Arthur Lopatin
Forum Replies Created
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Just in case u missed it, this one’s by Mike:
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Good vid w/plenty of links to books, articles on feeding raw. Good puppy stuff too. Interesting site:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKJuFyGn5FE
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You might want to check out the following two videos. Both are in Dog Behavior Lessons and Tips: (1) How to Handle a Light Line; (2) How NOT to Use a Prong Collar. P.S. Starmark collar is a good alternative to a Prong. It’s about as motivational and often less likely to freak the dog out. With both, it’s important to remember to use a backup collar — light weight slip — because both prong links and Starmark links can disconnect (usually but not always because they weren’s firmly attached in the first place). If that does happen, the backup means your dog will still be on-leash. I hope this helps.
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Hi, Lara! Take a look at Phase 2 Dog Training Videos with Prong Style Collar version 2.0. The method used is slightly out-of-date, but the videos will give you a pretty good idea. I’d start on the Flexi-Come Video, w/Mike in the doggy suit. But before you start, please be sure that your dog has a solid Phase 1 Come. Theresa’s Phase 1 Video is very good. Start using a 6-foot leash. If your home is big enough, you could try some off-leash or long-line comes indoors. Please be very careful if you train out-doors. A large, enclosed space with a solid 6-foot fence is best, if at all possible. I don’t know what kind of dog you have, but lots of dogs, of all ages, can VERY QUICKLY dash away to chase something. You have to be very careful when you use either a flexi or (alternatively) a long line. (The Phase 2, Dog Training Videos w/Prong Style Collar has a video showing how to use a long line to train the Place. The information about how to handle a long line is equally relevant to using a long line for training Come. Bottom line re longlines is you need to practice safely reeling it in and out using hand-over-hand technique; otherwise you and/or your dog can get hurt. A big dog running w/you tangled in the long line is a good way to get injured. If you use a flexi, get a high quality one and practice w/it attached to a fixed object or another person, so it’s safe use is in your muscle memory. Some safety notes about flexis: If you have a big, powerful dog and your hands are small and/or not especially strong, it’s easy for the flexi to get ripped out of your hands if the dog takes off. If you use a prong or starmark collar, please be sure that your dog is accustomed to either one from prior training exercises (like Sit, Down, Place, etc), and very gradually increase the distance you ask your dog to Come from. Start at 6 feet or so and very gradually increase the distance you ask your dog to come from. It’s really important that your corrrection not freak your dog out. It should be no stronger for Come than what it’s been for other Phase 2 commands. ……. You don’t want your dog taking and then absorbing a really harsh jerk (which can be injurious) and/or you getting the leash or flexi ripped from your hands or causing a burn on your hands, By the way, both a long line and a flexi can cause really nasty burns/abrasions if you try to grab it as it’s running through your fingers. (Some people wear tight, strong, grippy gloves). I am currently writing up a training manual for clients (trying to get back into the training game after a hiatus). When I finish, I’d be happy to send you a copy. I also might have a Phase 2 Come Cheat Sheet. If I do, I’ll send it to you. Have fun training!
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I should have added that I assume your friends don’t know anything in the dog’s history before they adopted the dog (or after) that might account for this behavior? I also wonder if it’s possible the dog did pee in the house under the previous owner(s) or, possibly, does sometimes pee inside w/its current owners but that they haven’t found it. That’s a long shot, I know, but it is possible, I suppose. Is this a shelter dog? Not sure exactly where these questions are leading, but some of this information might be relevant. But even if some of this info is known, I’m not sure how it might be relevant to developing a habitation plan. My hunch — just a hunch — is that the practical way to proceed is to make believe the dog’s a puppy re: pooping and get it on a regular schedule, based on when the dog’s fed. Interesting problem.
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Any possibility that some kind of health issue’s involved? Are your friends feeding the dog at the same time every day? How many times / day? Do they have an idea how long after eating that the doog poops. (Maintainin a Habitation Chart would be useful) How about treating this adult dog like a puppy that needs to be trained not to poop or pee inside; i.e., on-leash at home near owner so that when owner sees first signs of needing to excrete, he/she can take dog outside to poop (or pee) and, if for some reason the owner has to be away from dog for a while, then dog’s in small crate, bec if crate’s small the dog is more likely to ‘hold it in,’ since dogs don’t like to lie down on their own poop. But crating dog wouldn’t work if owners go to work all day, Not fair to dog. In short, it seems to me that they have to make believe their adult dog is a puppy re pooping, assuming no health issue’s involved. It also might help if they were feeding high-quality, high-density food, simply because such a diet makes for less poop. It’s also important to know when dog needs to poop and get dog outside before the poop, and praises dog for pooping outside, etc; i.e. everything you’d do w/a puppy Interesting problem. I hope this helps.
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Yossi,
I just read that your dog’s a Canaan dog. From what I’ve read, those dogs probably have a strong hunting/scavenging instinct. If that’s so, as i believe it is, then Leave It will be especially challenging for them. My current dog is part Carolina Dog, I believe. Carolina dogs are very similar to Canaan dogs, in appearance and behavior. It took me a while to teach her to Leave It, and if I don’t pay constant attention, so that I can quickly preempt, she’ll go for what’s on the ground. Which is why, for safety’s sake, if nothing else, she’s got a very good Out; i.e., if I mess up and she does get something in her mouth, she’ll usually Out it if I say Out in a quick, harsh tone of voice.
