leopuppy04 Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Curious question.... I have noticed that some people say that their dogs *hate* obedience or never really enjoyed it.... I am sure many of you have heard that before too.. Why do you think that is? Do you think it is actually the dog not liking it or the handler having a reservation to doing obedience itself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 (edited) When someone says their dog "hates" obedience, in my experience that normally means that either the handler hates obedience (and the dog picks up on this feeling) or else that the handler does not reward the dog enough, or lets the training sessions drag on for far too long (have you ever seen a novice obedience class "heeling" their dogs around and around for half an hour at a time? No wonder those dogs (and trainers) learn to hate obedience!) In my experience if the handler stays upbeat and enthusiastic, with short sessions & regular rewards, the dog rarely learns to "hate" obedience. Edited June 28, 2007 by Amhailte Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 I have to say at the beginning I thought obedience is boring (compared to agility or tricks). But now I think about it as a set of tricks joined together and am having much more fun. Perhaps it's very overwhelming when you go to obedience school and they teach/train to do all these things at once, and dogs don't do most of them properly. I think that once you decompose it all and treat it as a lot of different exercises together is much more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopuppy04 Posted June 28, 2007 Author Share Posted June 28, 2007 Yes, I find that too Amhailte - Often people wonder why my dogs have soo much fun but I take regular breaks with them in class and we play hard ..... I think seeing one person do it though encourages others too as well.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 (edited) I agree that rewarding the dog and taking brakes to play/cuddle them is very very important. My dogs love to work when they know they will get a treat! Edited June 28, 2007 by laffi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smisch Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Okay well I have a story with a difference, I loved obedience, anything to do with dogs I love it, I was keen to do it but snoopy hated it, he would stop half way through an exercise and go to sleep, I tried so much to get him to do it, fav food, more enthusiasam (I was really OTT one week) but he was bored, he loves his agility, its running and climbing and puzzel work, he has so much joy in his face when you tell him good boy for doing a series of jumps rather than a heel.... thats my view IMO it depends on the dog too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staranais Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Perhaps you could have used the agility as a motivator for the obedience, Snoopy? e.g dog does 5 heeling steps well and then gets sent to do a few jumps, dog does a good recall then gets sent through a tunnel, etc. When he learned that doing obedience "earnt" him a chance to do agility, then perhaps his enthusiasm for the obedience exercise eventually would have increased as well? But I agree there are probably some rare dogs that just aren't overly motivated by food, toys, games, affection, or praise, and therefore won't find doing obedience particularly exciting, no matter what the owner does. They must be really frustrating to own and train! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesomil Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 I agree with what has been said. Obedience is only boring when the owner makes it that way. Some people say that their dogs prefer tricks but you will generally find that the owner is more "up" when doing tricks and rewards more often so the dog gets more enjoyment out of it. If the owner loves obedience and makes it alot of fun for the dog then the dog will love it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShellyBeggs Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 All my dogs have loved obedience.....it was special time together and so much fun to 'socialise' afterwards! My lab loved it so much he howled the entire way there along with my friends JRT. But 2 of my previous clubs were 'down the line' and like Amhailte said it was 'heeling' on top of 'heeling' But my new club, 1st lesson in beginners last sunday.....was so different. AND SO MUCH FUN. It was beginners and we did a minute or so of heeling then something else.....then a little bit of heeling, then something else..... We even used the tunnel towards the end, included food refusal during one of the non-heeling sessions and did lots of dog socialisation (playtime) in between.....during which the instructor talked about reading dog language as we watched how they were interacting. It was so much better than walking up and down!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Mmmm I don't like doing tricks and none of my dogs have been good at tricks! Must be related I'm sure. I actually really like heeling! I like the sensation when you and the dog move well together, when it just clicks. It is similar to riding dressage. All my dogs have liked heeling! And will offer heeling whilst loose in the paddock or garden. I had a private lesson yesterday and the lesson was very much about body language and how we effect the dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Agree with everything been said but have one other thing to add- Obedience is used much more frequently IMO than anything else- agility etc. My dogs do more sits/ drops in a day than they do agility in a month. And because it is done so frequently, the dogs level of motivation drops because the rewards are not always there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 ... Obedience is only boring when the owner makes it that way. Some people say that their dogs prefer tricks but you will generally find that the owner is more "up" when doing tricks and rewards more often so the dog gets more enjoyment out of it. If the owner loves obedience and makes it alot of fun for the dog then the dog will love it too. Jesomil And always look and work for something 'more' once the dog knows the obedience commands. This is also what makes it more fun - for owner and for dog. As to what you do and in what sequences and blends depends on what your dog already knows, but other than that is limited only by your own imagination. If you were taught 1 + 1 = 2 and then for the rest of your life you were asked and tested on it over and over, it would quickly become boring too. Variety and challenges are the spice of life . Keep your dogs thinking by keeping yourselves thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 Have to say a couple of the beginner classes at out local club left me bored. Dog lost the plot after 2 X 30 minutes bouts of mostly heelwork in a large class. He's only 6 months old and I didn't enjoy trying to drag a 20kg dog around a wet oval, so just watched the second half next time, after asking the instructor if it was OK (they said that's the best to do when dog's younger. A few people clearly thought they knew it all, despite the fact their dog weren't very obedient . One said, "Oh, I don't need to do that, he does it all the time at home" . Overall, worth sticking with, though. About 70% of the class had dropped out by the end. It's run by volunteers, so you can't expect miracles. It was great once the numbers were down . