huski

SK we've had loads of success with the Dogtra Y300. IMO it's the best anti bark collar on the market.

What treats are you using to train him? Personally I would recommend a session with a trainer as it sounds like you have a number of problems. My dog is quite food driven, but for quite a long time as soon as we left the house she'd have little to zero interest in treats and I could literally shove food under her nose and she wouldn't notice it. Training around distractions can be difficult even for dogs with decent food or prey drive, and from what you've said it sounds like your dog has developed some habits that will take some behaviour modification to change.

I got a plastic Jafco muzzle - I can't remember how small they go down to but they do a range of sizes.

You could also try a muzzle instead, that's what I have used with Daisy when she had a bandage on her leg she wouldn't leave alone. A lot less restrictive than an e-collar.

Metro is more traditional style club obedience and you won't consistently get instructors there who use PR based methods.

The other thing I would wonder is, why is the dog showing drive outside of the ring but not inside the ring? This is something I've had an issue with and it can be as subtle (or not so subtle) as our body language and what the dog has been conditioned to cue off. If I am super exciting and animated in training, but stiff and shaking with nerves in the ring, I am not going to look like the same fun person who my dog knows equals drive satisfaction in training. It could also be due to how we use rewards in training and if we are actually rewarding the dog for being out of drive rather than teaching them we will give them drive satisfaction - I see this all the time too! People who focus on training lots of technical stuff so the dog can do it but haven't spent any time building a foundation where the dog understands the reward experience and how to maintain drive and focus.

IMHO - it's not about fading food rewards but teaching them that x + y = drive satisfaction. If a dog is running out of the ring to self reward I'd be asking why they don't see me as part of the reward experience and why they don't understand how the reward experience works. I see a lot of dogs that try to self reward or drop out of drive because they don't understand what is expected of them and because of this they get frustrated, especially when they don't see you and what you are asking them to do as the key to getting drive satisfaction. Not saying that is definitely what is wrong with Barkly, but I think the problems you are having sounds like part of a bigger issue. ETA: On minimal warm ups etc, I definitely agree with Jess it differs from dog to dog. Daisy is a dog with a small 'drive tank' - she will run out of drive quickly so I don't want to use it all up by warming her up. She definitely works the best when I don't over work her before hand.

Does he work differently at training Luke?

So sorry for your loss Run free Dante

Most of our behaviour consults are discussion of theory, it is important for the owner to understand the behaviour and how we will address. Then the practical side should be easier to implement. But you definitely should not have been left feeling like the consult was a waste of time and without seeing some positive change in your dog by the time the consult was over. A behaviourist consult should leave an owner feeling inspired and confident that they have the tools to help their dog and that their dogs behaviour can change for the better.

Everyone is different, I usually fast my dog before a trial so no meal before hand. My dog also eats all her meals through training every day.

What if your next instructor says 'drop your dog'? I've never seen this become a problem - don't feel you have to change for that reason! If you prefer down say down. Besides in a trial your dog will have to learn not to respond to commands that the judge calls out, or that the person in the next ring is giving their dog. I like to train my dogs to ignore commands they here from other handlers anyway. Glad to hear you are enjoying obed!

To be honest it has been so long since I have lived in a single dog household (almost ten years now!) that I can't remember what it is like to just own one :laugh: ETA: I often take my dogs out on their own and do things with them separately. I think one on one time is good for them and it's good for them to learn to be on their own.

Steve works with many aggression cases, breed is irrelevant when it comes to what dogs we work with and which ones "get a second chance". We have many clients who come to us afrer their dogs have bitten or have been declared dangerous, they arent all in the news though. Steve made a tribute video for Busta if anyone would like to view it or read about his story, it's on our blog. http://k9pro.com.au/blog/?p=378

We ask 'why' because that is how we help to prevent dogs from becoming aggressive in the first place.

I was going to suggest videoing it if you haven't got it on video already! Can make it so much easier to spot handling errors especially if you have a couple of people you can run it by for pointers.

It's interesting... I had an argument with someone at obedience club recently when I suggested hanging a puppy up by a check chain and choking it was not an appropriate method - they were in their early 20s!

Just relying my experience too, I have certainly met my fair share of 'old school' trainers/owners who are more than happy to beat their dogs up I think being open to learning more about training is about the owners attitude more so than the method they are currently using.

IME, owners who use ineffective training methods become frustrated and disheartened regardless of what type of training they are using. I've met plenty of people who are stuck to their training method, even when it's not working, plenty were using PR. IME the owners who do get results are the ones who have the right attitude about using what works for their dogs (once they are shown what that is). Just because they are using corrections doesn't mean they are less likely to be open to learning about other methods.

The problem IMHO is that every time I see someone using a physical correction 'out in the world' (i.e. not at a training class) their timing is all over the place, and they don't back off as soon as the dog is doing the right thing. Dog isn't learning anything, owner is getting frustrated, messy business all around. Hard to watch It can be just as hard for owners to get timing right with rewarding their dog too. Hard to watch any time an owner is struggling with handling a dog their dog, it is awful seeing both get so frustrated

Resource guarding is very common, though if it's not properly addressed it can obviously turn into a very serious problem. I don't believe there is any instance where smacking a dog is an appropriate training method, especially considering that resource guarding is generally an insecure behaviour. Smacking the the puppy for displaying this behaviour could reinforce her feeling that the owner is a threat to her and something to be worried about. I would be teaching the puppy to look to the owner for permission to have items she values and that it is rewarding to relinquish items of value to the owner.

That's true in very rare circumstances with extemely hard dogs, but it's not the norm with the average pet, most dogs will shut down with aversion and stop the aggressive behaviour fairly quickly, but smacking the dog is not the most effective way for implememting punishment based behaviour modification. I would think "extremely hard dogs" would be the least likely to respond to being hit when in a high level of arousal. Even "the average pet" would have a raised pain threshold when experiencing a high level of arousal which makes correcting them at that point useless.

Dogs can interpret a hit like that in different ways, but the reality is that if the dog is in a high level of arousal hitting it will probably have little to no effect. IMO there is never an occasion where hitting a dog is appropriate, unless you are defending yourself. I have gotten into arguments with people when I've asked them not to smack/hit their dogs, sometimes they are desperate owners who don't know what to with their dog in those situations and are open to suggestions and sometimes they are arrogant know it alls who will never be convinced that handling a dog like that is at best ineffective.

Hmmm I agree with Nekh, a behaviourial consult is definitely in order. I wouldn't consider that normal at all. Whereabouts are you located?

Percynality, is that you? Anyway, I agree with Greytmate and what others in this thread have said. I love my dogs and consider them family members but they are not my children. I strongly believe it's not only disrespectful to our dogs to treat them like people, but that it is extremely arrogant to assume they think and feel like we do. Dogs are their own wonderful creatures, they are not people.