I was just teasing you right??

Uh oh Erny, I am going to be in big trouble with the Sibe people if someone else starts writing Huski instead of Husky I think that when it comes to breeds like Siberians attaining a very reliable recall is difficult for the average pet owner. Many breeders will not sell to pet owners who do not agree not to let the dog off unless in safe, secure areas. Mish has an ok recall but I haven't worked on it much at all, I think if I dedicated time to it I could get it very very reliable. Daisy's recall in an obedience situation is usually 99% but I don't trust her when she's in an open area on a scent. She literally switches off and I believe cannot hear you because her scent drive is so strong. I can walk up to her when she's on a scent and she will get a surprise if I touch her. This has improved with the drive training we are doing and I can work her off leash easily when we are training with no problem. I honestly don't think she could attain a totally reliable recall without e-collar training, JMO.

I think I would agree with this. On a basic level like with our BC, I think it works great to make mealtime a lot easier but wouldn't rely on it, nor push it for much more than that. Daisy is pretty reliable when it comes to looking at me for permission to eat but I know if I'm not there and someone offers her food there is no way she wouldn't take it On the other hand I can have her sitting in heel position giving me 110% focus while someone holds food out to her and/or waves it around and she doesn't even look at it. If I left her to her own devices though...

TOT is great for teaching a dog to look to you for permission to eat. Using this method not only does Daisy wait for permission to eat but she can also recall past her food bowl when I give the command and I can get her working away from it until I release her to it. Teaching a dog food refusal in any other situation (i.e. when you are not around) can be a problem and personally I wouldn't want to do it. What happens if your dog won't eat unless YOU give the command and the dog needs to be fed without you there? A lot of methods also involve using pretty strong aversives to stop the dog from eating and I would worry this could create a dog who becomes stressed around food.

You don't really get to choose what motivates your dog the most. The dog is the one who chooses what they are most motivated by. Some dogs are really driven by praise, often these dogs are working breeds who are bred to do anything to please their master. Some dogs are super prey driven and would walk over hot coals to get a tug toy. Some dogs are incredibly food motivated. If you tried to train my scent hound with praise alone she'd give you the doggy equivalent of the rude finger She is very independent, stubborn, and is not particularly people focused like some working breeds. She doesn't give a toss if someone wants to pat her, and whilst I will incorporate verbal praise into our training sessions, we wouldn't have any where near the success we do if that's the only reward I utilised in training. She has no desire to please me just for the sake of a pat on the head. She has very strong instinct to scent and it's very easy for her to self reward (she just has to put her nose to the ground), so getting her to be interested in training and not the smells on the ground would be near impossible with praise alone. That's not to say I use food rewards for everything and that she won't obey me if I don't have food on me. I very rarely use food rewards for basic manners stuff I have already trained - but then again when we are just at home or going for a walk I don't expect the same intense, 110% focus and quick, snappy responses I expect when we are training.

I'll be so chuffed to have Daisy's CCD title I reckon it can stay on her pedigree for as long as they like

Certainly do! It is your reward history. High distraction = lots of rewards. Ah thanks Caffy! I was also wondering if it could have anything to do with being in a high level of distraction being highly arousing (especially for a beagle who loves to scent) and therefore she enjoys having an outlet to express that energy? I also notice she gives me really nice drivey heel work if I let her have a quick play with another dog and then call her back to me when she's still hyped up.

Suzanne Clothier writes some brilliant articles - there are more on her website here: http://flyingdogpress.com/content/category/4/13/97/

LOL MM, I think you'd be disappointed with my average training skills I've noticed something lately when I've been training Daisy. If we go somewhere with loads of distractions, where she gets hyped up/aroused/excited by all the noises/smells/things going on, I generally get way better work out of her than if I go somewhere quiet with minimum distractions. I don't know if it's because the higher level of distraction helps rev her up and gives me all that energy/excitement to harness or what. Does anyone experience anything similar??

Brilliant article - definitely a must read.

