huski

I wasn't saying anyone had to do things "my way" or even referring to you specifically, I am just surprised how many people do leave baby puppies alone with adult dogs all the time. I thought it was more common to separate them when unsupervised (even just to give the adult dog a break) but perhaps it's not

Wuffles are you saying that you think dogs with a high value for their owner cant cope being left alone unless they have another dog they are highly attached to for company I must admit I find that quite a bizarre thing to say. Why would a dog with a high value for it's owner (but not other dogs) be unable to cope on it's own? I am surprised at the number of people who let new baby puppies run freely unsupervised with adult dogs. Before I even knew anything about dog training we never did that purely for the safety of the pup.

IMO it comes down to your priorities! I keep new pups/dogs in my house separated from my older ones to start with because I don't want them developing a high value for one another. It doesn't mean they don't get along, but it stops them from getting dependent on one another. How do they go when you separate them? Is your pup able to settle comfortably on his own? Can they happily be independent of one another? These are all things I would consider in a multi dog household. I often take my dogs out and about on their own and leave their others home on their own so it's important that my dogs can cope happily on their own. I'd also look at how valuable he sees your other dog. You are worried about whether or not your puppy will work for you well, how does he focus on your now when your other dog is around? or when you are training him and other dogs are around or walk past? All things to consider

Just a thought... Maybe because you're looking at anticipation rather than a particular drive, as such? Positive anticipation feels much the same regardless of what you're anticipating. If is a dog is anticipating a prey drive reward what would you call it?

I think that comes down to the individual dog (being more prey driven than food driven which many sport dogs are as that is what their owners select for) and owners not knowing how to use food to get drive. I think how the reward is used is crucial!

I actually think that a dog working in prey drive looks much the same as a dog working in food drive. Of course individually, a dog may work better or with more intensity for a prey reward than a food reward and vice versa. Bull Arab in regards to the dog working away from you better when you are reinforcing it with a toy - I'd suggest this has more to do with where the dog is being rewarded (i.e. if the dog is always being rewarded away from you when you throw the toy, of course it will move away from you faster) than it really being about a difference between using a toy or food reward.

Bedazzled I think a lot people don't realize you can build drive with food too, like playing the two food game etc IMO there is a big difference between food exchange and food drive. Sometimes the way I see people use food rewards the dog for calmness rather than drive, though I understand how/why people do that when they are working with a primarily prey driven dog and don't want the dog in a full on hyped state.

I can't talk too much about agility as I haven't been doing it long enough (though I did give Daisy a NRM when she broke a stay at the start line the other night) but when I give Daisy a NRM in obedience it actually makes her try harder. And I might NRM for barking during heelwork or stays, or looking away in heelwork etc.

I think rewarding your dog should be about sharing a reward experience between the dog and handler, this is one thing that is missing when you allow a dog to self reward, IMO.

I personally don't like the idea of my dog self rewarding on an agility course or with any exercise we do, at least it's not something I would train for or permit in my training. JMHO.

Oh gosh poor Mindy and poor you, Zoe. Thinking of you both

Yawn. Another self righteous rant. Do these people think that writing these articles where the end result is that they are pat on the back and congratulated by all their friends who share the same misconceptions and assumptions, actually achieve anything? Any potentially valid points were lost for me amongst all the arrogant ranting.

I took it to mean BG found the positive method she used was more effective than correctional methods she may have tried. Her sentiment that often the problem is the way she is training a behaviour is a hallmark of effective training in my view. All the best trainers in the world will harp on this again and again. If she finds it is clearer when she uses positive reinforcement, then it does work better. She wouldn't be the first one to find that, and she won't be the last. I took it as a general statement, not that she was just referring to her own experience. I too found using correctional methods didn't work for my dog, but that doesn't mean that "positive" ALWAYS trumps "negative", that positive is universally better and corrections have no place in dog training. Like I said - I care less about the method used and more about whether or not it gets results. It's not about positive vs negative, it's about using what works best.

Mollylabb, I am sure K9 will give you a more accurate response than I can, but if she's showing no interest in the food when you bring it out, can you move the bowl closer to her? Will she actually eat the food when you release her to it or is she not interested in eating it at all?

There is nothing wrong with using a tool to help train your dog to walk on a loose leash. If it's used properly it is used a tool WITH a training program not as a bandaid. Hmmm, that's a massive generalisation if I've ever heard one! Why can't you use a combination of both? I personally don't care so much about the method used but the results it gets. A good trainer can have a dog walking on a loose leash in minutes, it shouldn't be something that takes a very long time to teach if the owner has the right training program and timing.

I would not be surprised if a dog's tooth got ripped out when tugging with a rope toy, it could get stuck in the threads and yanked out.

Does he say that? No, in fact he says the opposite. At the end of the day, our DLPs are available as one of many services that we offer, and if someone feels they would be suitable for a DLP and Steve feels it would work for them that's their choice. It is irrelevant whether or not there are trainers available in the client's area if they want to do a DLP that's their decision. We have many clients who have successfully completed DLPs, many of them after trying other trainers and methods first and finding that, for whatever reason, using a program designed by Steve (even by distance) was the most beneficial option for them. There is nothing stopping local trainers from providing the same service, and Steve often refers people to trainers in their area. ETA: K9 beat me to it! SNAP

Now where have I heard this before...

Cool, have PM'd you

How quickly do you want one SK?

I trained the pivot LATs because I like keeping my dog with me, we used to do round the back turns but I would rather give Daisy as little opportunity to sniff the ground as possible

So sorry to hear that Horus Run free Toby.

I like those ones too! I got one of those for Daisy and she was pulling fluff out of it the first time I tugged with her with it. Then I bought it out to work with this fiery little Border Terrier in one of my classes one day and he ripped it to shreds in seconds Ultimately if I have a dog that loves to tug, I want it to be able to tug on a variety of surfaces and toys. But in the initial stages especially, IMO using the right tug for the dog is really important as the wrong one can turn them off.

What is an appropriate material? It depend on the dog IMO, some dogs tug better on some materials than others, you wouldn't want a hard synthetic tug on a dog that didn't have a good grip, you don't want a tug that's too wide for the dog's mouth, you don't want something that will fall apart either or get caught in the dog's teeth - i.e. french linen and leather make good tug surfaces. I often recommend this article as a guide http://www.k9pro.com.au/pages.php?pageid=146

OMG :love: Em's a star!! Every time I see video of her it makes me want my ESS now!!