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kodiak Posted June 28, 2007 Share Posted June 28, 2007 I think sometimes it depends on not just the owner... but the dog and the club.... years ago (and I sincerely hope it has changed) I joined my local obedience club with my first husky. They had a standing rule that you could only go with a check chain on... so I dutifully purchased one. The "corrections" had my dog go from one jumping out of her skin when she saw the lead to putting her head and tail down. She hated the method they used and the club had no room for positive reinforcement. Needless to say I didn't stay long. Having got another husky I did not go anywhere near the obedience clubs and chose instead to do reading and training at home (though this meant less socialisation with other dogs). This time with our Aussie I went to a fantastic motivational play based puppy school. But our Aussie is also so different to our huskies (one of which could have not eaten for a few days and it wouldn't have bothered her)... our Aussie is so eager to work and to please so I can see how easy it can be with a dog who wants to do obedience. All our dogs have been obedient (apart from recall with Husky no. 1 - I just couldn't find anything that motivated her as much as running free and hunting...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tiggy Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 I use to find Obedience boring and that was to blame for my dogs not being to interested but one night I was watching a Kelpie and it's owner and they were having FUN. Dog and handler were loving it. That changed my attitude. You have to be fun to be fabulous. I find using toys is more fun for the dog to. In our class we have lot's of breaks between exercises and when the instructor is helping someone out, so I use this time to play with my dog. I never just stand there with my dog bored at the end of the leash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arya Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 I love obedience and so does my dog It's never boring because obedience is really play time for us. It's our hobby and we love it. We get out there with everything good and break the sessions at the park etc up with lots of good play with tug toys, hoses, balls, treats, fun, high action and lots of running cos that's what my dog loves. She really looks forward to it and actually loves heeling too (which is what makes things a bit frustrating when we don't go so well at trials). But even if we never trialled we'd still do obedience because it's all part of the fun and games. We also love tricks, agility, some of the schutzhund obedience we've been teaching ourselves, a bit of very basic tracking, whatever.... It's all really GREAT fun and it's just the attitude of the owner and dog. If some dogs don't like obedience it might be because in some obedience classes, it's very formal, goes on for a long time without breaks or games, and they get bored and demotivated. It's all how it's taught and how the game/sport is played imho Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Piximatosis Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Agree with everyone else... I had problems motivating Holly to heel. She already knew loose leash walking from her previous owner and I was trying to get her to heel briskly and with attention... it was nearly impossible. So, I taught her to heel backwards. She thinks that is farken GREAT!! We heel forwards and she is watching me like a hawk with a huge grin on her face waiting for me to cry "BACK!!" and start running backwards with her scooting along next to me. She thinks it's fantastic and her heels have improved out of sight It's all about creativity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted June 29, 2007 Share Posted June 29, 2007 Agree with everyone else...I had problems motivating Holly to heel. She already knew loose leash walking from her previous owner and I was trying to get her to heel briskly and with attention... it was nearly impossible. So, I taught her to heel backwards. She thinks that is farken GREAT!! We heel forwards and she is watching me like a hawk with a huge grin on her face waiting for me to cry "BACK!!" and start running backwards with her scooting along next to me. She thinks it's fantastic and her heels have improved out of sight It's all about creativity ;) wow that's very impressive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jellybean Chick Posted July 6, 2007 Share Posted July 6, 2007 Agree with everyone else...I had problems motivating Holly to heel. She already knew loose leash walking from her previous owner and I was trying to get her to heel briskly and with attention... it was nearly impossible. So, I taught her to heel backwards. She thinks that is farken GREAT!! We heel forwards and she is watching me like a hawk with a huge grin on her face waiting for me to cry "BACK!!" and start running backwards with her scooting along next to me. She thinks it's fantastic and her heels have improved out of sight It's all about creativity How do you teach to heel backwards?? It DOES sound like fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leopuppy04 Posted July 6, 2007 Author Share Posted July 6, 2007 Initially - make sure your dog knows how to walk backward in front of you - I find that helps .... You can do this simply by walking into the dog- possibly with a lure if they tend to 'sit'.... (hold the lure down low to keep the head down a little!). Then start with dog in heel position and a wall on the dogs left side (ie: wall, dog, you).... that way the dog can't swing their bum out. Then cue 'back' and you start walking back. If they stand up to walk back C&T. If they take a step back C&T then gradually increase the distance Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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