This morning's training session was excellent We went to the farmers markets at New Farm park and it was PACKED - people squeezed in together every where, food stalls every where, people and kids eating, lots of other dogs etc. Daisy was a very good girl, I'd get her into heel position while I was standing outside the market stalls and she was giving me 100% focus. We sat on the grass to eat some brekky and then I did a training session, Daisy worked like a pro for a bit of bread roll There were people every where and dogs running around and she was such a good girl especially after our big training session last night

I'm sure it will be fine Zug Zug... I've never taken a ticket to a workshop before and it's never been a problem

Really pleased with Daisy tonight Took her for a walk after work and we got down to the local sports oval and it was packed full of about 100 kids and adults - the kids were playing hockey. So we had an impromptu training session and she was on fire there were SO many distractions, almost a dozen different groups of kids playing hockey, people and kids running around every where, a sausage sizzle etc etc. A few kids ran up to talk to us and they were patting Daisy and trying to hug her etc and she was completely ignoring them and just kept sitting in heel position trying to listen to me. The kids had a bit of food and were trying to give her commands and she completely ignored them then as well! But she was also more than willing to show off when I asked her to work and some of the parents asked if I was a professional trainer She was such a good girl and did EXCELLENT work, I even got a couple of the kids standing in as figure eight posts and also threw the treat bag on the floor and she was heeling around it like it wasn't even there.

LOL Nic we can sit and be nervous wrecks together! Although you are usually pretty cool calm and collected Thanks for explaining the titles, way too confusing for a noob like me LOL!

I always forget the proper way of writing it is to only have the highest/most recent title...... I think it looks better with all the titles after the name though I tried throwing Daisy's dumbell over a jump for the first time a few weeks ago and I was shocked she actually retrieved it quite nicely!! It was a solid jump though it was a little agility one with just the bar.... but still, I was pretty chuffed! I can't believe that's Daisy's name, it sounds far too ladylike I wanted it to be Semeru Buttercup (it was the B litter) but the breeder thought it was too naff (I love naff!) so she recommended Semeru Bellis, Bellis is Daisy in Latin PMSL in my dreams LOL

Gooo RS! I love a great training session too I think Daisy has pretty much got the dumbell down pat. She did three or four excellent retrieves on the flat on Wednesday night, completely out of the blue for me as we haven't taken the dumbell out for a couple of weeks. I hope to have her trialling in CCD shortly and hopefully novice by the end of the year, then Open at some point next year. The only part of Open I am unsure about her ability to do will be the stays. I really hope we can get there though, I would LOVE to see her become Semeru Bellis CCD CD CDX one day!

Oh great idea KHM, definitely worth trying

I ignore crazy hyper I'm going to jump all over you greetings because if I didn't, I would be reinforcing that is how the dogs best get my attention. Generally I don't make a big deal out of leaving or coming home. I might ignore the dogs when I walk in the door or I might not. I'll give them attention when I am good and ready to. My dogs tend to be most excited to see me when I am excited to see them. If I walk in the door calmly and don't make a fuss of them, they don't react much. If I walk in the door and I'm excited the dogs are more excitable.

MM, I used to be able to shove steak under Daisys nose when she was distracted and she wouldn't even notice it. I spent a lot of time building her drive for food and for trainig with me, I would have less than a minute of intense training in a low distraction environment like our home before we even thought about going some where more distracting. It takes time especially if you are a newbie like me and your dog has learned to switch off in training beuae xyz distraction is more exciting. Of course everyone has their own way of doing things Sometimes I get frustrated with Daisy and I'll feel disappointed with something like how she put her nose down to scent in the video I posted but then I remind myself of what she used to be like and how even six or twelve months ago I couldn't imagine her working like she does now especially with all the distractions in the clip I posted - dogs barking and doing agility next to us, loads of smells on the ground etc etc. I mean it's only a small achievement compared to some but it's not something I ever thought we would be able to do.

MM - if he finds it hard to focus most of the time I'd suggest you'd need to do more than just give him a vocal correction - I went months without doing much if any heel work with Daisy and worked instead on building her focus and drive and when I took her out I'd only ask for very very small things and I'd only train fir very short periods. Now she is capable of doing a heel pattern because we have that good foundation I am more likely to give her a vocal correction to get her focus back. I didn't do that in the beginning when I'd be lucky to have 10 seconds of focus like I had in the video I posted. Getting better focus wasn't about correcting her a lot and a quick vocal correction wouldn't have worked most of the time back then anyway. She is much more keen and reponsive now so she is more likely to respond to a quick oi or no and I don't need to use a really gruff loud voice or anything either. Not sure if that made sense? JMO

Thanks Sandi Normally I would give a look or heel command or NRM depending on how much focus the dog has lost. If Daisy is really distacted most of the time I will put her on a tie out. For the purpose of the video I was trying to male it as trial like as possible so I was trying not to give too many extra commands.

Hahaha LOL Seita yeah Chook gets quite enthusiastic when he thinks he is going to be getting pats and/or food! Really need to work on my paces but I am glad I video'd the round tonight as it is giving me lots to rewatch and note the things I need to work on.