Michael D'Abruzzo
Forum Replies Created
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Jacek,
Your videos of Bono are excellent! Very good job! Love all your youtube videos actually!
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For all the trouble I always stuck to using the ball for throwing and an actual tug for tugging. It is so much easier to target a tug and the dogs enjoy biting it better.
I always felt the string on the ball was to help throw it farther and to do a little tug after the dog already fetched the ball part, not necessarily to hold and target the same way as a tug, because the dog may naturally go for the string since it will anchor the ball better for tugging.
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I would be interested to see how each breed is supposed to react and who decides that? Is it in writing somewhere or is it decided by the tester?
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Clicker training and marker training are both great. They plug rigth into a lot of phase 1 training. The biggest difference is that the clicker can be replaced by just praising at the same moment you would click.
The great thing about clicker training is that it gets people to pay attention to the timing of their praise (which the clicker basically replaces).
But,if someone is disciplined they can just say”good boy or good girl” and you can always do that, but dont always have the clicker – also it naturally flows better into more advanced training.
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Hi Rob,
I was also taught with the single pop, but after years of training mostly aggressive and fearful dogs this is what I learned.
pitfalls of single harder pop:
1. More likely to make a dog cry, panic, have bad experience, bite handler, etc..
2. Does not look good to jerk dog in front of clients or out in public.
3. Bad for a dog with confidence problems
4. more likely to injure dog
5. Will seem more aggressive to dog and make us seem less calm and in control to the dog
6. list goes on and on…
Benifits of onion chops:
1. reverse of everything above basically. One thing to remember is this method was developed after mostly working with aggression rehab cases and very sensitive dogs. There are major pitfalls to “jerking” dogs – especially if you have certain personality types.
For instance the wolf hybrid that we worked with was ‘jerked” by a trainer before us with a pinch collar and the owner, trainer, no one.. could even get a leash on her for a long time without her showing aggression after that. But, she did great with the onion chops.
The onion chops works on the concept of being “annoying” not scary or painfull. the dog learns to go into position quicker everytime because it just doesnt go away if they dont. It’s not that you can’t escalate the strength of correction, but once it reaches a level where it is a “jerk” or otherwise doesnt seem calm to the dog, yourself, or a bystander it is time to move to phase 3. Therefore, it is best to only practice the phase 2 stuff in a low distraction environement and it should be easy for the dog if you made sure your dog understands those commands first for a treat alone with no body language.
Phase 3 training allows you to use training collars that are more motivational but uses less physical force and allows you stay calm and not seem like you are being aggressive in the dogs eyes. The trick is to be patient and dont skip steps and you should be fine.
it is important to know that the “foundation style” isnt a 3 week obedience course for the dog, but usually takes a couple months minimum to start working around heavy distractions, etc..
It is good to check out the “jack” videos on this subject. He is a chow/dalmation mix. Both of these breeds (and himself) would not do well with jerks from a pinch collar…Just like working with the wolf hybrid.
It good rule of thumb when working with a dog to stay respectful is to use techniques that work with the most sensitive dogs. Just becaise some dogs may be able to take a harder jerk – doesnty mean they wouldnt have a better experience by teaching them patiently.
If a dog isnt going into position with onion chops alone it is good to troubleshoot why. Is the dog confused? Are the distractions too high? Do we not have the proper relationship?
That’s what makes the style different – is that there are standards to ensure that the dog is not treated in a disrespectful or unfair way. Me and the trainers I work with have seen horrible things happen when certain trainers revert to rough corrections.
If you are having trouble with the onion chops in particular training situation be sure to keep the conversation going so we can troubleshoot. I can ensure you that every dog can be trained this way. patience pays off. There are still missing holes in the self help section that I’m adding to so whats not on the backend I’ll answer here.
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True, if a dog is getting beat up by his handler, it is common sense to realize that this will hurt his confidence in a fight with a bad guy. Some trainers cant figure that one out.
You’ll even see owners correcting their dogs for fear aggression toward people like that… giving them even more a reason to be fearful of humans.
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Two words: Spray Shield
The best thing ever for those situations. I ran a drill using it once in our aggression support group. I will post it at some point. Good fun it was!
It is harmless to dogs – it just startles them and it is easier to remain calm, confident, and poised. I just step in front of my dog, wait for the approaching dog to come within about 10 feet, and then startle them by spraying at the nose. Almost always works as a PREVENTATIVE. Not that great if you wait for something to break out. Spray shield has saved me a lot of grief on many occasions. If an owner gets annoyed, they shouldn’t have had their dog off leash anyway and you may have done them a favor of preventing a dog fight.
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Obedience outside with all the distractions would be very difficult at this stage. So definitely good to focus first on making sure the pup understands the concepts of all the obedience first, before worrying about the walk. What type of training collar do you use at this point. I would suggest a no pull harness for now outside with a young dog (or any dog at this stage). The type that you clip the leash by the front of the chest – so if the dog pulls they end up turning.
