huski

Just like me Jules - I taught public speaking and debating for years as well as doing a LOT of it myself, as well as a lot of theater which I love. Nothing makes me nervous like trialling though I think the main problem with trialling is that it's not just me my nerves affect, it's my dog as well.

I talked to Steve about this a couple of days before he left to go to Macquarie, what great work and great Springers too :D

I've trained with Steves methods for quite some time now and we don't use any physical corrections in the training program I use with my dog, so I dont think it's fair to use that article to back up what you are saying, Petsitters. My dog had similar issues to your old GSD - unresponsive to any rewards bar scenting as soon as we left the house etc, many people told me to use leash corrections on a check chain and I did with poor results. Good training IMO is not about positive vs negative but about using the best method for the dog you are working with.

I think Ptolomy is referring to when dogs will see the pile of articles and will go out and grab the first one they see and bring it back. I think the purpose of the cans is that it forces the dog to work around them and they can't get in and grab an article as quickly. I used the dog scout method too, I found it really great and Daiz was working on full articles within 2-3 days. However I do have a scent hound so you'd hope she would pick it up quickly

I certainly wouldn't say the majority of people at obedience clubs and competitions here in QLD use "modern motivational methods". Many (if not most) use check chains and leash corrections even though clubs do allow the use of food and toys they don't use what I would consider "modern" positive methods.

Goooooooo Soaks!!!!! Video Nik???

When I go to obedience trials or clubs I still see quite a few - even the majority - of people who still use check chains on their dogs, and I have to say, very few if any of the dogs that are trained on check chains would be what I call highly reliable or have the working attitude I like to see in my dogs. I don't understand why some people have such a black and white view of dog training - it seems in these threads that there is only two options for training methods - correction based or 'motivational' training and no in between. All of my training is reward based but that doesn't mean my dogs are never corrected or given consequences... leash corrections are not the only form of correction available.

I have made plenty of mistakes with my dogs but I always look at them as an opportunity to learn something. You've argued with everyone in this thread who've tried to explain to you how that incident could have been prevented.

You know what to do next time? Really? Considering you have no comprehension of what you did this time that led to your dog getting attacked, I find that hard to believe.

I don't envisage myself ever doing DWD, but if I did this would be MY song!

Wake Me Up Before You Go by Wham ;)

I can see the merit in 'time outs' or ending the game when I am training my dog, but only when ending the game or timing my dog out will actually give her a loss of something she values. When we're training and I end the game if she's barking for example, that is a serious loss to her as she is so invested in training and the game and getting the reward. When you have a dog that doesn't care about the reward it's losing, I don't see how effective a time out or 'reward removal' would be.

Corvus goodness me who appointed you as the forum police. Threads evolve from their original topic all the time. Well if you don't want an incident, then yes. You did put your dog in that situation by remaining in the park. I agree with SK here... why allow your dog to interact with a dog whose owner just told you will act aggressively and then wonder why your dog was attacked by the same dog

Totally agree with GSD! Go to their classes without your dog and see if you like what you see before signing up. A reputable trainer or training school would have no problem with that.

I've seen dogs that have cued off the sight of treat bags and this impacted them later on, there is a big difference between training a dog then stepping into the obedience ring and suddenly not having all the things on you that your dog has been 'taught' to cue off! It's one of the things I stuffed up with Daisy, she started cueing off the sight of food and this caused issues in the ring when she realised I didn't have any food on me. I feed a variety of food for treats, I often buy chuck steak/beef off cuts and boil it so I'm not constantly feeding fatty or salty stuff. But Daisy's highest value reward is DEFINITELY sweet food especially donuts or gingerbread.

I know lots of dogs that would react like the husky did if an in your face dog run up to them like that.

Awwww STD that is a lovely story! I'll never forget what it was like when we picked Micha up, we had met him and picked him out two weeks before when he was six weeks old and went back to pick him up at eight weeks. All the puppies (there were six) were out on the lawn playing and we said to each other no way will Micha remember us.... but sure enough as soon as we walked in the gate he ran straight up to my mum, jumped in her lap and put his big fat paw on her shoulder and looked at her like 'Took you long enough, let's go!' Bonding with him happened very quickly which was very different to Daisy! But he's always been a very easily likeable dog.

I think everyone on DOL knows about my difficulties with Daisy, who was not the first dog we'd had which I think made it harder because the other two are quite different to her in some ways. We got her at eight weeks and it wasn't until she was around 18 months to two years that I really started to like her and bond with her. She never wanted to be pat or cuddled or really even spend time with us. She was very strong willed and wouldn't have a problem growling or biting you if you made her do something she didn't want to do. She had a lot of food drive at home and would steal food off our plates as we were eating and bark at us all the time if we had food or if she could see or smell food somewhere, but the instant you left the house her scent drive was 10000000 times stronger than her food drive so she'd not even notice steak if you were waving it under her nose, which made training her very difficult. She wasnt a likeable dog and living with her sometimes was awful. Most of it was finding a training method that worked for us, but it's also about accepting her for who she is. She'll never be a super cuddly affectionate dog and she'll have challenging moments but we understand each other a lot more now and we also enjoy each other a lot more. But yeah - it took a lot of time to get there! I hope I'll be more prepared for my next puppy though

DB: I like to make sure all my dogs can cope being on their own without being dependent on one another. So I will take them for separate walks, I will train them separately, I will have one inside while I play with one outside etc.

Thanks everyone for all your ideas and feedback! Maree I hadn't thought about a doggy toilet, that's a great idea I will definitely look into it I didn't say she was annoying, I said her increased barking gets on my nerves a little bit, I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who didn't find a dog barking annoying. I know it's not her fault and I don't blame her for it or anything like that. Just to clarify, I don't leave her outside ever for extended periods, just while she goes to the toilet or wants to sit in the sun when I'm home. She enjoys sitting outside and it is part of her daily routine to steal Micha's bed outside so she can sun herself Rubbing treats on things is a good idea, thanks

Lucky you didn't see it, Dju, Hugo would be far too young to run on full height agility equipment, so you would have been disappointed (unless they were letting any age dog or puppy have a go??)

Wow I'm even more glad I didn't go now, I don't think I could have stopped myself from saying something seeing that

I can't really complain too much as generally Cherry is an easy dog to live with, she gets along well with all the other animals still despite getting grumpier with age. The barking is the only annoying thing which I think wouldn't annoy me so much if I wasn't concerned about neighbours complaining, especially as Cherry barking can sometimes set the other two off as well

Oh doh PF, I didn't even see it! I don't mind carrying her and I'm glad she barks to let me know she needs to go downstairs instead of just peeing upstairs but the barking is getting on my nerves a little bit. Sometimes she sits outside on Micha's bed and just barks at nothing. We're probably moving house in a couple of months and it's partly to get a more dog friendly house