haven

Good to hear Ann, I was going to suggest as much. If they don't like the bickies, don't feed them, there's much more nutritionous options. How is Eb's paw?

The trainer in me says that deprivation can be a powerful tool and too much non-contingent reinforcement not only reduces the value of what you can offer, but the dogs' motivation and can often play a part in aggression, anxiety, leadership issues and training problems. Don't ask the handler in me tho, she smooches the doggies everytime she walks passed

Yes I definately agree here! Most of the time when people say they have tried this and that but it didn't work, it was not the method that was at fault, but the inconsistency of it's application. I see it all the time at training, people training their dog not to pull during class but allowing thier dog to drag them to and from the car, thus the dog only applies not pulling to specific times and/or areas. Also, as Tess said, people get complacent, tired or frustrated when their dogs are excited and give up, allow their dog to pull and thus reinforce a much more extreme version of the behaviour they are trying to diminish.

so true

dunno I have never tried ETA:oooh how clever am I!!!!! choose your colour and click close all tags when you are done

Interesting, but it raises a lot of questions for me, which may or may not have been answered elsewhere in the article. Was the wolf raised with people from a pup? Or was it obtained as an adult? Does it say exactly how the relationship changed, or does it just say it was different? Who was the author?

Sure, if you want to I'd like to read it

To do multiple quotes use the quote button located above where you type your post. Then highlight, copy and paste the section you wish to quote. The use the quote button again at the end. So it should look like the word quote in square brackets, then the writing you wish to quote followed by /quote again in brackets. Hope that makes sense, use the preview button down the bottom before you post to see if it works. Thankyou Amhailte, I've not forgotten t'was you who so patiently taught me how to do it

I have heard this more than once, but personally I don't think it is a correct analogy. Dogs evolved directly from wolves, humans did not evolve from apes, we share a common ancestor, it's not the same thing.

To me this implies that dogs have the capacity for deductive reasoning and a whole range of other unlikely emotions and intentions. Sounds like anthropomorphic rubbish. ETA: I agree that the dog probably does not want the door to be there, as they prefer not to be seperated from the pack, but I can't agree with the interpretation of why.

At ADT we have the lead system and believe me, these fluro orange leads are pretty hard to miss for anyone with eyes. Incidents still occur though, because some people are careless, complacent, sometimes outright negligent and just don't abide by the rules of the system. So I think they are a good idea in theory, but like any tool only as good as the person using it.

I've personally trained a large number of dogs not to pull on the lead and I never cease to be amazed by how quickly the dog catches on to the concept. If owners sought professional advice and put a little training in, then teaching their dog not to pull on the lead certainly can be a quick fix, no need for the head halter. I also think pulling on lead can be a leadership issue and I have seen pups raised by people who were effective leaders for their dog and the pups never learned to pull in the first place.

Don't worry Rusky, when I said it was an anxiety thing, I meant specifically for my dog as he has anxiety issues and feels safer when near me.

Second that

Woot? Maybe it's my ignorance, but I always considered it to be more the other way around. When I'm in my room and the door is closed, 9 times out of 10 Loki lies as close to the door as he can get. I can assure you he is not rebelling against my alpha status! I considered it to be more an anxiety or pack thing, trying to be as close to me as he physically can.

Yes I suspect that reinforcing his aggression would open a huge can of worms that I'd never be able to close. I don't want him to think that aggression will solve the situation if he feels uncomfortable any more than I want him to feel avoidance does.

What exactly do you see? What behaviours define a dog working in pack drive? Loki isn't keen much for a pat, not 'smoochy' like Nova is, but he is very responsive to me and was even before training, I believe out of respect. He also shows me the right body language, defers to me all situations, doesn't leave a certain area around me when he is off lead etc. Would you consider those things related to pack drive?

lol I expected it to be a bit more complicated than that. When you aske me in the other thread about how my dogs pack drive was I wan't sure how to answer. Loki does this and very well I might add! I wondered if working on this would be good for his confidence, but I fear that if he learns that is they way to deal with issues outside the home, it will be like opening the floodgates to fear aggression, which he has never shown before. I've been 'lucky' in that respect because if he were a fear biter he would be an extremely dangerous dog :rolleyes:

What consitiutes pack drive?

She's not new to it, she's done bite work before but I'm new to it. I don't even need a prey item, all it takes is a command, eg, sit, drop etc in the right tone and she's there. ETA: Actually that could account for the barking, right? As barking was part of the work?

LL, Please do go on and on, this is a subject I'd like to know much more about! My Rotti works in drive, ut gets so het up she bark and carries on. How do I get her to stop, without correcting her and therefore diminishing her drive? Also she has just had a second cruciate ligament surgery and the vets said no more playing will balls (which is akin to telling her not to breathe in and out really). Is a tug an acceptable substitute?

I'm a size 12

Restricted to use on dogs that have been approved by a vet and under the supervision of a qualified trainer

Will we be covering Ecollar training at the Vic seminar? Will they be available for purchase?

Wondering if dogs do agility in drive, or if it is simply compliance/obedience, what does k9 think? Haven, what does 'tramping around playing GIJoe' consist of? Just general runing around, likes being in bushy areas or long grass, jumping logs, crossing rivers etc, crawling under gates etc. As working in drive is not something I would consider I know tons about, I dunno if doing these things is working in drive, or what drive it may be if so. When he gets all monkami, I go over his commands and keep him working. Provided whatever is freaking him out isn't too overwhelming, it helps get his mind on the job and therefore not on the big bad world.