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Hi Gail,
I would think playing chase with a dog isnt the best game in the world – even though my dog used to love the same thing when i was a kid, and probably good for bonding with your son.
But, when the dog would get loose outside when i was a kid – guess who was also chasing who? she would continue the game for blocks and blocks with a little fat boy (me) chasing after her huffing and puffing!
A better relationship can be built if you do encourage fetch games or even tug games as long as your son is able to follow through with the start the game, stay in control, and end the game rules. Using two balls to start fetch works best.
The more a dog learns to lead play the more difficult it is to teach the other way around.
Definitely good you are starting a good “come” command early.
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Hi Gail,
I wouldnt stress about leash manners at this early stage in training out the gate. “Leash manners/attention” exercise purpose in this style is mainly used for two reasons:
1. So that you can get the dog’s attention during training exercises
2. If you are standing still at anytime the dog will learn to not pull you back into a moving state.
A dog on a walk is naturally going to want to put their head to the ground and sniff, so dont worry about that. What we want to work on is practicing a “heel” in a controlled setting, then we will incorporate the “heel” on the walks during the times when you are moving and do not want the dog sniffing and peeing etc in the neighbors yards. It is a controlled walk. When you find the areas you would like the dog to have more freedom…Then you will “free” him and let him sniff and do whatever – even follow him for a while if you like.
Some tricks that I use in early training so as not to get frustrated with a bad puller is to:
1. Use a no-pull harness such as you can get from premier pet products.
2. walk on a flexi leash if you are in a safe enough area where the dog wont get hit by a car pr switch to a flexi when you walk to a safe area.
Either way still choose the general direction of the walk and if you do want to practice early leash manners on the walk – do it by standing still and remaining patient until the dog realizing you are going nowhere until he settles and gives you a little attention.
I am working on redoing some of the leash manner stuff – not huge changes, but mainly doing away with the dropped leash part, because it can potentially be too much for some dogs and i dont want anyone to accidently drop a loop on a dog that is wearing a halti-type collar which can potentially be very bad for the neck.
I will post when I have it up. Adding all the time. been in the literature section mostly lately.
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I personally wouldn’t force the Dogo into defense like that, just let him enjoy the prey work. From what I have seen with the breed it is the right thing to do with them for their sake before they become a more focused target of BSL.
If someone is going to mess with a dogo anyway – you probably need a gun.
I would love to see some vids of more dogos doing sport type work.
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Thanks for the excellent history and video.
It seems clear to me we have a conflicted dog that is reacting to the touch because he understands that the human hands may sometimes be reaching to administer discipline. Good example of how dogs and humans suffer by the aftershocks of rough training. An unneutered male Golden with an obvious stronger personality will often decide to fight back and “correct” the person reaching for him in a way that makes him feel uncomfortable.
Definitely a category 5 at this point, but fortuntely I believe he can be shifted down easily to a category 4 with some trust building and structure. Once a category 4 dogs become safer to work with.
I have outlined some relationship building rules here in the members area:
http://www.selfhelpdogtraining.com/EstablishingtheRelationship/cms/Relationship.htmlYou will have to sign in to the self help section to get to the page. I can’t stress how important of a first step that is. Everything a person does with that dog at this point should be based on establishing a respectful relationship at the leadership position. this can be done safely by manageing the obvious triggers and following the rules outlined. For instance, at least two of the bites would have never occured just by following this way which I always use standard for all dogs.
As far as starting obedience, you cant go wrong by continuing with the clicker until more trust is built. Tell me what you think of the info on the link. Another thing to definitely do to give this dog the best possible chance is to remove those testicles! It wont solve any problems at this point but was certainly a factor in getting him to where he is now. Less testosterone will help him be less intense at the least. I hope Bono is still around and safe.
My hunkie video #1 is a loose example of some relationship guidelines with a new aggression rehab case:
[YOUTUBE]P3-7hvXKk8U[/YOUTUBE]
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What is the bite history. Can you write all the events that lead to the bites?
True level 5’s have to be handled very carefully and a history is the best thing to start with in making a plan for training.No matter what the history – for starters dont jump into “formal” training too soon. Always start with predictable relationship building and structure. The first thing most of these dogs need is trust in the handler.
Interested in more details. May be a good one to blog about that we can follow as more info is added to the aggression rehab sections. I’m sure I can help.
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I think the trainer barking the instructions is the one that really needs alpha rolling. I know from experience that a person who is facing a problem with a dog will sometimes do out of the ordinary things if they really believe it is best for the dog – especially if they have no where else to turn.
I believe this dog was going after the firearm whenever it was pulled out.
I cant even watch that video more than once.
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I prefer to use jerky type treats, because I can easily stash them in my back pocket without it becoming a big mess. I also like to use treats that are healthy.
I use these treats here: tasty rewards
No matter what you use, the trick is to use tiny bits. I always break mine. Less than a handful of treats is more than enough for any training session. Some of the tougher treats you can get like duck jerky strips and such I use bandage shears (the scissors that EMTs carry) to cut them into small pieces.
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