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something else to consider, Yossi: How well do you and your dog do loose-leash walking in a low distraction environment, where there aren’t any tempting objects or smells? Also, are you sure your dog is paying attention to you before you start on your walk and do you work at keeping his attention with praise in a calm, enthusiastic tone of voice throughout your walk? The more he’s got at least part of his mind focused on you, the more likely it is that he’ll hear you when you say Leave It, especially if you say Leave It as soon as he begins to focus on something. Finally, are you sure that your dog knows that you’re the boss; in other words that he knows you are dominant/leader, as taught in one of those Phase 1 streams and repeated throughout the course.
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Yossi, I hope this helps you with Leave It. Reading your note, I wonder if your dog really understands Leave It, even in a no- or low-distraction Phase 1 environment. There are tons of ways to teach Leave It. Here’s one. Although it’s presented here as a Phase 1 exercise, you can adopt it to Phases 2 and 3 and I hope this gets you started so that eventually you can get your dog to Leave It on a walk. (In that regard, it’s important for you to keep an eye out for tempting objects while you’re out on a walk and to watch your dog closely. Because the sooner you see your dog getting interested in something and the quicker you say Leave It, the more likely it is that your dog (and you) will succeed. OK, here are the specifics:
If you’re outside, have dog on leash, w/your foot on leash and dog standing or sitting in front of you. In phase 1 training the leash is there for control, not for teaching Escape and Avoidance.
Step 1 – Reward dog for avoiding a treat that’s held in your fist with a a treat that’s in your other hand. Here’s how: Step on leash. One treat in fist of one hand and lots of yummy little treats in your other hand behind back. Hold fist just in front of dog’s nose. Dog will sniff, paw, lick, mug your fist to try to get at treat. Do and say nothing, until your dog shows the slightest sign of hestitation/avoidance. Then say Good Boy and reward your dog from your other hand. Repeat several times, then gradually opening your fist more and more until your dog can resist an object that’s sitting in your open palm, right in front of his nose. Proceed to Step 2 when your dog can do this reliably.
Step 2 – Add the verbal cue: Now that your dog consistently avoids a treat held in your open palm, say ‘Leave It’ just before placing it in front of dog’s face. (Quickly close your fist if he goes for it.) Then open your fist and try again. Remember not to pull your fist away if you dog goes for the treat, because is supposed to meant that your dog has the self-control needed for him to avoid a treat (or anything else) when he hears ‘Leave It.’ Since we’re in teaching mode, it’s important to be very quick to reward the slightest sign of avoidance. As your dog starts to develop greater self control, start moving you open palm closer and closer to the floor, until your hand open palm is resting on floor and the dog can briefly avoid a treat in your open palm before you reward from other hand.
Step 3: Now try placing the treat on the floor and covering it with your foot. Then remove say ‘Leave It’ and remove your foot. If your dog doesn’t go for it, praise, rewar and free.Step 4: Wait for Eye Contact: Repeat Steps 1, 2, and 3 but this time, instead of just brief avoidance, wait for dog to look at you before rewarding. Practice with all sorts of objects (food, socks, people, toys, etc. Remember never to reward with the object that your dog’s been told to Leave. (In some cases – depending on your dog – it might be better to reverse the order of Steps 3 and 4.)
Remember you have to be very quick, calm and observant. Waiting too long before saying Leave It will frustrate you and slow your dog’s learning.
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Interesting, suggestive study. Good companion to Fdtn Trng 4.0, Stream 3 (Breeds). Related, perhaps unanswered or unanswerable question that I ask myself almost every day: My dog, Carrie (Short for Carolina. I didn’t name her. I adopted it w/her.) is, I believe a Carolina Dog/Hound/Terrier mix. Based on her appearance and behavior. When I got her and for a considerable time after I got some basic obedience training on her, including Phase 3, she exhibited all the predation style steps, except for eating what she killed….mostly small, ground-dwelling critters in the woods. She’s about 12 now but still sometimes gets into it (off-leash, which is how we hike in the woods, if I make it very clear she’s ‘Free.’ to follow her nose. But less so than in earlier years. I sometimes ask myself if that inhibition is attributable to poor training on my part or advancing age, or a combination of the two. I also wonder whether this — practically very necessary — instinctual repression does to a dog, physically and psychologically over time. Compared to other dogs, Carrie’s got it pretty good: She’s off leash in the woods a lot and gets to follow her nose pretty frequently including going for critters, but I think the general question suggested by the above and by observations of dogs here in my village (always on-leash, w/limited opportunities for physical exercise, let alone, for exercising their full instinctual repertoire, either in a natural environment or via substitute activities — e.g. flyball) remains: What does this do to a dog over time? What does living lives of silent desperations (Thoreau said this about us humans) do to dogs? Have there been any scientific studies of this topic? I doubt it. Seems to me it’d be hard to do scientifically as opposed to anecdotally.
